Rethinking Worldview

Rethinking Worldview in Breakpoint's Centurion Program

This month, students in the Centurion Program, a study program of Chuck Colson's Breakpoint ministry, are reading Rethinking Worldview as part of their first quarter curriculum, which focuses on worldview awareness. If you're not familiar with the program, here's a brief overview of the process:

Each year we select 100 Christians—from hundreds of applications—and train them through an intense combination of rigorous reading assignments, teleconferences, three weekend residences, worldview devotionals, weekly newsletters, monthly meetings with accountability and prayer partners, and a thriving online forum that supports a free-flowing exchange of ideas and experiences.

If accepted into the program, you will sharpen your biblical knowledge, your critical thinking skills, and your communication skills so that you can engage and educate others articulately, knowledgeably, and appealingly. And you will begin to form a strategy to teach others to do the same.

Needless to say, it's an honor to have Rethinking Worldview included in the curriculum. For more information on the program, follow the link. Materials are also available so you can study along with the Centurions.

DiscerningReader.com: "A truly literary author who writes sophisticated non-fiction..."

Mark Tubbs at DiscerningReader.com has posted an extraordinarily positive review of Rethinking Worldview, as well as an interview he conducted with me after reading the book. It's hard not to blush in response to such lavish praise: "...my only complaint about this book and this author is that there’s only one of each." I'm especially pleased with his assessment of the way I've handled Scripture in the book, since it was very deliberate:

Rethinking Worldview definitely isn’t short on doctrine, but it’s not the hit-you-over-the-head kind. Bertrand freely admits where his theological and intellectual allegiances lie – be warned, he’s not afraid of labels. But there’s never an inkling of superiority in the text, which is as it should be, since Bertrand is trying to usher the reader towards a humbler, holistic – and dare I say, humane – approach to worldview. His nudging is always in concert with, and never opposed to, the fundamental doctrines of the faith. The biblical passages he brings to bear on his insights (or more accurately, the biblical passages that have informed his insights) never pop up extraneously; rather, they are seamlessly woven into the text and appear only in appropriate and helpful places. Bertrand never shoehorns a biblical reference into the text for the sake of having a biblical reference.

The interview is well worth reading, too. Mark probes into my take on "mystery," explores the importance of reading, and makes me defend my view that creative contribution should be the culmination of good worldview thinking. If you've read Rethinking Worldview, the review and interview should stimulate your thinking -- and if you haven't, then perhaps they'll inspire you to pick up a copy.

My Mars Hill Audio Journal Interview

Yesterday afternoon, I did an interview with Ken Myers for the Mars Hill Audio Journal, in which we discussed the state of today's worldview discourse, the nature and future of reading, and much more. I'm not sure which edition of the Journal the interview will appear in, but when it's out I'll post an update. As a long time Mars Hill subscriber, it was a thrilling experience -- like listening to the Journal and being able to talk back to it. Ken is a superb conversationalist, too. Even though you know he's the smart one, he somehow manages to make you feel you're holding your own!

By the way, if you're not already a Mars Hill subscriber, I urge you to sign up. The third post I ever made to my main blog, www.jmarkbertrand.com, back in March of 2003, was about two must-have subscriptions -- the Mars Hill Audio Journal and Books & Culture (which Mike Duran just wrote about). At the time, David Naugle had just been interviewed in Volume 60 about his excellent book Worldview: History of a Concept. Since Dr. Naugle was gracious enough to endorse my book, Rethinking Worldview, my sense of having come full circle is pretty strong.