With a style reminiscent of C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity, J. Mark Bertrand sets out the basics of Christianity in Rethinking Worldview. Unlike Mere Christianity, Rethinking Worldview focuses on the believer, encouraging Christians to understand and think through the foundations of their worldview in such a way that leads to living it out (wisdom) and sharing it (witness).

I came to worldview ideas through ethnomusicology and anthropology rather than philosophy and theology. Because of this, I've been disappointed by the overly simplistic and narrow treatment of worldview by theologians (and a tendency to confuse culture with worldview) and an unattached worldview by philosophers--a worldview disconnected from real actions and people. When Bertrand suggested the typical Christian approach to worldview is simplistic, I perked up.

Bertrand doesn't survey different worldviews but presents what a Christian worldview is and how that affects everyday life. He reviews worldview with three different approaches: as starting point (or what he calls pillars), as system, and as story. In these three areas, Bertrand covers orthodox Christianity. While his starting points or pillars (creation, order, rationality, and fear) are shared by all monotheistic religions, the approaches of story and system bring in unique Christian aspects, such as Trinitarianism and an anthropology that includes Imago Dei and corruption (system) and God acting throughout history to redeem his creation (story). While I don't emphasize systematics to the extent Bertrand does (at times, he seems to view systems as a more mature approach than story), he's careful to remain broad in his systems, allowing for unity and agreement between orthodox Christianity. Also, in his final note on the three approaches, he acknowledges that all three work together organically.

Rethinking Worldview is unique from other worldview books in that it moves into wisdom and witness. In this, Bertrand shines. He proposes that in worldview awareness, one becomes aware of cultural influences, in wisdom, one discerns and critiques cultural influences, and in witness, one contributes to cultural influences.

Bertrand takes to task popular ideas of Christian wisdom, namely a misunderstanding of Paul's writing that the wisdom of God is the foolishness of man and an unhealthy and unbiblical reliance on "fleeces, green lights, and closed doors" in decision-making. In this, I offer a hearty amen! Bertrand goes on to encourage a pursuit of God's wisdom, which requires hard work rather than the shortcuts we prefer.

In his witness section, Bertrand expands the typical idea of witness: Evangelism, apologetics and imagination work together, each displaying truth and grace. Further, witness requires that we respond to the questions culture asks, which means we must first be aware of the questions our culture asks today. Because of this approach, while he doesn't back down on apologetics, apologetics becomes more about gently challenging the assumptions of unbelievers and answering their questions rather than taking on the burden of persuading them (perhaps with tactics and theses not raised by the unbeliever). In other words, apologetics flows from and with evangelism. Further, he reminds Christians of the place of the Holy Spirit in this work. In this, he redeems the idea of apologetics for many who have become embarrassed by its often hostile posture.

He also challenges believers not only to proclaim and defend but also to imagine truth. In this, we join Christ's transforming work in culture. Bertrand argues that because we've forgotten how to evaluate art well, we've forfeited our right to engage with the world about art and worse, we fail to leave behind artifacts of truth. Art is an aspect of witness because in it, the Christian imagines the truth.

As Bertrand moves into the witness section, he begins to use the term "culture," which he doesn't define (or distinguish from worldview). Because of this, many readers may fail to understand the relationship between worldview and culture, namely that while our Christian understanding influences and transforms our interaction with and contribution to culture, it does not dictate it. As we work alongside Christ's transforming work in culture, aided by our worldview (or orthodoxy) understanding, we have freedom in the application. I would've liked to have seen Bertrand spell out this as he moves from worldview to culture.

Bertrand's thoughtful book, which allows for angles and complexities, restores the idea of worldview from two extremes: a simplistic, preachy approach on the one side and doing away with worldview ideas completely on the other side.

Review by Heather A. Goodman