Worldview Research Paper Assignment Instructions
Overview
This assignment is designed to help you understand the term worldview, and how important it is to have a consistent, coherent, and adequate worldview as you interact with others. Everyone has a worldview, though none of us have a perfectly consistent worldview, especially in how we apply it to our decision-making. There are five worldview questions that can help you know your own worldview and the worldviews of others. The Biblical Worldview uses the Bible to help answer these questions (2 Timothy 3:16). However, it is one thing to know how the Biblical Worldview would answer a question, and quite another to use that worldview to answer practical, contemporary, questions (2 Timothy 3:17; 1 Corinthians 10:31).
Instructions
For this assignment you are to define the term worldview (75 – 100 words), answer the five worldview questions from a Biblical Worldview (400 – 500 words), and apply that Biblical Worldview to two of four practical questions from a list of options (100 – 150 words). You are writing a research paper, so this assignment should be written in paragraph format. Headers may be used to introduce each part.
- 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. See the sample paper in the Writing Style Guide link for formatting instructions). If you are using APA, an Abstract is not required.
- Content pages – These pages will contain your content and fulfill the requirements as listed below.
Note: Add the word count after each part.
Part 1 (75 – 100 words) What is a worldview? Define what the term “worldview” means. Use descriptive phrases to support your definition. Use and cite content from at least one or two sources in this part to define the term.
Part 2 (400 – 500 words) Articulate the biblical worldview’s answer (what is believed) for each of the following five questions*. Support your biblical content with scripture (Bible references). A minimum of two relevant biblical references needs to be used to support the content for each of the five questions below. Do not write out the verses as it takes up too much of your word count. Just state the biblical idea and cite the biblical text to support it. Use the Writing Style Guide sample paper for how to cite scripture. Each of the five questions must be answered in a separate paragraph.
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?)
*An overview of these specific worldview questions can be found in chapter 4 of Finding Your Worldview: Thinking Christianly about the World.
Part 3 (100 – 150 words) Choose two of the following questions below and answer them from a biblical worldview belief system. (Use and cite scripture to support your biblical content.)
How might/should a biblical worldview influence the way you…
- …think about and treat a person who doesn’t hold your beliefs?
- …vote in local or national elections?
- …act toward a family member who is hard to get along with and is unkind?
- …decide what to do when asked to do something unethical at work?
- Bibliography/References/Works Cited page
- In addition to the in-text citations, a Bibliography/Reference or Works Cited page must be included.
- A minimum of three different sources must be used and cited in the body of your paper and added here.
- Use academic sources for your paper. (For example, do not include blogs, social media, opinion pages, or Wikipedia.)
- 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).
- You are also encouraged to view the Writing Style Guide located in the Student Responsibilities tab of the Course Overview. Once you access the Student Responsibilities area, scroll down to locate the link to the Writing Style Guide. You will then visit the official style guides (i.e., APA, MLA, or Turabian) required in formulating your assignment.
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.
