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RESEARCH PAPER: CRITICAL THINKING ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
Critical thinking is an essential part of a person’s life. In an academic assignment, critical
thinking can involve comparing and contrasting the beliefs of two worldviews. In this
assignment, you will compare and contrast the Biblical Worldview’s responses to the five
worldview questions with the Non-Christian worldview responses. This will build on your
knowledge from your previous research paper assignments. It will also help you to know how to
do this with any person’s worldview you interact with throughout your life.
INSTRUCTIONS
For this assignment, you will compare and contrast the Biblical Worldview’s responses to the
five worldview questions with the Non-Christian worldview responses (400 – 500 words).
Review chapters four and five of Finding Your Worldview: Thinking Christianly about the World
for content and clarity to these questions.
Cover page – This is the first page to be included in your paper. This should be formatted
according to the style (APA, MLA, Turabian) that you will be using for this assignment.
Refer to the Writing Style Guide sample paper of the style you are using to format this
page. If you are using APA, an Abstract is not required.
Content pages – These pages will contain your content and fulfill the requirements listed
below. A word count is required after each assignment.
This assignment will be submitted in multiple parts over the course of this class.
Implement any changes from the professor from their comments to the Worldview
Definition Assignment, Biblical Worldview Assignment, and the Non-Christian
Worldview Assignment. This will be the first part of your paper. Add the content
below after these three assignments.
(400 – 500 words) You are to compare* and contrast* the Non-Christian worldview you
have chosen and their answers to the five worldview questions with the answers from a
Biblical Worldview in five separate paragraphs. The content from your chosen worldview
needs to be cited and all biblical ideas added to your assignment are to be supported with
scripture. Use and cite content from at least three sources. At least one of the sources
must be outside of the materials used in this course (this would include the Bible, any
required reading or videos, and the required textbooks). Since this content would not be
considered “common knowledge” be sure to cite specific content that you put in your
own words or quotes you add to your assignment to avoid plagiarism.
* Compare: How are the two worldview responses similar or the same?
* Contrast: How are the two worldview positions different?
Note: Do not include the questions below in your answers. Just provide the content asked by
these questions. A Header for each of the questions may be used such as The Question of Origin,
etc.
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The Question of Origin – (What is the origin of the universe, etc.? How did humanity
come into existence?)
The Question of Identity – (What does it mean to be human? Are humans more important
than other living things?)
The Question of Meaning/Purpose – (What is humanity’s purpose?)
The Question of Morality – (What is meant by right and wrong? How is morality
determined?)
The Question of Destiny – (What happens when a person dies?)
Reference/Works Cited/ Bibliography page
A Reference, Works Cited, or Bibliography page must be included based on the style you
have chosen to format your paper (APA, MLA, or Turabian). Select the Writing Style
Guide link on the Course Menu to find sample papers that will guide you through
formatting this page and your paper.
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.
Running head: COMPARING AND CONTRASTING WORLDVIEWS 1
Comparing and Contrasting Biblical Worldview’s Responses to the Five Worldview Questions
with the Non-Christian Worldview Responses
Name
Institution
COMPARING AND CONTRASTING WORLDVIEWS
2
Comparing and Contrasting Biblical Worldview’s Responses to the Five Worldview Questions
with the Non-Christian Worldview Responses
The Question of Origin
The Biblical worldview maintains that humanity was created by God, who is a
supernatural and all-knowing being (Phillips, 2014). On the contrary, the non-Christian
worldview argues that the world is a natural space, meaning there was no supernatural being.
According to non-Christians, no human being was created as we are products of evolution.
However, both Christians and non-Christians believe that the universe, earth and its inhabitants
must have had a starting point or a point of origin. In other words, there was a time the universe
did not exist.
The Question of Identity
According to the Bible, humans were created by God to be different from animals and all
other creations (Budwey, 2022). Unlike animals, humans were created in God’s image to
dominate other creations in the universe. God also created us so that we can serve and obey him
(Genesis 2:15-17). Contrarily, the non-Christian worldview does not believe humans are more
important than animals. Specifically, humanism, which is a type of non-Christian worldview,
devalues humans’ worth. According to the non-Christian worldview, humans are not superior to
nature, as the Bible states. However, Christians and non-Christian worldviews assert that humans
are intellectually superior to other beings in the universe.
The Question of Meaning/Purpose
Christians believe that the purpose of humanity is to take care of the world and all God’s
creations. On the same note, according to the Bible, humans were created with the sole purpose
of glorifying God (Isaiah 43:7). On the other hand, the meaning or purpose of humanity,
COMPARING AND CONTRASTING WORLDVIEWS
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according to the non-Christian worldview, is to give value, meaning, and purpose to their lives
without the influence of any other person. Even though the two world views differ in defining
the purpose of life, they both support the point that an understanding of the purpose of humanity
gives meaning to their lives (Wilson, 2018).
The Question of Morality
Both worldviews believe in the need to live a morally justified life (Mulukom et al.,
2022). However, the Biblical worldview explains that morality is founded on God’s character
and bases right and wrong on the holy standard of God. According to the Bible, humans were
born sinners. For this reason, we must accept God and abide by his holy standard to be saved
(Phillips, 2014). Also, the Biblical worldview maintains that since we were created in God’s
image, we are moral beings capable of deciding right or wrong. Conversely, the non-Christian
worldview argues that humans do not need any religion or deity to be ethical and moral.
The Question of Destiny
A common aspect of the two worldviews is that every person will die at some point.
However, the Biblical worldview is that there is life after death (Phillips, 2014). An individual’s
destiny completely depends on his or her acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Savior. On the
contrary, the non-Christian worldview is that there is no life after death. According to non-
Christians, the life of an individual comes to a complete end when they die.
COMPARING AND CONTRASTING WORLDVIEWS
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References
Budwey, S. A. (2022). “god created us, all of us, in all of our differences and beautiful
uniqueness” 1. Religion and Intersex, 127–167. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429019760-
5
Phillips, B. (2014). The Bible. Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
Wilson, C. (2018). The purpose of humanity. Designing the Purposeful World, 57–65.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351210683-6
van Mulukom, V., Turpin, H., Haimila, R., Purzycki, B. G., Bendixen, T., Kundtová Klocová,
E., ... & Farias, M. (2022). What do nonreligious nonbelievers believe in? Secular
worldviews around the world. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality.
