Worldviews incorporates personal presumption (assumptions) on the side of one who believes in a condition or truth innately. Epistemology is the accepting of knowledge concerned with the nature or scope of a justified belief in the person who assumes. Ontology like epistemology is a sub-branch too sociology however, ontology is the inquiry into properties of being or existing. Ontology indicates the knowledge perceived by the presumptions developed within the truth of the person. Terms generally used in observing worldviews are noumeanal which means a subjective event or object known to the person without the use of senses and phenomenon which is described as a personal experience which is subjected within the five senses. Understanding the world and clarifying the foundations for which one assumes specific notions about existing, thinking, knowledge, and the origin of ones beginnings is not only defined in the study of sociology but can be categorized in a larger branch known as Metaphysics. Throughout the globe many worldviews about ones origins are often in question and creates a dynamic debate among theologians, educational factories, religious sects, to name a few. Atheist do not believe in God and believe his or her destiny depends on self. Agnostics on the other hand seek evidence for the existence of God and want absolute proof into the nature of God. And Christians believe God is the creator of man and the universe. Although world views about God have been the cause of wars and genocides throughout time, one may need to depend on faith to believe in God which secular worldviews do not see as absolute proof because the lack of scientific data is absent. Human beings whose cultural foundations, early childhood nurtured environments, educational experiences, or life experiences that differ from Christians believe, that faith in God is an obscure look into the worldviews with no logical proof. Much of the secular world believes that humans are in control of the universe and predestined to achieve what he or she is capable of within their own abilities. In theory, this thought process has faith but only in him or herself. Anything outside of self is not dependable and without clarity. Because secular worldviews depend totally on the notion of self-sustainability and reliance this thought process allows the humanist to understand his or her existence as the creator of his own personal world! Mortality, laws, origins of species, and creation are at the fore-front of debate where worldviews are subjective to question. Humanist have internal mechanisms which reject the concept to powers greater then themselves. Humanist believe he or she is the highest form of matter and by creating the world around them to appease his or her needs thus, sustaining the world and the persons within it. Christians are creationist with personal revelations brought forth by general and special concepts. General revelation depends upon the world outside the Christian to understand nature and the origin of species. Christians have a non- secular worldview and use phenomenal experiences within his or herself to understand his or her existence. Faith in special revelation is knowing without doubt in the literally living breathing word of God for which He communicates with Christians and provides a foundation for which one lives by. A Christian’s life depends solely on the relationship with God and a humble heart. Christians or creationist believes he is on a path predestined by God to do work for His purpose. John Newman understood the consciousness contact with God as an innate moral sense within the person to behave in a right or wrong matter. This perception for good and evil within the person came forth for Christians with the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Personal experiences through initial immoral elements create the code for a subjective moral reasoning within that person (Hansen, C. 2011 pg. 214). Newman’s philosophical view about God determined that any conclusion about the existence of God could not be constituted by logic because a faith based sense of God depended on revelation. Special revelation found in the Bible and general revelation found in nature is how God communicates with the Christian and therefore, because this communication is based on faith then the knowledge of God was deposited in humans during the creation process. James Sire also has a worldview about the existence of God on a non-secular concept. Sire understood Christianity as a transcendent objective view point where the persons thought process and knowledge about God came forth during creation also. This worldview is the foundation that humans are created in the image of God and therefore possess characteristics, intelligence, moral foundations, and creative personalities which are in the likeness of God. Sire bases this thinking condition in complete faith from special revelation outlined in the book of Genesis. The bible reads, “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:26-28). Therefore, both Sire and Newman believe in faith as the developing foundation for the non-secular world view. Faith emphasizes knowledge, nature, and presuppose cognitive interoperation for Christian’s worldviews. Sire however controversial, hold fast that ontology overrides epistemology because existence, being, or categories of entities which are subjective properties which relate to the object itself. This reality is found contingent on the presumption of human knowledge, laws of thought, survival, God or something else (Schupbach, 2004 ). Placing emphasis on the importance of “ontology before epistemology when developing an internally consistent worldview leads to a deep investigation of what exist within knowledge. Remember, epistemology is the scope of understanding how knowledge is obtained but ontology decides the internal mechanisms of the knowledge itself. Thus, a person must recognize if the knowledge itself is categorized in appropriate measures or parameters to investigate the actually state of being or existing within knowledge schematics. Reasoning for such matters in a reality state when placing emphasis on oncology is the foundation for discovery on how this mechanism within the thought process can be explained. Because the human mind is saturated with much external influences that create stimulation for internal belief systems by secular world views men must dissect each thought with an objective reasoning manner. Stimuli outside the cognitive process expresses this good and evil realm for which John Newman speaks of which can break down the categories of what exist and what does not exist. The categories once broken down within otology limits the comprehensible knowledge of what “being” is and then can be discovered through personal experience. This is why ontology is placed before epistemology! After a non-bias cognitive role separates the external stimulation that influences ones reasoning only then can the external personal experiences influence the re-active or response the person participates where in. These behaviors, thoughts, or beliefs comprehend the internal communication one has with the state of being. The secular world reacts more likely to what is there and can be seen with tangible evidence rather the unseen spiritual world which exist in a person’s heart stimulated by faith! References BibleHub. (2004-2014). Bible Online. Retrieved April 1, 2014, from BibleHub: biblehub/ Hansen, C. (2011). Newman, Conscience and Authority. New Blackfriars, 92(1038), 209-223 Schupbach, J. N. ( 2004 , September ). Naming the Elephant: Worldview as a Concept. Retrieved June Monday, 2014, from [summary]: denverseminary.edu/article/naming-the-elephant-worldview-as-a-concept/
Posted on: Thu, 12 Jun 2014 14:29:15 +0000
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