Many may ask:
“If we are going to study about a Biblical worldview shouldn’t we start with God?”
“Why do we wait to tour 4 to study about God?”
“If theology is so important, why was this not the first tour?”
Dr. Del Tackett gives us his response to the question:
Why Not Start With God?
I have been asked this question a number of times. We attempted to answer it in the DVD, but it was way too brief, and it demands a more detailed response.
We actually began with God in Tour 1. If you recall, we were dealing with the critical importance of truth, examining the very clear declaration by Jesus that the reason He was born was to testify to the truth. We established the reality that the primary battle that rages around us and within us is the battle between truth and lie. We then made the point that the ultimate source of truth is the very character, nature and being of God, and that the forces of evil, in reality, are ultimately arrayed against who He is. It was in this context that we pointed out that all of our tours were going to follow one central theme: “gazing upon His face”.
In Tour 2, we took note of the two presuppositions of our worldview: 1) that God exists and 2) that He has revealed Himself to us. That revelation, through His creation and through His Word, provided for us the fundamental answers to all of the critical philosophical questions of life. We examined, in contrast, the wandering futility of those who attempt to answer those questions without Him and the deep ethical consequences of that position. We paused briefly to look at the nature of God to discover that His laws are not capricious, but an expression of His character.
In Tour 3, we spent most of our time dealing with man, who he really is, the state that he is in, and the true solution to His problem. We began with God’s creation of man, the separation that occurred between God and man at the Fall, the glorious work that Christ under took to redeem us from the curse of death, and the promised glory that awaits those who are His. We ended by noting the inability for those who deny God to have any basis for ethical notions or even ethical language. The problem of evil is a greater problem for those who stand opposed to the reality of God than for us.
In fact, every tour will focus upon God. In Tour 5, we will deal with Science. But we will begin with the reality that the heavens declare His glory and that all of science is meaningless without the beginning notion that we live in a rational, ordered universe rather than a random, purposeless one. In Tour 6, History, we will gaze upon the Sovereignty of God to comprehend that we are part of His larger story and not just one of a billion other pitiful creatures fighting to make our own little script successful. Tour 7 through 12 will take us on a fascinating tour that will examine one jewel after another, each pointing to some aspect of God’s nature.
So, we did begin with God and we will end with God. And we will look upon Him everywhere in between. But, to be honest, Tour 4 comes after one, two, and three, primarily because we live in a culture that has so bought the lies of the world, that we are not able to deal directly with the question “who is God” without some preparation. As the Old Testament priests underwent a lengthy ritual before they entered the Holy of Holies, so too, we must often prepare our hearts and minds before we engage this awesome question.
In the end, my prayer is that we will daily ask this question and daily seek its answer: “Who are you, O Lord?”
© 2006 Focus on the Family
Palmetto Smoke BBQ Team 
My question would be – who is the intended audience of the Truth Project? If it is truly all people, then a valid way to start the program is with very little assumption about the mind-state of the viewer/reader/listener. Let’s face it, an alarming number of Americans have a faith of convenience and consider themselves “good” with very little daily walk with God. C.S. Lewis states in his classic book, “Mere Christianity”, that even Christians need reminders about why we believe. I consider the Truth Project to be that for me, a reminder of what I believe and why I believe it. All Christians run the risk of forgetting their faith in day to day living and falling into the simplistic and easy path of the modern day American atheist with scientific evolution and moral relativism with a side of secular humanism. What do we call this faithlessness? How do we label this? Certainly the forces of atheism have their names for us. I think it’s time to start calling a spade a spade.
Universities have been said to ‘liberate’ their students of ties to their religious roots. People in workplaces and schools are told to keep their religions to themselves. Is it any wonder they have convinced some to just walk away from the entire practice of worshiping, praying, and serving a holy God? This is war and I hope the Truth Project will not only reach some of those who are straying from the path of righteousness, but give those of us who still attempt to walk it more steadiness and strength for the trip ahead.
Chris,
Thanks for the comments.
The intended audience of the Truth Project is believers. It is a worldview study. It is not an apologetic or evangelist study. It is by believers for believers. It is discipleship and edification that guides or leads to sanctification.
In tour 2 – Philosophy and Ethics – we looked at a Barna study which said that only 4% of Americans have a functioning Biblical worldview. Worse that that only 9% of born-again believers have a functioning worldview.
My hope for the Truth Project is that we, believers, start viewing all aspects of our lives from God’s perspective. We start viewing things the way God views them. But even more, my prayer is that we start ACTING that out our daily lives this way. I want the world to clearly know that I am a believer not because I say I am but because I live it out.
If we truly believed then we would be different. They things we buy, read, listen to, watch, our business dealing, the way we vote, and how we raise our children and lead our families would be dramaticly different from the world’s norm.
Thanks again for sharing.
Glenn , I was glad to get to this class. I have been applying the class to my daily
life. The condition of the United States in the political field has really gotten
my attention. I know that Christ is our only hope.
The TV stations and the newspapers are not telling us the truth. I think this
lesson is the top thing to help in our situation. It makes our mind THINK. A lot
of people in the church besides the group need to take this course. I think
some christians just sit and listen , get up and go home. The don’t seem to be
concerned about what is going on and don/t accept their responsibility that God
has given us. It is not about us, it is about him and how we can serve him.
I don’t understand this . I have said to my Sunday School Class that they need to
take some of these classes so they can grow in God. They never come to any
of the classes.
This class is loads of help for me and I am so glad that you are doing this. You
do a tremendous job.