11-3-19 Huddle

Zach Below   -   November 1, 2019

 

WEEK 2 RECAP

Welcome to week 3 of One Life’s “Centered Series”. Throughout this series we are exploring what it means to have a Christ-Centered Worldview. Our working definition of a worldview is, “what you believe about the most important and meaningful questions of life.” Last week we looked at the question, “where did it all come from?” Today we will explore the question of humanity asking, “Who are we?”

 

Each week we are using the same grid to filter our discussion.

  1. Claims—What are the claims each worldview makes in answering the question?
  2. Reasons—What are the reasons they make such a claim?
  3. Implications—What are the implications in other areas of life if the claim is true? Think “IF”…, “THEN”
  4. Actions—What actions should it inspire? How should we live in response?

  

Leader Note: For the sake of the flow of the discussion, “reasons” are kind of scattered in among the claims this week. If the “Claims” section is taking too long, consider skipping one of the points (Human Equal Minds). It is worth skipping that to make sure and get to PRACTICES.

One final note on using this guide. As a leader you read what is in italics, and the underlined leader note are just notes, possible answers, etc. for you. Obviously, you do not HAVE to read the italics, they are simply there as a resource for you.

 

ICEBREAKER 

  1. What is your dream vacation?

 

PRACTICE RECAP

We had two options for our Practice over the last week. Option 1 was taking a photo of something that sparks a sense of wonder or awe. Option 2 was asking someone one of the major worldview questions and see how they respond.

Did anyone complete any of the practices? If so, are you willing to share your experience?

 

 

WATCH SHORT FILM

  1. What struck you from the film? Did you find any piece particularly compelling or moving? Did it raise any questions in your mind? Did you find yourself disagreeing with any part of it?

 

 

THE BIG QUESTION…

Today we are exploring the question of humanity…specifically “Who are we?”

 

  1. What do you think are the most common answers to that question in our culture today? How would most people answer that question?

 

 

CLAIMS

HUMANS AS SPECKS

Leader Note: If your group is over 8 people, you could have them break down into two groups to go through this section. Simply have them read the section and answer the questions together as a smaller group. Have them come back together and share their insights before moving on to the “Humans as Highly Evolved Animals” section)

 

In the short film we heard a number of different answers to the question of who are we—Things like we are specks…we are highly evolved animals…we are nothing more than a mind that is a basically a computer…among those was the Christ-centered worldview’s claims as well.

 

Let’s begin exploring these claims by comparing Bill Nye and King David’s answer. They tell two very different stories.

 

One story, Bill Nye’s story, falls in line with the worldview of materialism—which says that all there is in the world is stuff…matter. Things like atoms, chemicals, minerals, etc. but nothing beyond that…no God, no soul, no spirit.

 

Materialism’s answer to “who am I?” would be…nothing more than a combination of stuff. There is nothing spiritual about you…no soul, really not even a “self”…there is no “you.” Just chemicals reacting in your brain.

 

Then, there’s David’s story. In the book of Psalms, King David tells a different narrative of the value of people. Let’s look closer at the stories.

 

BILL NYE QUOTE

“I’m just another speck of sand. And Earth, really, in the cosmic scheme of things, is another speck, and our sun…and unremarkable star, nothing special…another speck. And the galaxy is a speck. I’m a speck on a speck orbiting a speck among other specks amongst still other specks in the middle of specklessness! I am insignificant! I suck!

 

Ok…keep that in mind as we read David’s words in Psalm 8:3-6…this is the VOICE translation.

 

PSALM 8:3-6 

3 When I gaze to the skies and meditate on Your creation—

 

on the moon, stars, and all You have made,

 

4 I can’t help but wonder why You care about mortals—

 

sons and daughters of men—

 

specks of dust floating about the cosmos.

 

5 But You placed the son of man just beneath God

 

and honored him like royalty, crowning him with glory and honor.

 

6 You ordained him to govern the works of Your hands,

 

To nurture the offspring of Your divine imagination;

 

You placed everything on earth beneath his feet:

 

  1. What do you notice about the similarities and differences in how these two men view themselves/people?

 

It is almost like Bill Nye and King David are saying the same thing, “we are specks.” However, they seem to mean two completely different things by it when it comes to the value of people.

 

  1. What is the difference between what Bill Nye and King David see as THE IMPLICATIONS of living in a giant universe?

 

They may have answered this is the last question, but Bill Nye sees the implications of a giant universe as implying that humans as insignificant specks. He might argue IF the universe is giant, THEN we must be insignificant specks.

 

 King David sees it completely different. The size and grandeur of the universe causes David to worship because he is blown away by the fact that the God that created all of that…loves and relates to people. He sees us as infinitely valuable. He might argue IF our creator has the power to create all of this and cares about us at the same time, THENwe must hold infinite value.

 

 

Humans as Highly Evolved Animals

  1. If you could be any animal for a day, what would you be? Why?

 

While it might be cool to be able to fly, or see in the dark for a day, the Christ-Centered Worldview denies the claim that humans are simply highly evolved animals.

 

GROUP ACTIVITY—How Are We Different

Break down into smaller groups. Give each group 60 seconds (or maybe 2 minutes) to come up with a list of ways that humans are unique from animals. Come back as a large group and see which group has the highest number of unique reasons why people are different than animals. (Unique, meaning answers that other groups did not have)

 

Leader Note: Some possible answers are use complex tools, control fire, invent better transportation methods, mass produce food and medicine, etc. etc.

 

HUMANS = MINDS

Another claim that materialists and naturalists make is that we are nothing more than minds…the mind is really “the stuff” we are. Many argue that there is no difference between mind and action, mind and self, mind and thought. We are essentially computers, programmed with no free-will.

 

  1. To consider how much you might align or disagree with this position, answer the following question…If some brilliant scientist created a procedure that could upload your entire mind into a robot that looked and sounded exactly like you…would it be you? Why or why not?

 

This question helps us think through the question of soul. If you would argue that the robot IS you, then you may be viewing people from the worldview of materialism…that all we are is mind and matter. However, if you would argue that the robot IS NOT you, it is likely because you believe (even if you don’t realize it) in some kind of concept of soul or some spiritual self, outside of our mind/brain.

 

 

REASONS-THE CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW

The Christ-Centered Worldview denies that we are insignificant specks, merely highly evolved animals, and that we nothing more than our minds. Instead, the Christ-Centered Worldview claims that every human has inherent worth and value because they are created in the image of God.

 

But…why would Christians claim humans are made in the “Image of God?”

 

Read Genesis 1:26-27

“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.”

 

  1. What do you think it means that we are made in God’s image?

 

Dr. Walton, Professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College gives us one way (among many) to put language around what it means to be made in the image of God.

 

He says, “In the ancient near east world (time/place when Genesis was written) an “image” was believed to carry the essence of that which it represented. An idol image of deity…would be used in the worship of that deity because it contained the deity’s essence. This would not suggest that the image could do what the deity could do, nor that it looked the same as the deity. Rather, the deity’s work was thought to be accomplished through the idol.”

 

  1. If Dr. Walton is correct, what does it mean that humans are made in the image of God?

 

Another interesting thing we see in Genesis is in verse 29. God says to his image (to us)… “I give you.” This phrase is used with nothing else in all of Creation. The fact that we exist as beings that can be addressed as “you”, and not impersonally as “it” or “them”, indicated our standing as people in relationship with God.

 

BUT MAYBE YOU’RE THINKING that the sole fact that the Bible says we are made in the image of God doesn’t seem like a strong enough reason to claim that people have inherent worth and value. If that is the case, then maybe the question of Jesus will help.

 

  1. If it is true that Jesus is God in flesh…how does the fact that God—became one of us, gave us an example of what it means to be our truest selves as human beings, and then sacrificed himself for our sake—speak to the value and worth of humans? Stated another way…if true, what does the very fact of Jesus’s existence imply about people?

 

 

IMPLICATIONS

As we have tried to point out each week, worldview claims do not exist in a vacuum. Each claim has implications that spread like a virus through all areas of our lives. Said another way…beliefs have consequences. Let’s consider the implications…

 

  1. What is the implication of human worth IF…
  • We believe humans are just highly-evolved animal?
  • We believe humans are nothing more than matter…natural stuff like atoms, molecules, minerals, etc. etc.?
  • We believe that we are made in the image of a creator God who cared enough about us to enter humanity, sacrifice himself, and restore the relationship?

 

  1. Similarly, where would a person find their value/purpose/meaning IF…
  • We believe humans are just highly-evolved animal?
  • We believe humans are nothing more than matter…natural stuff like atoms, molecules, minerals, etc. etc.?
  • We believe that we are made in the image of a creator God who cared enough about us to enter humanity, sacrifice himself, and restore the relationship?

 

 

ACTION

  1. Which worldview lines up more honestly and consistently with treating people with love, equality, and grace? Why?

 

  1. The Humanist Manifesto says, “Humans are an integral part of nature, the result of unguided evolutionary change.” If that is true, and we are nothing more than just highly-evolved animals, what action does it inspire…with regard to social justice and how we treat people?

 

  1. If we were able to live consistently and fully in response to the Christ-Centered Worldview’s view of people…what actions might it inspire?

 

PRACTICE

  • One night this week, either by yourself or with your family/friends, go outside and sit or stand under the stars. Read Psalm 8 out loud taking in the vastness of space. (If family/friends are with you, take turns reciting it one by one). Imagine all the nights King David, as a young shepherd, stood under the stars looking up at the grandeur of God. Spend a few moments looking up, reflecting on the dual fact that we are tiny yet hold infinite worth.