James W. Sire has been a college professor of English literature, philosophy and theology, the chief editor of InterVarsity Press, a lecturer at over two hundred universities in the U.S., Canada, Eastern and Western Europe and Asia, and is the author of books such as Scripture Twisting: 20 Ways the Cults Misread the Bible,Naming the Elephant: Worldview as a Concept,Habits of the Mind: Intellectual Life as a Christian Calling, etc. [NOTE: This is a review the original 1976 239-page IVP edition.]

He wrote in the Introduction, "The struggle to discover our own faith, our own world view, our beliefs about reality is what this book is all about. Formally stated, the purposes of this book are (1) to outline the basic world views that underlie the way we in the Western world think about ourselves, other people, the natural world and God or ultimate reality, (2) to trace historically how these world views have developed from a breakdown in the theistic world view, moving in turn into deism, naturalism, nihilism, existentialism, Eastern mysticism and the new consciousness and (3) to encougage us all to think in terms of world views, that is, with a consciousness of not only our own way of thought but also that of other people, so that we can first understand and then genuinely communicate with others in our pluralistic society." (Pg. 15)

He says, "Deism did not prove to be a very stable world view... Preceded by theism, it was followed by naturalism. What made deism so emphemeral?... the inconsistencies within world view itself and the impracticability of some of its principles... Today, we would find even more aspects of deism to question. Scientists have largely abandoned thinking of the universe as a giant clock. Electrons... do not behave like minute pieces of machinery... Furthermore, the personality of man is a 'fact' of the universe. If God made that, must he not be personal?" (Pg. 56)

He argues against naturalism, "could a being whose origins were so 'iffy' trust his own capacity to know? If his mind is coterminous with his brain, if he is only a thinking machine, how can he trust his thought? If consciousness is an epiphenomenon of matter, perhaps the appearance of human freedom which lays the basis for morality is an epiphenomenon or either chance or inexorable law. Perhaps chance or the nature of things only built into man the 'feeling' that he is free and actually he is not. These and similar questions do not arise from outside the naturalist world view. They are inherent in it." (Pg. 74-75)

He writes, "As I write this, young and old are flocking to various gurus. Bookstores are filled with books pointing East, their spines to the West, of course... So Westerners are still trekking East. And so long as the East holds out promise---promise of peace, of meaning, of significance---people are likely to respond. What will they receive? Not just an Eastern bandaid for a Western scratch for a whole new world view and lifestyle." (Pg. 148)

He asserts, "We are caught in an impasse: The issue is primary; either the self is god and the new consciousness is a readout of the implications of that, or the self is not god and thus is subject to the existence of things other than itself... Most people do not go that route... So we opt for the existence of not only our own self but the selves of others, and thus we require a system that will bring not only unity to our world but knowledge as well. We want to know who and what else inhabits our world. But it we are not the unity-giver (god), who or what is?... We also need a basis for thinking that these needs can be met. Where do we go for that?" (Pg. 202-203)

He concludes, "To accept Christian theism only as an intellectual construct is not to accept it fully. There is a deeply personal dimension involved with grasping and living within this world view, for it involves acknowledging our own individual dependence on God as his creatures, our own individual rebellion against God and our own individual reliance on God for restoration to fellowship with him... To be a Christian theist... leads to an examined life that is well worth living." (Pg. 213-214)

The persistence of this book into a 5th edition is eloquent testimony to its continuing relevance to Christians looking at the world and people around themselves.

Includes bibliographical references and index.