Tuesday, December 25, 2007

"Revolutions in Worldview"

Andrew Hoffecker's edited collection of new essays surveying Wester thought, entitled Revolutions in Worldview: Understanding the Flow of Western Thought, looks quite good. Below are some of the endorsements, as well as the table of contents and contributors.

Learned and lucid, this multiauthor survey of Western thought about God and the world from the Greeks and Hebrews to the exotically furnished vagaries of our own time will be a boon to serious students. It is a major achievement.
—J. I. Packer, professor of theology, Regent College

Having taught history of philosophy and Christian thought at the graduate level for many years, I am delighted to welcome Revolutions in Worldview. Andy Hoffecker, who has long been a recognized leader and expert in this field, has brought together an impressive faculty to present a worldviewish survey of the history of Western thought—a kind of contemporary course in moral philosophy for the undergraduate, or an introduction to this important material for the graduate student who escaped college or university without adequate exposure to this vital subject matter. Thiis volume joins Colin Brown and Jacques Barzun in providing the student a window into how outlook has informed life in key stages of the development of the Western mind. Written from a standpoint that emphasizes the majesty and lordship of God, and his sovereignty in his redemptive purposes, these chapters provide us with knowledge and perspective crucial for an integrated understanding of history and philosophy, and for current cultural analysis and engagement.
—Ligon Duncan, senior minister, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, MS

Revolutions in Worldview is about ten major worldview revolutions, and several sub-revolutions, in Western culture and civilization. Like its predecessor, Building a Christian World View, the authors of this well-written volume recognize the immense intellectual and practical importance of the concept of worldview itself and its inescapable human signi!cance. This book’s historical orientation sheds light on the past up to our own day. Its grounding in Scripture and the Reformed tradition gives it authority and perspective. Its wealth of theological and philosophical insight is sure to make readers better lovers of God and wisdom. I hope, as the editor does, that it will be used as a formidable text in capstone courses for undergraduates
regardless of discipline. I also believe it will help cast a new vision for graduate and seminary education.
—David K. Naugle, professor of philosophy, Dallas Baptist University and author of Worldview: The History of a Concept (Eerdmans, 2002)

If ideas have consequences, Revolutions in Worldview shows definitively that ideas also have contexts. For those interested in defending, maintaining and promoting a Christian worldview, this book gives ample material for considering the complications and importance of the work of cultivating Christian minds.
—D. G. Hart, PhD, director of partnered projects, Intercollegiate Studies Institute

Professor Hoffecker’s Revolutions in Worldview is an incisive collection of essays by leading Reformed scholars who examine the historical, philosophical, and cultural roots of Western civilization—and those ideas and movements that continue to challenge the credibility and vitality of Christian faith. I warmly recommend it for use as a text in all Christian colleges
and seminaries.
—John Jefferson Davis, professor of systematic theology and Christian ethics, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

1. Greeks Bearing Gifts
John M. Frame

2. The Hebrew World-and-Life View
John D. Currid

3. New Testament Worldview
Vern Sheridan Poythress

4. Christianity from the Early Fathers to Charlemagne
Richard C. Gamble

5. Medieval Theology and the Roots of Modernity
Peter J. Leithart

6. The Renaissance
Carl Trueman

7. The Reformation as a Revolution in Worldview
Scott Amos

8. Enlightenments and Awakenings: The Beginning of Modern Culture Wars
W. Andrew Hoffecker

9. Thee Age of Intellectual Iconoclasm: The Nineteenth-Century Revolt against Theism
Richard Lints

10. Philosophy Among the Ruins: Twentieth Century and Beyond
Michael W. Payne