The Table

Conversation Meeting Place, Date & Time: Sunday, 10/6/2024 @ 6:30 PM – Black Walnut Cafe, Coppell, TX.

The opening scene in the movie Maze Runner depicts the main character Thomas’s introduction to the world in dramatic fashion.

As the plot unfolds, questions emerge for Thomas. What sort of place, what sort of world is this? Who are these people and where did they come from? Do they know what is going on? They are strangers to him — are they a threat? Potential friends? Potential enemies? How did he get here? Why is he here? What is beyond these walls? Is he safe or in danger?

In the movie we find out that Thomas has a sort of amnesia and doesn’t know who he is or how he got there — only that he is Thomas. Throughout the movie he is regarded with suspicion by the others and even he doesn’t know whether their suspicions are valid. All he has are vague snippets of memories that he can’t make sense of.

Although not nearly as dramatic or traumatic, like Thomas we are all dropped into this world and at some point go through this process of discovery. Most often it comes slowly and in bits and pieces. You get brushed off or abandoned by a friend and realize that he or she wasn’t really a friend all along. Is this what everyone is like? Or just him or her?

Or, perhaps, you don’t seem to fit in. You feel left out. Why don’t I belong? Why am I different? More importantly, what can I do about it? Try harder to fit in? Quit? Try fitting in elsewhere? If so, where?

…and who am I anyway? Who is this me staring out at the world from behind these eyes? I don’t seem to measure up. I’m not smart enough. I’m too short. Too tall. Too fat. Too thin. Not as pretty. Not as athletic. Not as popular. Too quiet. Too loud. Too shy. Why am I the way I am? I would rather be someone else.

Then again, who made up the rules about how I measure up? Against what standard do I judge myself. Who is to say that I am too anything? Maybe I should be this way regardless of what others think.

If any of this resonates you are bumping into some dissonance in your worldview. When you were a child everything seemed to revolve around you — because it did. That was then this is now. You are finding out that it doesn’t.

Up until now worldview is something that you think with not about. It is inherited from your parents and they don’t think about it either. To them, this is how things are.

So, what are things really like? And how do I find out?

To figure it out you need to get beyond yourself and your world and compare notes with others. What do they think and how does it match up with my experience? Does it make sense? Or, any more or less sense than what I know or have experienced?

Where to start? For next time…Worldview Past.

Conversation Starters

• Besides mundane things of the physical world, the sun rises and sets, the seasons change, etc., what are the other aspects of a worldview?
• If you were to describe your worldview what words would you use? Is the universe a friendly place?
• How does your worldview differ from others? Family? Friends? Others? Are they optimistic or pessimistic?
• How has your worldview changed in the last few years? Can you point to things that I used to believe in that now I don’t or the reverse? Santa Claus? The tooth fairy? God?

References For Further Inquiry

Voddie Baucham is an American pastor, author, and educator. He serves as Dean of Theology at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia. Here is a short You Tube video with his explanation of worldviews: What is a worldview?

Another short video from Impact 360 Institute explaining worldviews, What’s Your Worldview?.