Why You Think the Way You Do

  Why You Think the Way You Do, Good Worldview Intro

TammyA of Oregon, 4/10/2010

This book was recommended to me through Chuck Colson's Worldview newsletter, and is a good addition to the home worldview library...with a few caveats given below.

Glen Sunshine's "Why You Think the Way You Do" is a good beginning introduction to worldview concepts written in an engaging style, but should not be a student's endpoint of worldview study.

It should be especially good for the student ready for the mature concepts of worldview discussion but not familiar with the terminology of the study of philosophy (all those -isms and big words).

I would not recommend it for the young reader, due to the mature concepts and often subject matter, and I would not recommend it for self-guided reading for the average teen student. This book should be guided by a parent with a student who is ready to begin study of the nuances of worldview.

"Why You Think" offers a comprehensive overview of the major worldviews throuh a chronological approach, which helps the reader see how worldviews have morphed and changed society in key periods, and how Christianity played a role in that development. It also discusses how Christianity has been influenced by secular thought...although several comments did not distinguish between big C Christianity (Spirit Inspired, God Breathed) and little c chrisitanity (religious social doctrine of the church)...which could be disturbing to some readers.

Further in Sunshine's work, I presume because of his attempt to achieve a purely academic neutral voice, and to draw the reader along in the narrative to a final summation, the reader has to wait until almost the end for Sunshine's strong Christian conclusions, which allows some ambiguity and even potentially confusing statements within the early part of the book. While Christianity is promoted in a positive light, it is offered as an option for the student to chew upon in numerous sections until that end summation.

"Why You Think" also strays from the standard Protestant viewpoint of Reformation history. While it is good that the Reformation is not painted in an overly sunny light (which some works do), Sunshine's conclusions gloss over major distinctions and principles of the Reformation movement. Much of his work was based upon Rodney Stark's, which sought to de-emphasize the Protestant contribution and re-emphasize the Catholic influence upon Christian worldview. The result is a somewhat broad ecuminical approach....good for the gain it gave to the just achievements of Catholic Medieval thought, however unfortunately at the loss to the richness of the Protestant Reformation and the fuller differences between it and the Italian Renaissance.

I would recommend follow up reading with Francis Schaeffer's "How Should We Then Live?" Schaeffer's work also takes the reader along a chronological trail through history as the major worldviews developed. But while perhaps less approachable in overall ease of reading as Sunshine's work is, "How Should We Then Live" provides a much deeper spiritual analysis throughout and would provide a richer understanding of the major worldviews throughout history.