Second Edition coming soon!
Why is this book called Biblical Worldview Rhetoric?
An essential aspect of our upcoming rhetoric text is a study of worldview. This text guides students through an examination of the worldviews behind discourses (speeches, essays, letters, etc.) and their authors. Worldview is inextricable from rhetoric, for every person speaks from his worldview, even unconsciously. Once you begin to think in this manner, you will have a much more rich understanding of the use of rhetoric.
Think of “worldview” as the glasses through which we see the world – how we interpret and give context to what we see. Everyone has a worldview, and every worldview is based on the philosophies to which we adhere.
A Biblical Worldview begins with the foundation – the understanding and the acknowledgment – that God is the author and creator of all things:
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister. (ESV, Colossians 1.15-23)
Teaching with a biblical worldview does not just mean attaching a Bible verse to the week’s lesson. It begins with the presupposition from Colossians, above. If God is the creator of all, and He holds all things together, does that affect the way we study the history, the people, the events? What drives people to do what they do? How do we react to the things that happen to us? How do we speak to and persuade one another? As we study, we take note of what sin does to the human mind, and how it drives people to act and react.
This kind of study means thinking presuppositionally: examining underlying ideas. Everyone has a worldview, has presuppositions with which they think and act, whether or not they are consciously aware of those ideas. When we seek to persuade a person, we also must identify and address (perhaps confront) his set of presuppositions, his worldview. This kind of study will inform how best to address someone whose ideas differ from ours.
We must study to approach our neighbors – our audience – armed with the truth. And we must know the worldviews by which they operate.
Ultimately, the goal of Biblical Worldview Rhetoric is to bring people to the Lord, but it’s not as simple as passing out tracts and reciting scripture at them. We must delve below the surface in order to get to the root of the problem, and as Dr. Michael Bauman of Hillsdale College says, “the problem of the human heart is at the heart of the human problem.” We know that the answers to all of humanity’s deepest questions can be found in God’s holy Word, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In other words, know the source of inspiration – the God of all Creation – and know your audience and how to address them. Only then will we be able to engage with people on what ultimately matters most of all: the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Writing Rhetorically 