Christian Worldview: A Detailed Reading Response and Text Comparison

This assignment consists of a series of reading response forums focused on Christian worldview and theology. Each week, two assigned texts are compared and contrasted based on their main arguments, strengths, and weaknesses. The responses delve into topics such as the nature of God, the role of creation, the concept of original sin, the doctrine of salvation, and the Holy Trinity. The analysis includes personal reflections on how the readings have influenced the student's thinking and understanding of Christian faith. The student critically examines the texts, exploring their interpretations of the Bible and their connections to human nature and social issues. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering a wealth of study tools and resources for students.

Running head: CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW
Christian Worldview
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW
Week 2
The two readings that would be compared and contrasted in this part are that of the
Theology: A Multidimensional Discipline bu John R.W. Stott and Faith Seeking Understanding:
An Introduction to Christian Theology by Daniel L. Migliore (Migliore, 2014). In the first article,
the meaning of theology centers round the understanding the God by both the male and female.
The second article is about the revelation that has been discussed in the Bible. The Church has
revealed some important information about the God and His true nature. It has been revealed by
the author that God is omnipotent, omniscient and He possesses the powers to judge what is
good and what is bad (McGrath, 2016). This reading suggests that it is indeed very important to
know about the God. The knowledge of God is indeed very important for the human beings. The
persons described in this reading have experienced that the God has given them a wide range of
knowledge that would be highly important for them. On the other hand, the first reading
describes about the importance of the Bible in order to acquire the best knowledge about the
God. The fact of revelation has been described here as well but there is a connection between
theology and science (McGrath, 2016). The first reading has its strength in depicting the links
between science and theology. However, it is much weak in establishing the connection between
history and Bible. The second reading is very strong in describing the revealed and hidden truth
about the God. However, its weakness is in presenting the Biblical tradition properly. Both the
books have been extremely effective for me to change the way of thinking for me. I was not a
believer of God initially. However, after reading this book, I have got much interested in
Christian theology and curious enough to know about the God and His truths.

2CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW
Week 3
The name of the first reading is The Creator God. This reading centers around the
importance and prowess of the God as the creator of this universe. As discussed in the previous
section, God is believed to be of an omnipotent entity who has all the true powers to control the
world. In this reading, the role of the God has been reflected as the creator of the world. The
Christian confession of the faith commences with the belief that God is the Creator. This reading
suggests the fact that the creation of the world to be a divine act indeed. The strength of the
reading lies in the fact that it has manifested the Christian belied of God to be the Creator
according to the Christian faith community (Inge, 2017). The weakness of this reading is shown
when the primary focus has been laid into the faith communities and less focus has been given to
the Biblical interpretations of the matter. The name of the second reading is Faith Seeking
Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology. This reading has focused on the Apostles
Creed and its interpretations. The connection between the Christian Faith and Ecological Crisis
has been established here. The strong display of this connection is the strength of this article. The
weakness is in the fact the Biblical teachings have been interpreted in a one-sided manner. This
is why the other ways of interpreting the Bible in this issue has been very problematic from a
number of ways (Inge, 2017). However, the connection has been formed in a diversified manner
since some of the critics have opined and accused Christianity to be the major source of the
ecological crisis all over the world. The connection between the male and female and the human
and nature has been used in this discussion as well.
Week 4
The first reading that has been provided for this week is the Faith Seeking
Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology (Migliore, 2014). This reading deals with

3CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW
the image and perceptions of God that have been shown in the Bible. The relation of the human
beings to that of the Holy Jesus Christ has been established in this reading. It has been said that
the human beings were being created for the good things to be done in the world. However, the
common tendency of the human beings is to commit the sins and the things that are not good. It
has distorted the entire entity of the human beings as well. The imagery of Lady Macbeth from
Shakespeare’s drama Macbeth has been given as the evidence of the distortion of the humanity.
The reading has its strength lying in the fact that the basics of Christian theology have been
connected with that of the human nature. However it is very weak in bringing out the connection
between the traditional and Western theology. The second reading is the Our Nature as Persons
Destined for Community. This reading has brought out the relevance of God and His connection
with that of the human beings. The reading focuses further on the facts of God’s intentions for
the human beings. The strength of this reading is in the interpretation of God’s intention for the
human beings (Migliore, 2014). However, it is weak in bringing out the interpretations for the
social behaviorism and autonomy that are closely related to Christian theology as well. The
importance of the sociobiology has been largely presented in this section because the organism
of survival through the natural selection process would be discussed as mentioned in the Biblical
interpretations as well. Christian theology has also been closely linked with the social attributes
of the individual human beings (Emery, 2012).
Week 5
The name of the first reading for this week is Original Sin and the name of the second
reading for this week is Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology
(Migliore, 2014). The topic of the first reading is about the original sin. This subject is very
closely linked with that of the Christian theology. It has been conveyed in the reading that the

4CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW
traditional and orthodox Christian belief has not said much about the topic of the original sin.
The ideology of the salvation can be attributed with that of the resurrection and the Christian
faith in this reading. The strength of this reading is in the fact that it has put into practice the
most important and relevant underlying issues of the Christian faith and the reality of the
experience of the original sins being committed (McGrath, 2016). The weakness is in the fact
that the sustainability of the Christian faith according to the western traditions has not been
discussed. The second reading describes about the mystery of the evil in the presence of the God
in this cosmos. This is where the concept of cosmology becomes very much evident. The reality
of the evil has been described in a well manner in this discourse. The true nature of the God is
always so much faithful and saying true to the words. The Scripture has shown the fact that the
God is always careful about providing the human beings with all the positivity. Still, the human
beings have a tendency of going against the positive will of God and committing the sins
(McGrath, 2016). This reading has its strength in displaying the true positive powers of the God
in saving the human beings from all the negative wills in the world. However, the weakness is in
displaying the power of the evil in a powerful manner.
Week 6
The first reading that has been selected for this week is The Doctrine of Salvation in
Christ. The author of this book is Alister McGrath. The reading discusses widely about the
aspect of the salvation in the Christianity. The identity of Jesus Christ has been noted as a very
important aspect for the proper understanding of the notion of the salvation (Placher & Nelson,
2013). It has also been described in this text that there is a close relation between the ontological
and functional Christology. It has been said in the book that the salvation is considered to be a
very complicated term to be properly understood. The term could be applied in both the Christian

5CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW
theological and the secular manner as well. The salvation has a very close connection with the
life, death and resurrection of the Jesus Christ. This reading is very powerful in displaying the
two arrays of the salvation process of the humanity. However, it has not been able to show the
other side of salvation than that related to Jesus Christ. The second text is The Fellowship of
Jesus the Christ with God. The Jesus Christ has been considered as a divine being and it has
given birth to certain controversies as well in terms of Christology (Placher & Nelson, 2013).
However, the salvation could be integrated by Jesus the Nazareth. The Logos Christology has
been implemented by the people of the second century apologists. The problem could be solved
in the Christological manner regarding the relationship between the God and Jesus Christ. The
development of the orthodox Christian matters could be reflected in this section largely as well.
This reading has put light on the deity of Jesus as well. It is strong in providing the insights into
the Christian theology and aspects of salvation. However, it is somewhat weak in bringing out
the different problems with various types of Christologies.
Week 7
The name of the first reading that has been assigned for this week is The Doctrine of the
Trinity by Donald MacLeod. The Holy Trinity has been one of the most important facts of the
history of the Christian theology and this has been discussed in a detailed manner in this reading
or text. The three elements of the Holy Trinity are God, Jesus Christ-the son of God and the Holy
Spirit (Kärkkäinen, 2017). The reading has put enough stress on the three elements of the Holy
Trinity in a large manner indeed. The description of the Holy Spirit has been given in a nice
manner and this seems to be a point of strength for this reading. The relationship between these
three elements is a very important matter for the proper understanding of the Holy Trinity. The
Unity of the God can be felt in the sense when the words of Jesus Christ are spoken (Noble,

6CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW
2013). This suggests that God and Jesus Christ are not the different entities. This is the strength
of the text. The weakness lies in the fact that this reading has not been able to focus on the
embodiments of these elements in the real world. The name of the second reading is Faith
Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology. This text discusses mainly about
the problems of interpreting the God in the modern theological context. The oppressive practices
in the social order have been questioned in a large manner since the traditional theology and
teachings of Church would be highly related with this (Kärkkäinen, 2017). The misery of the
human beings within the constraints of the society and their exploitations have been discussed in
the reading as well. The strength of the book lies in the thorough discussion of the church
teachings and the proper stand of God. However, the weakness is displayed in its relation with
the modern philosophy (Anderson, 2014).
Week 8
The readings that have been assigned for the week are the The Baptism in the Holy Ghost
and Spiritual Gifts. The first reading or The Baptism in the Holy Ghost concerns about the
baptism effect. The Spirit has been one of the most influential beings within the Biblical
interpretations. The context of the sanctification has been the primary reason for the Holy Spirit
to engage in the Baptism. The worship of the God has a close relation with the spiritual
ministries (Anderson, 2014). The baptism can be considered as the most important segment of
the interpretation of the spiritual ministries. There are many discussions about this topic in the
New Testament as well. The epistles of Paul have been the elemental resources of describing this
matter in an entirely new manner (Miller-McLemore, 2012). The baptism of the Holy Spirit has
been considered as one of the most important things for the understanding of this topic. The
strength of the reading lies in the fact that it has put up the proper interpretation of the baptism in

7CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW
the Christianity in the best ways. However, the second reading deals with the spirituality and
growth of the Christianity according to the New Testament. The aspect of Pentecost has been
very closely linked with this matter as well. The believers of Christianity had the powers to do all
the works that were designated to God Himself (Miller-McLemore, 2012). They had possessed
these powers by the will of the God. These various issues of gifts of powers have been discussed
in the churches of Rome, Ephesus and Corinth. The several facts of the gift ministry have been
discussed in this reading including that of the incarnation nature of the gifts. This reading has
presented the views of gift ministry in eccentric ways (Case-Winters, 2016). This is one of the
strengths of the reading. Besides, it has been unable to put up the difference between the thinking
of the believers in the days of Old and New Testament.
Week 9
The first reading in this week is The Holy Spirit and Christian Life. This reading deals
with the holiness of the Christian lives of the believers. The God is Holy and He has spread of
His message of love and peace among His believers as well. Jesus Christ is considered to be the
embodiment of the God. The believers of Christianity are of the opinion that the God had created
all the human beings in the image of Himself only. They believe that the humanity was in the
chains of bondage and God had worked with Jesus Christ collaboratively to free the human
beings of their sins (Case-Winters, 2016). The doctrine or the theory of the Holy Spirit is a very
important one indeed. This is why it is very important to discuss about the importance of Holy
Spirit in Christianity. This has been discussed with much focus in this reading and this is one of
the main strengths. The weakness of this reading is it has not produced the ample justifications
for the factors that have been the primary contributors for the development of theology. The
second reading is The Cost of Discipleship. The author of this reading is Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

8CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW
The main theme that has been outlined in this reading is the Cheap Grace. The meaning of this
topic is to justify the action of the sin without justifying the sinner. This is a system or a principle
(McFarland et al., 2014). The cost of discipleship is considered to be infinite and it could be used
and spent in an infinite way as well. It has been said that the Christians cannot achieve the
renunciation. The Christians should not go against the free grace of the human beings. The
Christians are expected to repent for their deeds and the interpretation of repentance has been
featured very well in this reading. This can be regarded as a strength for the reading. The reading
has only focused on the factors of grace. This is one of the weaknesses for the reading.
Week 10
The first reading of this week is the An Evangelical Position on Ecclesiology and
Mission. The author of this reading is James J. Stamoolis. The word evangelism has a very deep
meaning and the believers of the Christianity are very much aware of the opinion. The purpose
of the Christian missions was to convert the people of other religions into Christianity. The
primary priority of the evangelicalism is to put much stress on the following of the Lord Jesus
Christ in the proper manner (Placher & Nelson, 2017). The Biblical interpretations have been
made in this reading as well. It is the evangelicals who know the real meaning of the various
messages of the Jesus Christ (Frame, 2013). The preparation for the evangelism goes through
several processes. Some of these procedures as discussed in this reading are translation of the
Bible, education, ministries of mercy, charity work, providing medical facilities and others. The
strength of the reading lies in the fact that it has presented the issues of evangelism in a proper
way, understandable by the believers of Christianity (Placher & Nelson, 2017). However, its
weakness is it has not produced the proper ways of reaching Jesus through the worship. The
second reading is the The Essence of the Church. This reading has been written by Craig Van

9CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW
Gelder. This reading has foucused on the several things opined by the experts of theology and
the missionaries. The various issues related to the nature of the church have been discussed here.
It has been believed that the Jesus Christ had made big contributions in making the Spirits
prepare the churches (McIntosh, 2017). The redemptive reign has been put into the discussion as
highlighted by Jesus Christ in the earlier sections. This reading is very strong in portraying the
redemptive reign of the God. However, it has not been able to showcase the utility of this by the
God. This is a weakness for the reading.
Week 11
The name of the first reading in this week is Sexism and Demonic in Church Life and
Mission. The author of this reading is Shane Clifton. This reading has discussed about the
movement of the Pentecostalism (Frame, 2013). The Pentecostal praxis has gained a huge
relevance in this scenario since the main contributors to this movement were the women. The
gender role has played a huge place in the display of the Pentecostal movement in large ways.
The Charismatic Spirituality has also been a huge important thing in this scenario as well
(McIntosh, 2017). The main theme of this movement was to appoint the women in the leadership
position of the churches as the pastors. This is why the Pentecostal Congregations began to grow
within the regimes of Australia in large ways. The strength of this paper is in its display of the
growth of the Pentecostal movement in the best ways possible. Its weakness lies in the fact that it
has not displayed the gender equality facts within the constraints of the society. The second
reading is the The Cultural Context of the Ephesians 5:18-6:9. Gordon D. Fee is the author of
this reading. The link between the Christian household and the process of worship has been
linked in this regarding as per the epistles of Paul. The conversations that take place within the
household are generally inspired by that of the Spirit of God. This is why the Spirit of God is so

10CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW
necessarily important in this matter as well. The various assumptions in the cultural constraints
and the Greco-Roman world has been discussed in this reading properly as well. The strength of
the reading is in its strong display of the linking between the worship and the household.
However, the reading has not been able to show the interpretations from the Bible in the proper
ways.

11CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW
References and Bibliography
Anderson, A. H. (2013). An introduction to Pentecostalism: global charismatic Christianity.
Cambridge University Press.
Anderson, J. A. (2014). Renewing Christian theology: Systematics for a global Christianity.
Baylor University Press.
Bertocci, P. A. (2013). The person God is. Routledge.
Brodd, J., Little, L., Nystrom, B. P., Platzner, R., Shek, R. H. C., & Stiles, E. E.
(2013). Invitation to world religions. New York: Oxford University Press.
Edwards, J. (2018). The Great Christian Doctrine of Original Sin Defended. Charles River
Editors via PublishDrive.
Emery, G. (2012). The Trinity: an introduction to Catholic doctrine on the Triune God. The
Catholic University of America Press.
Frame, J. M. (2013). Systematic theology: An introduction to Christian belief. Phillipsburg, NJ:
P&R Publishing.
Inge, J. (2017). A Christian theology of place. Routledge.
Johnson, P. (2012). history of Christianity. Simon and Schuster.
Kärkkäinen, V. M. (2017). Trinity and Religious Pluralism: The Doctrine of the Trinity in
Christian Theology of Religions. Routledge.
Lynch, J. (2014). The medieval church: a brief history. Routledge.

12CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW
McFarland, I. A., Fergusson, D., Kilby, K., & Torrance, I. R. (Eds.). (2014). The Cambridge
dictionary of Christian theology. Cambridge University Press.
McGrath, A. E. (2016). Christian theology: An introduction. John Wiley & Sons.
McGrath, A. E. (2016). The Christian theology reader. John Wiley & Sons.
McIntosh, M. A. (2017). Divine teaching: an introduction to Christian theology. John Wiley &
Sons.
Migliore, D. L. (2014). Faith seeking understanding: An introduction to Christian theology.
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
Noble, T. A. (2013). Holy Trinity: Holy people: the theology of Christian perfecting. Wipf and
Stock Publishers.
Placher, W. C., & Nelson, D. R. (2013). A History of Christian Theology: An Introduction.
Westminster John Knox Press.
Placher, W. C., & Nelson, D. R. (2017). Readings in the History of Christian Theology, Volume
2, Revised Edition: From the Reformation to the Present. Westminster John Knox Press.
Taylor, J. V. (2015). The go-between God: the Holy Spirit and the Christian mission. Wipf and
Stock Publishers.
Toews, J. (2013). The story of original sin. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Wright, N. T. (2014). What Saint Paul Really Said: Was Paul of Tarsus the Real Founder of
Christianity?. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.

13CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW