Gospel Prism

Simply put, my advice is: get this book. It is excellent. Kenneth Richard Samples has blessed the church with A World of Difference (AWOD), subtitled Putting Christian Truth-Claims to the Worldview Test. AWOD is comprised of three parts. Part I is called Developing a Worldview Perspective and contains four chapters. Part II, Exploring the Christian Worldview, consists of seven chapters. The book’s remaining five chapters fill out Part III, Evaluating Worldview Competitors.

In the introduction Samples identifies the problem that he sets out to solve with this: “The lack of appreciation for worldview-thinking negatively impacts doctrinal literacy, apologetic understanding, evangelistic fervor, and the living of a God-honoring life” (page 15). He draws attention to a 2003 Barna survey that found a mere 9% of born-again Christians hold a biblical worldview. Given this diagnosis, Samples provides a remedy in the pages that follow.

In Part I a simple definition of worldview is given: “how one sees life and the world at large” (page 20). This first section covers components of a worldview, a set of tests for worldview evaluation, a short tutorial on logic, and a helpful discussion on avoidance of faulty reasoning. Each chapter in this section and the rest of the book concludes with discussion questions and resources for additional study.

The second part explores the Christian worldview. Topics covered include the Christian views on truth and knowledge, a Christian perspective on history, an explanation of the Apostles’ Creed, creation and providence, and Christian view of man. Chapter 7, God’s Written Word – Scripture, is excellent. Among other issues, it delves into sola scriptura and objections to sola scriptura. Chapter 8, The Historic Christian View of God, stands out, too. It includes a section on the trinity and provides helpful charts. Samples’ excels in introducing God’s attributes and gives a worldview implication and Christian worldview assurance for each attribute covered. Chapter 11 is on a Christian view of moral values and packs in a lot though it is one of the book’s shorter chapters. Besides five points on absolute ethical values there are two useful charts on ethical subjectivism and objectivism and as moral relativism.

Part III brings the concepts presented in the first two parts to bear on five worldviews that are currently prevalent. These views are examined in order: naturalism, postmodernism, pantheistic monism, Islam, and Christian Theism. Each examination details the features and perspectives of the worldview, identifies proponents, then lists positive and negative elements of the view. A “test score” is given for each worldview on how it stacks up against the criteria found earlier in the book.

Before closing out AWOD with 21 pages of notes, a bibliography, and indices. Samples provides five charts, each at half a page that summarize each of the worldviews that have been examined.

What this book is not: it is not devotional. To characterize the book in a word: cogent. Recommendation: high, get this one.

Baker Publishing Group, September 2007, 304 pages