Inklings on Philosophy and Worldview: Inspired by C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, and J.R.R. Tolkien

by Matthew Dominguez

Overview

Teens live in a complicated world. They are constantly bombarded by messages from their friends, parents, teachers, the internet, and their churches, and not all of these messages agree or line up with each other. How do students figure out who to listen to? How do they figure out what is true?

Inklings on Philosophy and Worldview will show teens practical ways to filter out the wrong messages and focus on what is real. Using teachings from highly respected, loved, and well-known writers, teacher Matthew Dominguez will show teens the power of story as he guides them through a study of world religions, philosophies, and worldview, and gives them a firm foundation to stand on as they prepare to face the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781496428967
Publisher:	Tyndale House Publishers
Publication date:	08/04/2020
Series:	Engaged Schools Curriculum
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	911,368
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Matthew Dominguez is an educational trainer, speaker, and teacher and has studied at Houghton College in New York and Keble College in Oxford, and received his masters from the University of Illinois at Chicago.  Currently, he is a philosophy, literature, and discipleship teacher and the adventure club director at Wheaton Academy in West Chicago, Illinois.  With over twenty-five years of teaching experience and Kingdom community-building experience, he is passionate about the exciting journey of equipping students and leaders to make their faith their own by knowing what they believe and why they believe it.  It is his deep joy to be on this grand adventure of Kingdom building and loving others with his wife, Jennifer, and four children, Anna, Elijah, Olivia, and Ivy.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

Created to Trust

Everyone trusts. The only way humans live, eat, sleep, move, communicate, and eke out an existence is to make decisions based on whatever we consider trustworthy. This has been the case throughout all of history. Even through seismic cultural shifts, the defining and redefining of races and religions, and the rising and falling of empires, people have made decisions based on whom or what they trust as really real, as worthy of trust. But also all through history, humans have differed on the object of this trust. They have not agreed on where to put their confidence. Both of these are still true today. We still operate on trust, and we humans do not agree on whom or what is worthy of that trust.

We give authority to whom and what we trust, and the more we trust something or someone, the more authority we give.

Who do you turn to when you have a complex decision to navigate? Many people turn to their parents, teachers, coaches, or mentors. Some people would never turn to a teacher or parent and do not have coaches or mentors. Many teachers are transformative; some are unfit. Many coaches are inspiring; some are simply abusive. Many mentors are true leaders; some are blind guides. We take medicine from doctors we trust; we steer clear of those who have poor reputations. I would not let a surgeon cut me open or an anesthesiologist put me under if I did not trust him or her with my life. We do not take our cars to mechanics we do not trust. I only rock climb with trusted friends. Friends we trust sway what we wear, eat, say, and watch. Pastors positively and negatively shape our lives and habits. The books you read and the movies you watch shape your daily activities and verbiage. The list goes on and on.

Consciously and subconsciously, whatever we give authority to or have given authority to in the past directly and indirectly influences our current thoughts and behaviors. Ultimately, and without being fully consciously aware of it, we each develop personal "lists" of what we deem to be worthy of our trust. These personal trust lists become the primary influence on how we view and interact with the world.

Unfortunately, not everything to which we give authority is worthy of our trust. Moreover, we often find ourselves in situations in which others assert their authority over us even though we do not trust them. This type of authority often uses fear, inflicts pain, devises external motivators, and exploits ignorance to influence behavior. It often takes great courage to address the issues of trust and trustworthiness, particularly when it involves changing what we put our trust in or finding freedom from unhealthy, unwanted situations of imposed authority. Many of these negative untrustworthy situations can be redemptively helpful in guiding us toward that which is truly trustworthy and life-giving. Additionally, these people and institutions can help us learn what not to do and who not to emulate — and why!

This is a great place to start our story. My hope is that this book leads you into a story of courage and freedom. Facing the truth about trust and authority, and potentially changing the motivation or object of our trust, could be the most courageous thing any of us will ever do. For some of us, standing firm in what we trust to be the truth in the face of opposition will take similar courage. This is where the adventure begins and, ironically, ends: in trust and courage.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Inklings on Philosophy and Worldview"
by .
Copyright © 2020 Matthew Dominguez.
Excerpted by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Prelude xi

Introduction 1

Part 1 Trust and the Nature of Reality

1 Created to Trust 11

2 Faith and Faith Island 15

3 Trust Lists: The Concept and the Tool 25

The Suicide of Thought 33

5 What Is Really Real? 43

Part 2 Philosophy and the Four Views of Reality

6 Philosophy: A Practical Tool 53

7 The Power of a Question 59

8 A Closer Look at Pure Idealism 77

9 A Closer Look at Authentic Materialism 83

10 A Closer Look at Complete Monism 91

11 A Closer Look at Religious Theism 99

12 My Trust List, Revisited 107

Part 3 Christ: The Fullness of Reality

13 Open Our Eyes So. We Can See 115

14 Connecting Truth 121

15 The Light of the World 125

16 Idealism: Lights On and Off 131

17 Materialism: Lights On and Off 143

18 Monism: Lights On and Off 155

19 Religious Theism: Lights On and Off 161

20 The Power of Paradox 167

21 The Treachery of Images 189

22 The Road Goes Ever On and On 197

Honor and Acknowledgments 201

Notes 207