Book Review: Revolutions in Worldview, edited by W. Andrew Hoffecker

Reviewed by Nathan Pitchford

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Regardless of one's particular field of study, no education can be considered complete without a full-scale survey and competent analysis of the origins and historical progress of Western thought; and this is particularly true when it comes to Christians, who have both a message of truth that transcends human speculation and a ringing commission to proclaim that truth in this (post)modern world, which in far-reaching ways has been shaped in its ability and propensity to hear and understand by the historical flow of Western thought. The need for such a work as Revolutions in Worldview is therefore indisputable; and of all the available histories of philosophy and critiques of worldview, I would suggest that this is one of the best of its kind, for the following reasons:

First, it is not so much a collection of biographies of notable philosophers, as are some comparable works, nor yet a straightforward, chronological history of philosophy, as others tend to be; on the contrary, it is macrocosmic in its orientation and probing in its approach. It gives a “big-picture” description of different sets of assumptions and beliefs that have molded together various civilizations and epochs in a basically similar way of looking at the world; and it attempts to discover why, at certain points in history, a given worldview has morphed into some other that is fundamentally opposed to it. In other words, it is not about philosophers or philosophies in specific, but “worldview” broadly speaking; and it is not about chronological history per se, but about times of true “revolution” in thought. This means that the work is not strictly chronological, for different revolutions in thought have often occurred concurrently and gradually; but for the goal of understanding why we as a culture view the world the way we do, and what forces have led us to this place, it is much superior to a strictly chronological history.

Second, it refuses to see the domain of philosophy and the domain of scriptural theology as distinct spheres that approached each other at times, and often became sloppily intermingled (most notably, of course, in the Middle Ages), which is the dominant approach of histories of philosophy; on the contrary, it lays out the worldview of the ancient Hebrews and of the organically connected Greek-speaking Christians of the New Testament era, and shows how, from the beginning, this biblical worldview was inextricably connected with the “secular” worldview of the cultures surrounding it. Whereas most histories of philosophy begin their studies with Greek culture, and largely fail to recognize the dramatic impact the world of the Old Testament has had on the history of Western thought, this one evaluates the Hebrew Old Testament and Christian New Testament outlook together with Greek philosophy as distinct worldviews contending and interacting with each other from the beginning. And so also, throughout the rest of the volume, Christian thought and philosophical thought are portrayed as they co-exist in any given culture and worldview, not as distinct subjects which can be compartmentalized and still remain intelligible. This approach is of particular value for the Christian hoping intelligently to engage the worldview of his own culture.

Finally, Revolutions in Worldview, while presenting an evenhanded description of the various philosophies and worldviews with which it deals, is always grounded in the confessionally reformed worldview of its various authors. The authors each give an accurate portrayal of the worldviews they are discussing, but they also feel free, at times, to point out both the discrepancies between that worldview and the truths of the bible, and also the internal inconsistencies of every other worldview, which has ultimately caused them all to collapse under their own weight.

At the end of the volume, the reader will doubtless have a much deeper understanding of why postmodern Western culture thinks and believes the way it does, and how the postmodern worldview contradicts the Christian worldview that is grounded in the Old and New Testaments. Whether you're pursuing a formal education or simply wanting to interact intelligently with the real people all around you who think like any modern Westerner, this cogent volume will prove a very helpful tool.

Available at Monergism Books.

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