Excellent! | The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog

Start here | The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog | James W. Sire

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	• The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog James W. Sire InterVarsity Press, 2004 - 252 pages average customer review:based on 59 reviews view larger image
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A satisfying overview of our Worldviews.

This is, and excellent treatment of Worldviews and, covers in enough detail all those general categories into which all people must fall.
Though some dislike his "bias" or find this work unfair - this is only due to a clash of Worldviews (not issues of truth).

This catalogue is well written, displays enough content and descriptions to be reliable and finally, points out the logical ends of our systems of thought. One can choose to disagree but must ultimately make peace with the logical and honest "ends" of each Worldview presented (we cannot all be right when presenting opposing truth claims).

I recommend this book to anyone confused or questioning the plethora of religious, spiritual or naturalistic beliefs intended to govern life!

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Excellent!

We used this book in our class on Western Heritage. It is really useful in explaining the differences in current world views as well as the development and historical aspects of our own.

Start here

If your question is "which God?" this is a great place to begin. If it weren't for this amazing book, I might still be floundering around in search of the truth.

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A Read-Worthy, Christian Leaning Overview With Some Annoying Faults

The Universe Next Door
James W. Sire
This review is on the Second Edition of the book, copyright 1988. That being the case there may be major changes in the book that address some current trends in worldviews (I hope that's actually the case).

What's the Point of The Book?
To give us a basic overview and introduction to several worldviews beginning from the author's own worldview (Christian Theism) all the way through the New Age Movement. The author is not trying to indoctrinate us in every point found in the worldview or even the major divisions throughout but he wishes to underscore some major features and question some major problems.

The Good
This is tough because it could also be a "bad" and only that because of the date of the original publication (1976). The meat of the book comes in 219 pages with bibliographical notes that bring the count up to 241 (The remaining 5 pages are devoted to the index). Those biographical notes are a godsend for anyone wanting to dig further into the material and are stated as such by the author. This edition actually features a much appreciated rewrite of the New Age movement section in light of how much has happened from 76 to 88. The worldviews are given pretty fair treatment considering what the author is doing (overview and not in-depth apologetics). The language is fitting with the subject and as worldviews grow increasingly complex the author stands with that view and exposes us to the language being used.

The Bad
The theistic section should have covered different theistic worldviews. I know his purpose was to give an overview and finally summarize how each of these fall short but by ignoring alternate theisms he doesn't really underscore how Christian Theism stands out. In this book it seems that it's either Christian Theism or Naturalism and all that grows out of that. Failing to mention, say Islamic Theism, is a huge oversight and one that can leave the reader saying "fine, naturalism is wacky but why not believe in {X Creator God} instead of the Christian God?" I also think that the nihilism section may have consisted of some ungrounded generalizations for instance he opens that chapter with "Nihilism is more a feeling than a philosophy. Strictly speaking, nihilism is not a philosophy at all." After this he proceeds to show how nihilism leads to despair and despair is the teaching of nihilism that grows out of a naturalistic framework. If he established it up front I wouldn't be as critical.

The Ugly
The cover illustration is dated but that is to be expected with a 1988 title. The book could have been longer and still accomplished its overview goal while simultaneously shedding some light on alternate worldviews.

Star Rating
All my remarks aside, I still think this book is well worth reading as an introduction into worldviews and understanding that the author doesn't intend for the book to do any more. I would warn the reader that the section on Eastern Pantheistic Monism is utterly confusing and demands a second and third reading but that is no fault of the author. Some of the things being dealt with in that philosophy are so outside Westerners' thinking that he or she may have to saturate themselves with the words so as to understand what is wrong with them.

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A Christian analysis of other presuppositions

There are a number of reviewers who are under the impression that the only way to write a world-view catalog is from an objective position which has no bias at all.
This is unfortunate, because the book tries to show us how everyone has a presuppositional bias: there is no objective middle ground from which to weigh up the others.

This was required reading as a theology student, and I found it useful. His 7 questions are powerful and useful in deconstructing longer texts, but other sets of questions are more useful and easily deployed in analyzing world-views on a regular basis, such
1) what is my relationship to creation in this view
2) what is my relationship to other people in this view
3) what is my relationship to God in this view.

Another useful one is
1) What is the problem
2) What can save us/them from the problem
3) What does the world look like once it is saved?

Personally, I found it helpful to realize that not everyone thinks like me, and to use this book as a very useful quick guide to the way others may think. Of course he generalizes. Of course he is simplistic. But he is also helpful.

I recommend.
To those who criticize this book as validating Christians in their blinkered view, I suggest finding a different book to validate them in theirs. But isn't that rather Sire's point about us all having a world-view based on a series of assumptions which may or may not stack up?

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When The Universe Next Door was first introduced nearly thirty years ago, it set the standard for a clear, readable introduction to worldviews. In concise, easily understood prose, James W. Sire explained the basics of theism, deism, naturalism, nihilism, existentialism, Eastern monism and the new consciousness. The second edition was updated and expanded to include sections on Marxism and secular humanism, as well as a completely reworked chapter on what is now widely known as New Age philosophy rather than new consciousness. And the third edition offered further updating and revisions, including a thoroughly revised chapter on New Age philosophy and, perhaps most importantly, a new chapter on postmodernism. Now the fourth edition refines the definition of worldview itself, incorporating Sire's thinking and teaching during the past decade. (His recent work is showcased in a new book, Naming the Elephant, also published by IVP.) The Universe Next Door has been translated into several languages and has been used as a text at over one hundred colleges and universities in courses ranging from apologetics and world religions to history and English literature. With the publication of the fourth edition, this book will continue to aid students, teachers and anyone who wants to understand the variety of worldviews that compete with Christianity for the allegiance of our minds and hearts.

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