Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Inter-Varsity Press (1988), Edition: 2nd, 256 pages
Description
For more than forty years, The Universe Next Door has set the standard for a clear, readable introduction to worldviews. Using his widely influential model of eight basic worldview questions, James Sire examines prominent worldviews that have shaped the Western world: theism, deism, naturalism, Marxism, nihilism, existentialism, Eastern monism, New Age philosophy, postmodernism, and Islam. Intertwined with this analysis, Sire presents an overview of intellectual history giving insight into the current state of Western thought and culture. Critiquing each worldview within its own frame of reference and in comparison to others, Sire encourages listeners to wrestle with life's biggest questions and examine the core beliefs and commitments on which they are building their lives. The sixth edition, updated by Sire's longtime editor Jim Hoover, features a chapter on challenges to a Christian worldview in the twenty-first century. New discussion questions will help listeners reflect more deeply on the ideas in each chapter. In a world of ever-increasing diversity, The Universe Next Door offers a unique resource for understanding the variety of worldviews that claim the allegiance of mind and heart.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member NielsenGW
James Sire caught me with my proverbial pants down (so to say) with his Universe Next Door. Ostensibly, it goes through the six to ten (depending on how you count and group them) major philosophical schools and examines each one for strengths and flaws. He indeed covers the whole spectrum, from
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theism to nihilism to naturalism to existentialism to postmodernism. And his dutiful explanations of each school are decent; I’ll give him that. But sadly, it’s the last chapter that wallops you on the side of the head. After a competent exploration of the world of philosophy, he dumps all but one into a bucket labelled “Not Worth Your Time.” The conclusion he brings the book to is to that to live a “well-examined” life, one must be a Christian theist. That left a sour taste in my mouth. That is not to say that Christian theism isn’t a worthy worldview for some people. But simply dismissing billions of people as not living a good life is both insulting and deflating. If you must read this one, stop just before the end—trust me, you’ll feel a lot better about it. Show Less
LibraryThing member jengel
Although a Christian publishing, Sire gives balanced views on many worldviews/metanarratives from pantheism/naturalism/existentialism/nihilism/postmoderism (you get the idea). Recommended for college folk.
LibraryThing member jaygheiser
A bit disappointing. He spends a lot of time analyzing these various world views to demonstrate that they are either logically inconsistent or otherwise flawed. I wouldn't want my Christian faith to stand up to an intellectual test like this either. Its all a bit too abstract, and not very
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interesting. Not as useful a book as Scripture Twisting. Show Less
LibraryThing member richardsugg
This is a bit more academic that most books about apologetics. Rather than deal with specific questions, Dr. Sire exampines and evaluates worldviews and their implications.
LibraryThing member Iacobus
I read the first edition of this book as an undergraduate, and it provided a valuable guide to the concept of worldview - that people arrive at different conclusions about the world because they have different basic assumptions. UND is a book about Western world views - you'll need to read
The strength of this book is that it serves as an introduction. Although some complain that it is overly academic, I think that anyone who has studied the sciences or humanities at a tertiary level should be able to pick their way through the worldviews. As an introduction, the book orients the reader to where people might be coming from, and provides the mental tools to be able to begin to identify worldviews and why they are unacceptable from a Christian and from a rational point of view.
I am sure there are shortcomings in Sire's presentation of each of the worldviews. Each of them would need a large book to examine it and its relationship to Christian theism. If the book has any weakness, it is in the way it is used by its readers.
Caveat 1 - each worldview presented has many more nuances than Sire is able to present. To think, for example, that every existentialist is exactly as Sire describes them is simplistic. Sire does no more than provide a framework or a basis from which we can view and learn about those worldviews.
Caveat 2 - Don't think that Christians have nothing to learn from other worldviews, or from their practitioners. For example, many Christians may fail to see the apparent pointlessness of life in many situations (despite Ecclesiates), whereas nihilistic writings may alert us to this viewpoint. Or, again, we may fail to appreciate the interconnectedness of the created order and our fellowship with it. Pantheism can alert is to this without our needing to become pantheists.
Caveat 3 - humility is an antedote to our incredulity as we read about the worldviews of others. Many people think that a Christian worldview is just as incredulous. We should not pit arrogance against arrogance, or triumphalistic certainty against triumphalistic certainty. Christians (of the evangelical kind) have no monopoly on truth - we merely know who is the Truth, and that he has revealed some of it to us. That is no call to discard that revealed truth, but to constantly audit our grasp of that truth. Looking at other perceptions of reality is one tool in that process.
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missiological literature for an examination of Islamic, animist or other world views. Eastern Pantheistic Monism is included by Sire because (presumably) it had a big influence on Western culture during the 1960s and into the New Age movement.The strength of this book is that it serves as an introduction. Although some complain that it is overly academic, I think that anyone who has studied the sciences or humanities at a tertiary level should be able to pick their way through the worldviews. As an introduction, the book orients the reader to where people might be coming from, and provides the mental tools to be able to begin to identify worldviews and why they are unacceptable from a Christian and from a rational point of view.
I am sure there are shortcomings in Sire's presentation of each of the worldviews. Each of them would need a large book to examine it and its relationship to Christian theism. If the book has any weakness, it is in the way it is used by its readers.
Caveat 1 - each worldview presented has many more nuances than Sire is able to present. To think, for example, that every existentialist is exactly as Sire describes them is simplistic. Sire does no more than provide a framework or a basis from which we can view and learn about those worldviews.
Caveat 2 - Don't think that Christians have nothing to learn from other worldviews, or from their practitioners. For example, many Christians may fail to see the apparent pointlessness of life in many situations (despite Ecclesiates), whereas nihilistic writings may alert us to this viewpoint. Or, again, we may fail to appreciate the interconnectedness of the created order and our fellowship with it. Pantheism can alert is to this without our needing to become pantheists.
Caveat 3 - humility is an antedote to our incredulity as we read about the worldviews of others. Many people think that a Christian worldview is just as incredulous. We should not pit arrogance against arrogance, or triumphalistic certainty against triumphalistic certainty. Christians (of the evangelical kind) have no monopoly on truth - we merely know who is the Truth, and that he has revealed some of it to us. That is no call to discard that revealed truth, but to constantly audit our grasp of that truth. Looking at other perceptions of reality is one tool in that process.
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LibraryThing member Adewoye
A clear and readable introduction to the subject of Worldviews. It discusses a number of Worldviews and explains their key features, all from a Theistic (and that's a worldview, too) perspective.
LibraryThing member Keith.Benjamin
While this book was required reading in at least one class, it is a book I didn't mind re-reading. While it's very clear and easy to understand, it does not oversimplify the heavy issues of worldviews. Every Christian ought to not simply read this book, but study it. This needs to go hand in hand
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with the Bible as an introduction to worldviews, and apologetics. Show Less
Subjects
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
Physical description
256 p.; 8.2 inches
ISBN
0851106722 / 9780851106724