📝 Worksheet 8.4: Christian Worldview and Doctrine Map

📝 Worksheet 8.4: Christian Worldview and Doctrine Map

Purpose

This worksheet helps you organize the Christian worldview as a coherent biblical story and prepare to explain it respectfully within a Scientology-influenced community.

The goal is not merely to list differences between Christianity and Scientology. The goal is to identify the foundational religious commitments beneath each worldview and explain how Christian doctrine fits together under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Ministry Setting

Grace Harbor Baptist Church is a daughter church of First Covenant Baptist Church. It is being planted in a city where Scientology operates a major center and has a visible community presence.

Grace Harbor is committed to:

• openly identifying as a Baptist Christian church

• operating under the oversight of its sponsoring church

• treating Scientologists as neighbors and image-bearers

• listening before responding

• defining shared religious terms carefully

• proclaiming salvation by grace through Jesus Christ

• inviting without pressure

• protecting privacy and freedom of conscience

Part 1: Identify Your Christian Starting Point

Christian philosophy does not claim to begin from a religiously neutral position.

Complete the following statements.

1. The Christian divinity belief

God alone is:

Everything other than God is:

Everything in creation depends upon:

2. The Creator–creation distinction

Place each item in the correct category.

God the Father
human reason
the Holy Spirit
physical matter
Jesus Christ, the eternal Son
human consciousness
angels
the human spirit
social agreement
the laws of creation
the human body
space and time

3. Why does this distinction matter?

Explain why Christians should not treat matter, reason, consciousness, spiritual ability, survival, or human freedom as self-existent.

Part 2: The Myth of Religious Neutrality

Read each statement and mark whether it is Faithful, Needs Clarification, or Unfaithful to Christian philosophy.

Statement 1

“Christians have religious assumptions, but scientific and philosophical thinkers can reason without any foundational faith commitments.”

☐ Faithful
☐ Needs Clarification
☐ Unfaithful

Explain:

Statement 2

“Christians should openly acknowledge that their thinking begins with faith in the Triune God revealed in Scripture.”

☐ Faithful
☐ Needs Clarification
☐ Unfaithful

Explain:

Statement 3

“Because no one is religiously neutral, evidence and careful reasoning no longer matter.”

☐ Faithful
☐ Needs Clarification
☐ Unfaithful

Explain:

Statement 4

“Every worldview is influenced by a belief about what is ultimate, independent, or self-existent.”

☐ Faithful
☐ Needs Clarification
☐ Unfaithful

Explain:

Statement 5

“Christians possess a view from nowhere and can understand reality exactly as God understands it.”

☐ Faithful
☐ Needs Clarification
☐ Unfaithful

Explain:

Statement 6

“Christians can know truth genuinely while remaining finite, dependent, and capable of error.”

☐ Faithful
☐ Needs Clarification
☐ Unfaithful

Explain:

Part 3: Identify the Foundational Religious Commitment

For each statement, identify what may be functioning as ultimate or self-existent.

Statement A

“Physical matter and physical processes ultimately explain everything.”

Possible divinity belief:

Statement B

“Human reason can determine truth without depending upon revelation or faith.”

Possible divinity belief:

Statement C

“The spiritual self has existed independently through many bodies and lifetimes.”

Possible divinity belief:

Statement D

“Reality is primarily what individuals or groups agree is real.”

Possible divinity belief:

Statement E

“Greater knowledge, responsibility, and control will lead to spiritual freedom.”

Possible divinity belief:

Christian response

What does Christianity confess as the only self-existent reality?

How does this confession change the way Christians understand everything else?

Part 4: Shared Words, Different Meanings

Complete the comparison map.

Reflection

Which three terms are most likely to create confusion in a conversation?

Why?

Part 5: The Christian Story Map

Summarize each movement of the Christian story in two or three sentences.

1. Creation

Who created the world, and what was humanity created to be?

2. Fall

What went wrong with humanity?

3. Incarnation

Who is Jesus Christ, and why did he become human?

4. Cross

What did Jesus accomplish through his death?

5. Resurrection and the Holy Spirit

What does Christ’s bodily resurrection establish, and how does the Holy Spirit transform believers?

6. New Creation

What is the final Christian hope?

Part 6: Christian Doctrine Connection Map

Draw a line or explain how each doctrine connects to the others.

The Triune God

How does belief in the Triune God shape the Christian understanding of creation?

Creation

How does creation shape the Christian understanding of the human body?

Image of God

How does the image of God establish human worth?

Sin

Why is sin more than limited knowledge, unwanted reactions, or reduced spiritual ability?

Incarnation

Why does the incarnation confirm the importance of embodied human life?

Cross

Why can spiritual procedures or religious achievement not replace Christ’s finished work?

Holy Spirit

Why is the Holy Spirit not an impersonal force or spiritual technology?

Church

Why is Christian transformation connected to accountable community?

Resurrection

Why is bodily resurrection different from the continued existence of a spiritual being through many bodies?

New Creation

What does new creation reveal about God’s purpose for the physical world?

Part 7: Two Different Accounts of Transformation

Complete the chart.

Reflection

Why must Grace Harbor Baptist Church avoid presenting Christian practices as a superior form of spiritual technology?

How should the church explain prayer, Scripture, baptism, communion, and worship?

Part 8: Church-Planting Doctrine Review

Grace Harbor Baptist Church is preparing its public ministry plan. Evaluate each proposal.

Proposal 1

“Remove the word Baptist from public materials so Scientologists will feel less threatened.”

☐ Accept
☐ Revise
☐ Reject

Reason:

Proposal 2

“Describe the church as a neutral spiritual community until visitors become comfortable.”

☐ Accept
☐ Revise
☐ Reject

Reason:

Proposal 3

“Provide community meals and service projects while being open about the church’s Christian identity.”

☐ Accept
☐ Revise
☐ Reject

Reason:

Proposal 4

“Train volunteers to ask people what religious words mean before assuming agreement.”

☐ Accept
☐ Revise
☐ Reject

Reason:

Proposal 5

“Invite former Scientologists to share private or painful experiences publicly to attract attention to the church plant.”

☐ Accept
☐ Revise
☐ Reject

Reason:

Proposal 6

“Ask First Covenant Baptist Church to provide theological, financial, and pastoral accountability.”

☐ Accept
☐ Revise
☐ Reject

Reason:

Proposal 7

“Present conversion numbers as the primary measure of whether the church plant is succeeding.”

☐ Accept
☐ Revise
☐ Reject

Reason:

Proposal 8

“Measure faithfulness through truthful witness, neighbor love, accountable ministry, biblical teaching, and trust in the Holy Spirit.”

☐ Accept
☐ Revise
☐ Reject

Reason:

Part 9: Prepare a Respectful Conversation

A local resident says:

“I already believe in God, Jesus, spiritual freedom, and eternal life. I think Baptists and Scientologists are probably describing the same spiritual reality in different ways.”

Prepare a response.

Step 1: Acknowledge

Write one sentence that acknowledges the shared vocabulary without implying agreement.

Step 2: Clarify

Choose one term and ask what it means to the person.

Term: ______________________________________________________

Question:

Step 3: Disclose your standpoint

Explain honestly that you are speaking as a Baptist Christian rather than as a neutral observer.

Step 4: Identify one foundational difference

Step 5: Connect the difference to Jesus Christ

Step 6: Ask permission

Write a permission-based question before presenting a longer Christian explanation.

Step 7: Invite without pressure

Write an invitation to continue the conversation or study a Gospel.

Part 10: Gospel Explanation Practice

One-minute explanation

Write a brief explanation of the Christian story using these movements:

• creation

• sin

• incarnation

• cross

• resurrection

• grace

• Holy Spirit

• new creation

Essential statement about Jesus

Complete this sentence:

Jesus Christ is not merely ______________________________________.

He is ________________________________________________________.

Through his cross and resurrection, he _____________________________

____________________________________________________________.

Essential statement about salvation

Christian salvation is not _______________________________________.

It is _________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________.

Part 11: Ministry Boundaries and Accountability

Mark each commitment you will follow.

☐ I will openly identify my Christian and Baptist ministry standpoint.

☐ I will not pretend to offer religiously neutral spiritual services.

☐ I will define important religious terms before assuming agreement.

☐ I will listen to personal experiences without automatically accepting every interpretation.

☐ I will not mock Scientology or Scientologists.

☐ I will not conduct covert investigations.

☐ I will not seek confidential Scientology information.

☐ I will not pressure someone to leave Scientology immediately.

☐ I will not diagnose mental illness or trauma.

☐ I will not practice psychotherapy, crisis intervention, or deprogramming.

☐ I will protect private testimony and personal disclosures.

☐ I will refer medical, psychological, legal, or safety concerns to qualified professionals.

☐ I will work under the accountability of church leadership.

☐ I will ask permission before giving an extended gospel presentation or praying with someone.

☐ I will trust the Holy Spirit rather than manipulating a response.

Oversight plan

Who provides theological oversight for the church plant?

Who should be contacted when a difficult doctrinal issue arises?

Who should be contacted when a safety, legal, or mental-health concern arises?

How will the sponsoring church review the church plant’s outreach practices?

Part 12: Personal Ministry Commitment

Complete the following statement.

As a Christian leader serving in a Scientology-influenced community, I acknowledge that I do not approach ministry from a religiously neutral position. I confess that:

I will seek to understand Scientology accurately by:

I will treat Scientologists as image-bearers by:

I will proclaim Jesus Christ clearly by:

I will protect freedom of conscience by:

I will remain accountable to Christian leadership by:

Final Ministry Principle

A faithful Baptist church plant openly begins with the Triune God revealed in Scripture, understands every person as an embodied image-bearer, proclaims salvation through Christ rather than spiritual technology, and practices truthful, accountable, permission-based ministry.