How Now Shall We Live - Charles Colson / Nancy Pearcey

A hefty tomb that we read throughout the Colson Fellows program. I appreciated the way we were asked about "particular truths and insights that stood out to you" for each section - since that's exactly how I write these reviews!

Part 1

• Why write the book? Christians were beginning to huddle into their own communities instead of engaging with culture. Even Bible-preaching churches were more focused on believers' personal lives than their impact in culture.
  • (Our culture has certainly continued to slide into moral relativism, but I've also been finding a trend of Worldview-teaching and culture-engagement, at least in the churches I've been a part of.)
• Organized as Creation / Fall / Redemption / Restoration
• Worldview: Sum total of our beliefs about the world, the big picture that directs our daily decisions and actions
• "Real culture war" - not just a war of ideas, but a cosmic struggle between worldviews
• Discipleship of the mind: Break down the false dichotomy between spiritual and intellectual. Develop (renew, Roman's 12:1-2) our minds to cultivate an understanding of truth.

Part 2 - Creation

• Knowing where we came from is essential. "if you dismiss God as the Creator, then the whole foundation of faith dissolves"
• Abortion / assisted suicide reveal worldview commitments:
  • They deny that the human species is superior to all other biological species.
  • Instead of dignity due to being created in the image of God, personal choice and preferences reign supreme, to the point that only what is "best" for the individual....or society as a whole...is acceptable.

Part 3 - Fall

• The "human dilema" - why is there war and suffering, disease and death
• Most formidable stumbling block to Christian faith - It's the hardest to reconcile with a loving creator. How can God be good if there is pain and suffering? It's also hard when enlightenment says sin is not actually the fault of our own nature, but of our environment. If people aren't sinful, why would they need a savior?
• Five false solutions to the problem of evil
  • No god at all (but then there's no objective evil, is there?)
  • Deny suffering exists (it's just an illusion we need to overcome)
  • Place God beyond good & evil
  • Limit God's power / omnipotence
  • Think of evil as created for a greater good - necessary to mature the world and make us ready to enjoy God forever
• All utopian visions will ultimately lead to tyranny since they deny the sinful nature of man and the ultimate Source of morality and creation.

Part 4 - Redemption

• A number of false answers to the question: "How can we fix what's wrong with the world"
  • Liberation from oppression
  • Sexual freedom
  • Science
  • Despair / pessimism / existentialism
  • New-age ideas
• Our redemption is a "restoration" because it restores us to our created state, rather than giving us a path to become "more"
• Feminism ironically often treats women as weak, passive, victims of circumstances.

Part 5a (Ch 30-37) - Restoration

• Cultural Commission: The mandate from the garden to rule over creation, reflecting God's image through social and cultural development.
• Re-encourage our kids to focus on truth over feelings
• Recognize that, though I sometimes think I'm failing, our strong marital commitment is one of the best ways I'm leading our family.
• Seek shalom in interactions with my community, as I learn to see everyone as image-bearers of God.

Part 5b (Ch 38-45)

• We need to not let the workplace perform the function of community.
• All spheres of society stand directly under God's authority.
• We need to communicate the benefits of Rule of Law; Public Good; Defense of Liberty, all while actually "walking the walk" of being good citizens, carrying out our civic duty, and actually being engaged in politics.
• In science - our task is to expose the flaws in scientific naturalism and restore it to its proper role as a means of investigating God's world and alleviating suffering. And raise up more Christian scientists! (Uh, I mean - scientists with a proper Christian worldview....)

02/29/2024 // NF // Kindle