Interview: David Naugle on Worldview

I’ve engaged in periodic conversation with David Naugle, Distinguished University Professor, chair and professor of philosophy at Dallas Baptist University, for quite some time. Why? To wrestle with “the heart” and the history of worldview, not only only in an “academic” sense, but also in the life and ministry to which I have been called as a part of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. As you may remember  Mike Hickerson  interviewed  David on Reordered Love, Reordered Lives: Learning the Deep Meaning of Happiness  (William B. Eerdmans, 2008) at the 2010  CCO Jubilee Conference. Before digging into Worldview: The History of a Concept  (William B. Eerdmans, 2002)  a little more on David . . .

He is married to Deemie Naugle, the Associate provost at Dallas Baptist University and has been for many years; they have one daughter, Courtney who is working in West Dallas at a non-profit organization. He has two earned doctorates, one in theology and the other in philosophy and literature. He has written four books and three screenplays. He attends the Village Church in Dallas.

Alright, now let’s turn to the interview, with me taking fully responsibility for the related pictures and links 🙂

Tom: David, As I mentioned to you in a previous conversation,  Building a Christian Worldview  —  co-edited by two professors from campus  [W. Andrew Hoffecker and Gary Scott Smith] — framed part of the core curriculum while I was a student at  Grove City College. In addition, serving  InterVarsity Christian Fellowship  has provided  the opportunity to get to know James W. Sire  in a number of capacities [Sire was formerly a senior editor at InterVarsity Press. In addition, he is the  author of  a number of books including The Universe Next Door:  A Basic Worldview Catalog  and the recently released  Echoes of a voice: We are not alone]. So when  William B. Eerdmans published  Worldview: The History of a Concept  (2002), I couldn’t wait to “mine its treasures”. Since  Worldview: The History of a Concept  continues to provide a valuable resource for my labors with the Emerging Scholars Network, I thought our members would benefit from learning more about it  from the source 🙂 To begin our brief exchange, What is the story behind the publication of  Worldview: The History of a Concept  and why you have taken so much interest in the topic as a philosophy professor at Dallas Baptist University?

David:  Tom, I read a book called  Stained Glass: Worldviews and Social Science  and this book had a paper (it was a collection of papers presented at a conference) by Albert M. Wolters on the Relationship of Worldview and Philosophy. Wolters had one page on the history of worldview theory in his paper in which he said he had done some research in a 20 page unpublished paper on the history of worldview. I thought that would be an interesting topic to explore and I asked Dr. Wolters for a copy of that paper and he sent it to me. I wrote a 600 page doctoral dissertation on the history of the concept of worldview for a Ph.D. program at the University of Texas at Arlington. It was accepted, won dissertation of the year award at the University, and became the basis for  Worldview: the History of a Concept  (William B. Eerdmans, 2002). I am happy to say this book won  Christianity Today‘s book of the year award in 2003 among 29 entries in the theology and ethics category. I hope it makes a solid contribution on such an important topic!

Tom: Wow! How exciting to learn more about the background of, the research behind, and the recognition of the Worldview: the History of a Concept. By-the-way, I too have appreciated the work of Albert M. Wolters, in particular incorporating elements of  Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview  (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; 2 edition, 2005) into my labors with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. With regard to Worldview: the History of a Concept, please give us a peek into

• how you settled on the material to be addressed in this publication
• its organization/format
• how you anticipated the material to be used by individuals for personal study, campus ministers, professors, Christian colleges, local congregations, etc.
• some of the response you have found to the publication, in particular who you think has benefited the most.

David:  Organizationally, I dealt FIRST with Christian thinkers and the rationale was that since so much had been made of the worldview concept in the main branches of Christianity, especially protestant evangelicalism, a study of the history of the concept seemed in order.  I chose major thinkers from Immanuel Kant to the present (I. Kant coined the term – “worldview” or in German  Weltanschauung).  This history had been done in German, but not in English. So I addressed philosophy in the 19th and 20th centuries, and then the use of the concept in several major disciplines like the natural and social sciences. I then reflected on the biblical meaning of worldview, associating it with the human heart in both the Old Testament (Leb  and  Lebab) and the New Testament (kardia), then its philosophic power as a semiotic system of narrative signs that govern knowledge, epistemology and hermeneutics. I concluded the volume with some thoughts about the strengths and weaknesses of using worldview in the protestant evangelical church, and saw it as something that opened up the narrative of Scripture and led to the transformation of students. Tom, I didn’t make a biblical worldview into an object of apologetic defense, but rather Biblical and Christian sanctification; my hope has been that the book will be especially useful for Christian teachers, professors and students. And they have probably benefited the most from it. For personal study, I have recommended chapters one, two, nine and eleven.

Tom: David, Getting back to the big picture, what three or four points do you desire every reader to take away from  Worldview? What points do consider particularly important for those considering next steps in higher ed? Any particular “characters” or “perspectives” Emerging Scholars should be sure to read up on and be prepared to interact with?

David:  Here are  the most important points in the book:

1. Protestant evangelicals have been the most industrious in using the worldview concept.
2. Worldview has an extensive and distinguished  historical pedigree!
3. Soren Kierkegaard says commonality in a worldview is necessary for friendship.
4. The primitive worldview as espoused by Robert Redfield in Anthropology has more in common with biblical faith than other alternatives.
5. There are strengths and weaknesses associated with the use of the worldview concept in the protestant evangelical church
6. Worldview has considerable sanctifying power in  showing the big picture of the biblical faith to students and others.

For those considering steps in higher ed, be familiar with the larger biblical story via worldview in God, creation, fall and the two stages of redemption. Characters to know about regarding worldview would be the little known thinker Wilhelm Dilthey, and the contributions of Michael Polanyi and Thomas Kuhn in the natural sciences (philosophy of). And keep an eye on worldview thinking by  Nancy Pearcey and the Colson Center for Christian Worldview (and many, many others).

Tom: To wrap up David, please share with Emerging Scholars an encouragement regarding the value of their role in the Kingdom God and next steps in being “little Christs” not only on campus but as they graduate and steward the gifts/training they have been given. Any particular resources to commend to  Emerging Scholars as they take next steps in growing more and more into the image of Christ Jesus?

David:  It’s just great to be a college professor! You get to teach, write, travel and work with young people; what could be better? And to top it all off, you are on the cutting edge of the forward progress of the kingdom of God (Be careful though, if you are on the cutting edge you will  bleed if you are a little Christ – the big One did!). I’d read up on C.S. Lewis via his own writings and the plentiful  writings about him (like Alister McGrath’s recent biography) and ESN is a great ministry to become familiar with various resources. There is a  “worldview” segment of contemporary Christianity that is very much worth tapping into!

Tom:  David, Thank-you for once again sharing your time, gifts, and insights with us! May God  continue to bless your labors on behalf of the Kingdom of God—in particular your expanding work in the arts. I look forward to pulling together the material from our conversation regarding Philosophy: A Student’s Guide  (Crossway, 2012) and posting it next week.  To God be the glory!

Note to those who are members of and/or follow the Emerging Scholars Network:

• If you have not already done such, I encourage you to set aside a few minutes not only to read Mike’s earlier  interview  on  Reordered Love, Reordered Lives: Learning the Deep Meaning of Happiness  (William B. Eerdmans, 2008), but also my follow-up interview on Philosophy: A Student’s Guide  (Crossway, 2012).
• In developing your summer reading list, be sure to draw perspective shaping material found in resources mentioned in this post,  Hot off the Press: Campus Resources from IVP ’13, and ESN Blog Book Reviews. Note:
  • All Eerdmans books qualify for the  20% ESN Member Discount.
  • All IVP books qualify for the 30% ESN Member Discount.
  • Pray for insight regarding how to further develop ESN’s partnership with IVP. Note: This afternoon I will have conversation with Deborah Gonzalez,  our IVP Representative.  I cannot wait for the opportunity to connect with Deborah regarding next steps. Our conversation will include not only recommendations of what to highlight in our 2014-2015 Campus Resource List, but also how members of ESN can most benefit from the resources offered by IVP.
    • Update (5/19): Deborah and I had a great conversation!  The 2014-2015 Campus Resource List is in motion. It will be ready for the fall and additional ideas are starting to take form. Stay tuned 🙂
  • If you (and possibly a summer reading group of which you are a member) desire to write a book review and/or conduct an author interview, then please be in touch with me to explore this idea/opportunity further 🙂

To God be the glory!

Update: 5/15/2014, 12:27 pm. Update: 5/19/2014, 10:09 am