What does it mean to think and live Christianly in a world of competing worldviews? Christian Contours answers this question by inviting readers to consider the understanding of reality proposed by the Bible. Though it is easy to divide life into separate compartments (religious and secular, theological and practical), faith invites us to view all of life in the light of that Biblical understanding. Presenting a clear, compelling case for unity in essential Christian tenets, the authors of Christian Contours guide the reader through developing, internalizing, and articulating a biblical worldview. This robust worldview enables the Christian to be a critically-thinking participant in culture and to be a faithful disciple of Christ with both heart and mind.
Editorial Reviews
Christian Contours is a highly intelligent, accessible guide through the issues relevant to defining, defending, developing, sustaining, living and sharing the biblical worldview. This book stands out as the most thorough treatment of these themes to date. It would make an excellent college or seminary text in Christian thought and I highly recommend it.
J.P. Moreland, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology
Doug Huffman is well-qualified to author a book on biblical worldview. And his approach to the subject, linking heart and mind, fills a void in that many miss by overemphasizing the mind at the risk of forgetting the heart. We need not only Christian thinkers who grasp biblical worldview in their scholarship, but we need Christian thinkers who are grasped by a biblical worldview in their character and conduct. This is truly what it means to be a disciple. Professor Huffman is a man who exemplifies both the thinking and the living of a biblical worldview.
Barry H. Corey, President, Biola University
This carefully constructed volume enjoys the important benefit of being written by different scholars who nevertheless employ similar styles and speak with one perspective–a rare achievement among edited works. Further, the text moves from definitional, methodological, and theoretical concerns regarding the Christian worldview to questions of a far more practical nature, where we interact with everyday life. All in all, it is a remarkable achievement that combines the best of both theory and practice. I recommend it for college courses dealing with these issues and for those interested in this crucial topic.
Gary R. Habermas, Distinguished Research Professor, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary
I am pleased to recommend this winsome apologia for “the” biblical (Christian) worldview. The book’s many essays encourage unity among Christians around a clearly articulated worldview, urging them to strive, with all proper humility, to understand and embrace this worldview, while avoiding an unwarranted false humility that hesitates to affirm any of the “certainty” that the apostle Luke wrote about (Lk 1:4). The book also is a welcome invitation to those who do not share this worldview to seriously consider its distinctives.
David M. Howard, Jr., Professor of Old Testament, Biola University
Professor Huffman and his colleagues at Northwestern College have provided evangelicalism with a much-needed discussion of what a Christian worldview is in their book, Christian Contours: How a Biblical Worldview Shapes the Mind and Heart (Kregel). Their work seeks to identify, establish, and spread the biblical worldview especially to young people today who are forging their faith in a pluralistic society. The authors deftly identify five components of the biblical worldview in terms of theology, anthropology, ethics, soteriology, and epistemology. These parameters need to be re-introduced to a new generation of critical thinking college students. Moreover, the authors provide solid rationale for propagating a biblical world today at the risk of being labeled dogmatic or out of touch. This is an important contribution to an ever-increasing complex society that doubts the validity of historic Christianity. Kudos to Huffman et al!
C. Marvin Pate, Chair of Christian Theology, Pruet School of Christian Studies, Ouachita Baptist University
The text moves from definitional, methodological, and theoretical concerns regarding the Christian worldview to questions of a far more practical nature, where we interact with everyday life. All in all, it is a remarkable achievement that combines the best of both theory and practice.
Gary R. Habermas, Distinguished Research Professor, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary