Creation Regained: Biblical Basics for a Reformational Worldview

Wolters argues that a distinctly Christian and Reformed approach to discerning God's purpose for humans and creation can be found by using a creation - fall - re-creation framework. Within this framework we find two realities of creation: structural and directional.Structural realities are those that are ontologically part of the created order and include categories or realms of existence within that order. So, everything, including politics, culture, athletics, art, academics, work, play, sexuality, etc. all find their place in God's good creation. Further, Jesus is Lord over all aspects of his creation and works to sustain it.Within the outworking of created reality comes the "directional" reality. Creation is good, yet humans have fallen; the structural elements of creation are subject to distortion. So, now in every aspect of creation there is need to discern what is aligned with God's good intention and what opposes it, and how to redeem, as much as is possible, whatever is misaligned. This is part of the Christian mission of witness.Wolters provides a compelling portrayal of the Christian calling and need to view life purpose from a Christian worldview lens. What he argues is uniquely Reformed about this approach is the expansion of the scope of Christ's lordship to the entirety of the created realm, as opposed to particular regions (e.g., church, personal piety, otherworldly hopes, etc.). Put another way, he believes the Reformed approach provides a robust response to dualistic (gnostic) religious and philosophical tendencies within human life and even within Christianity.I found especially helpful Wolters' placing of moral and ethical questions into the structural and directional framework. We should not ask, he says, whether XYZ is "good" or "bad," but what elements of it are structural and what is directional? Once the directional elements are determined, then we can ask how these can best be brought into alignment with the structural (i.e., God's creational intent). He admits that discerning answers will not always be straight forward; and I can anticipate biblical hermeneutical questions being raised concerning the identification of some creation elements as structural or directional. But overall, I find that Wolters' approach of making sure we are asking biblical questions to be more theologically and ethically satisfying than overly simplistic approaches to discerning good or bad, which often simply assume non-biblical frameworks as criteria.

Albert Wolters, a Dutch Professor of Religion, Theology, and Classical languages, sought to briefly explain the Christian worldview from a reformed (so-called ‘neo-Calvinistic’) perspective by utilizing the classical motif of creation, fall, and redemption.And he succeeds beautifully.In Creation Regained, he defines ‘worldview’ (aka ‘life perspective’, ‘confessional vision’) as:“The comprehensive framework of one’s basic (committed) beliefs about things”He explains how they characteristically display a tendency toward pattern and coherence and function as a guide to life, analogous to a compass or road map. Therein lies the importance of understanding the concept. “Nothing is ‘neutral’ in the sense that sin fails to affect it or that redemption fails to hold out the promise of deliverance.” Professor Wolters understands that a truly Christian worldview must be informed by Christian scriptures (ie. the Bible) and the application of the same has innumerable personal and sociocultural implications. He offers useful insights for Christian worldview formation by integrating worldview thinking, theology, and philosophy. One of the most memorable takeaways is the author’s use of the terms ‘structure’ and direction’ when distinguishing between good and evil which has pedagogical and practical utility. The book is theoretical in nature and won’t satisfy the needs of those looking for an immediately applicable text. However, for those looking to begin or supplement their journey toward Christian worldview thinking, this is a great place to start.

Synopsis:This book is entirely about a biblical worldview and outlook on the world. It follows the structure of Creation, Fall and Redemption to tell construct a biblical understanding of the world as we find it. This book majors on all of creation being God's kingdom, not just church stuff. It does a wonderful job of cutting down the sacred/secular divide and instead insists again and again that everything is sacred for it is all under God. Selling cars is as holy as being a pastor. It's super helpful.Why I Read It:I read this book because my friend Luke mentioned it to me a couple months ago. The context was we were talking about all of life being under God's rule and regien and how work was holy and he said this book talked a lot about that. I wanted to know more so I read this book. It was a good recommendationWhy You Should Read It:This book is slightly academic, it was originally written as an intro to a philosophy course. As a philosophy major myself I still had to slow down a little bit to read through it carefully. At just over a hundred pages this book isn't long, but like I said it takes a bit more time to sift through than your average book. That said, you don't have be a PhD to read it. I would recommend this book if you want to know more about how the Kingdom of God rules over all Creation. I would also recommend this book if you have questions about how we should engage culture. Honestly if I had my way I'd probably make this required reading for every Christian in America......but let's be honest I would probably say that about most books I read. The problem is you people, you guys just need to read more.Final Word:Mr. Wolters handles all issues with grace and candor. If you are a teacher of the Bible I would say you should read this book to be sure help give your flock a better understanding of how to engage culture and how to treat their day jobs as service to Yaweh.

That this culture needs reformation rather than revolution is so applicable to our world today. Having a Biblical worldview is crucial to seeing things as they truly are and how they need to be. This book is full of insight concerning this theme.