“Worldview” has become a fixture in evangelical discourse. J. Mark Bertrand, novelist and teacher with Worldview Academy, describes himself as having a “fascination with worldviews” (p. 20), and he understands why the apparent ubiquity of the concept might lead some to deem another book on the subject superfluous. It is exactly because the subject has become so widespread that a volume such as his is needed. Bertrand is concerned that the popularization of Christian worldview-thinking has had the unintentional effect of diluting its strength. “We need to take a second look and make sure that, in adopting the concept so widely and making it such a staple of evangelical discourse, we have not gutted it . . . In streamlining the idea of worldviews for mass consumption, we have been simplistic. We have been pedantic. And worst of all, we have been overconfident” (p. 20).

Another reason for reconsidering the notion of worldview is to resist the tendency to regard it as strictly intellectual and thus largely irrelevant to Christian life. A truly Christian worldview must be situated “in the broader context of a lived faith so as to demonstrate how thinking is (or should be) integrally connected to how we act” (p. 21). I agree with Bertrand's observation that much “worldview chatter” (including, regrettably, my own) fails to make this connection. “Worldview formation,” he reminds us, “is not just a means of getting one's intellectual ducks in a row, ensuring that one buys into the official evangelical position on the various hot button issues of the day. Instead, worldview thinking should lead inevitably and organically to changed behavior” (p. 115).

The book consists of three parts, corresponding to its subtitle: Worldview (Think), Wisdom (Live), and Witness (Speak). Part I defines a worldview as “an interpretation of influences, experiences, circumstances, and insight” (p. 26) of which we're mostly unaware except in times of crisis or contemplation. Like glasses, we spend most of our time looking through them, not at them. Ideally, a worldview should enable us to perceive reality with clarity. Bertrand suggests three tests (correspondence, coherence, and productivity) for evaluating worldviews and helpfully discusses how worldviews form and change. Worldview formation is a kind of “mental self-defense” in response to the constant aggressive pressure of our environment. (This description brings to mind Francis Schaeffer's imagery of “blowing the roof” off.) Bertrand also acknowledges the interdependent relationship between worldview and behavior. What we believe about what is real affects how we live. But our actions and practices likewise play a role in shaping and confirming our worldview.

Worldviews function on three levels: as starting points (he identifies creation, order, rationality, and fear of the Lord as weight-bearing pillars of a Christian worldview), systems, and stories (“The gospel story [creation, fall, and redemption] delivers us from the power of other tales, other conceptions of ourselves” [p. 106].) It is a mistake to accentuate any one of these at the expense of the other two. “My tendency . . . is to be inclusive rather than exclusive. The worldview concept is complicated and we are not faced with an either/or proposition” (p. 97).

Bertrand concedes that there is no such thing as the Christian worldview if by that we have in mind a monolithic view of reality held by every professing Christian. “Christians are too imperfect to see the world around them in a consistent and consistently biblical way” (p. 82). Regardless of the existence of a variety of Christian worldviews, they share enough in common to distinguish them from alternative perspectives.

Worldview and wisdom, according to Bertrand, should compose a “one-two punch.” “Equipping people to think is a noble task, but not a sufficient one. God expects us not just to think, but to live” (p. 116). A sturdy Christian worldview is an essential foundation upon which the strong wall of wisdom (“practical discernment, the ability to judge, the faculty for distinguishing the truth from lies” [p. 126]) is to be built. Bertrand contrasts popular notions of wisdom (intelligence and/or something mystical and esoteric reserved for the Yoda-like few) and biblical wisdom that comes from God and is meant to be displayed in life's ordinariness as “a lifestyle of daily obedience” (p. 135). Since Christ is “the wisdom of God” and Christians are to be conformed to his likeness, growing in wisdom is implicit in sanctification.

In the final section, Bertrand shows how witness should organically arise from worldview and wisdom. He includes helpful chapters on worldview apologetics and the nature of unbelief but avers that witness, properly understood, extends beyond explicit evangelistic and apologetic activity. In addition to declaring and defending the gospel, Christians need to bear witness to the truth by being creative contributors to culture. A grasp of a Christian worldview enables believers to become self-conscious cultural consumers who make deliberate choices to resist being molded into anti-Christian ways of life and thought. The cultivation of biblical wisdom equips us to engage in “discerning systematic critique of the culture's shaping processes” (p. 187). Criticism, in turn, should empower creative expression. “Criticism is healthy when it supports creativity, wisdom leading to witness. It is unhealthy when it inhibits cultural contribution, either by stigmatizing it or by failing to equip us with the necessary tools and mind-set” (p. 188). Unfortunately, criticism and creativity are often disconnected with some segments of the church adopting an unhealthy criticism void of creativity while others abound in creativity in need of greater discernment. “What we need, both personally and corporately, is a healthy critical outlook that organically blends into creative contribution” (p. 189). In the final chapter, Bertrand casts a vision for Christian artists (especially storytellers) bearing witness by “imagining the truth” thereby giving culture new eyes (p. 231). Rethinking Worldview was written before Bertrand's Roland March mystery trilogy. As a fan of that series, I especially appreciated a view into the thinking that went into its creation.

This work makes a valuable contribution by helping readers see the vital interconnectedness of areas evangelicals tend to dichotomize: doctrine and life, theory and practice, intellect and artistic expression. In recounting his introduction to worldview thinking and its impact on his own Christian life, Bertrand says that it encouraged him to pursue the mind of Christ. His is a volume that will encourage others to do likewise.

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