Why You Think the Way You Do

The Story of Western Worldviews from Rome to Home

By: Glenn S. Sunshine

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

How do we come by our worldviews and philosophies? What impact did Christianity have on the worldviews that are common to Western civilization?

Why You Think the Way You Do traces the development of the worldviews that underpin the Western world. Professor and historian Glenn S. Sunshine demonstrates the decisive impact that the growth of Christianity had in transforming the outlook of pagan Roman culture into one that—based on biblical concepts of humanity and its relationship with God—established virtually all the positive aspects of Western civilization.

The two-pronged assault in our time on the biblically based worldview by postmodern philosophy and the writings of neo-atheists has made it even more crucial that we acknowledge and defend its historical roots.

This authoritative, accessible survey discusses Western worldviews as a continuous narrative rather than as simply a catalogue of ideas.

Why You Think the Way You Do:

• Traces the effects that changes in worldview had on society.
• Helps you understand your own worldview and those of other people.
• Helps you recognize the ways that your worldview, philosophies, beliefs, and presuppositions affect the way you think about everything.

©2009 Glenn S. Sunshine (P)2009 Zondervan

Comprehensive survey

A thorough survey of the history of Western worldviews. I plan to read it again.

the title speaks for it's self

It's a great book and the narration was great as well. I enjoyed it so much that I want to own a hard copy. Dr. Sunshine shows us how we got to our current worldview and the problems that lay ahead.

Spot on!

Call it confirmation bias if you want to, but I think Sunshine's analysis is brilliant. In Why You Think the Way You Do, the author connects the dots between a consistent narrative and irrefutable evidence to explain the moral morass into which we in the West have drifted. To be sure, Western Civilization in general, and America in particular, are projects whose ends will come not with a bang but with a whimper. The inevitable collapse, however, will be no less tragic, because the unselfconscious and morally bankrupt ambitions of leftist ideologues to supplant the influence of biblical Christianity with a neo-Marxist, globalist agenda will, I fear, be preceded by an even more internecine form of fascism and communism then what we witnessed in the 20th century.

All those who declare that Jesus is Lord had better be sure of the god they serve. Many will suffer great loss, and the pressure to worship at the altar of post-Modernism will be overwhelming, but as our Lord promised, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life."

A deep look into our culture-from Rome to home

Solid work by Glenn! This book gave me the courage clarity and confidence to guide others of why we think the way we do

A succinct summary of the history of western thought

If you are looking for an in-depth account of church history, this is not the book for you. That said- I very much enjoy the narrator and the book itself. While not superb, it does the job and you can absorb the information well. I particularly enjoyed learning the contrast between commonly spouted facts about the Middle Ages and what actually happened.

Helpful and surprising

Although well over a decade and several election cycles old, this description of culture and thought from the Roman Empire until today is very up-to-date. It brings us full circle from the paganism and empire-worship of the Romans to its second iteration today. It’s a long journey, but the author does a great job of showing how thought has influenced culture throughout history. Definitely recommend.

Thorough Historical Timeline

This thorough historical timeline of the beliefs, discoveries, theories, and philosophies that people have developed and explored gives a solid foundation to choosing what to live by.
In our humanity, we must willingly and even proactively seek out truth and then voluntarily choose to live by what we can trust, when we can no longer chase theories.

Excellent work

Tough subject well handled. Worthy of multiply readings. The last chapter is encouraging. Hope is hard come by.

Understandable and Ritch

This book is a great overview of western thought and it’s written on a comprehend-able level for those who aren’t scholars. It’s also not dry.

Erudite but polemical tour de force

This is a fun listen, especially if you are an leftist atheist like me and want to get a feel for where conservative Christians are coming from. Sunshine takes us on a tour from ancient Greek and Roman thought to the hot button issues of the American culture wars. The tour is an increasingly embattled one as Sunshine, using his keen mind and writing skills, to provide a defensive worldview that promotes the greatness of a particular view of Christianity by crudely summarizing and belittling its critics. Along the way there is much to be learned from Sunshine, especially if you have read alternative readings of similar subjects and can put Sunshine's interpretations alongside others (e.g. Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy). Sunshine also seems genuinely passionate about some real moral problems such as modern slavery and while I find his worldview troubling, he does try to link his philosophy to these problems. I suspect Sunshine would be even more interesting, and probably a better proponent of his worldview if he raised more questions and admitted more doubts into his discourses. BKOR, Dublin