Worldview
What is a worldview
A worldview refers to a comprehensive concept of the world from a specific standpoint. A Christian worldview, then, is a comprehensive concept of the world from a Christian standpoint. One’s worldview is the basis for making daily decisions and is therefore extremely important.
How we look at any situation is influenced by how we look at the world at large. Every worldview, Christian and non-Christian, deals with at least these three questions:
Naturalism
A prevalent worldview today is naturalism, which answers the three questions like this: 1) We are the product of random acts of nature with no real purpose. 2) We do not respect nature as we should. 3) We can save the world through ecology and conservation. A naturalistic worldview generates many related philosophies such as moral relativism, pragmatism, utopianism, or stakeholder capitalism/cultural marxism.
Christian worldview
This worldview, on the other hand, answers the three questions biblically:
Do all Christians have a consistent biblical worldview?
I wished that were true. A biblical worldview is one’s total concept of the world from a biblical standpoint. It’s a Christian’s basic belief system about the meaning of life, the nature of God, the source of truth, and other foundational concepts. Yet many Christians’ worldview is not biblically consistent. They may approach some issues from a biblical viewpoint, but not every issue.
There are many reasons why some Christians fail to have a consistent biblical worldview:
To have a consistent biblical worldview we must go back to the Bible and take hold of God's promises, for the world offers us nothing (Luke 9:25; John 12:25; Matthew 6:19).
Sources: gotquestions.org
A worldview refers to a comprehensive concept of the world from a specific standpoint. A Christian worldview, then, is a comprehensive concept of the world from a Christian standpoint. One’s worldview is the basis for making daily decisions and is therefore extremely important.
How we look at any situation is influenced by how we look at the world at large. Every worldview, Christian and non-Christian, deals with at least these three questions:
- Where did we come from and why are we here?
- What is wrong with the world?
- How can we fix it?
Naturalism
A prevalent worldview today is naturalism, which answers the three questions like this: 1) We are the product of random acts of nature with no real purpose. 2) We do not respect nature as we should. 3) We can save the world through ecology and conservation. A naturalistic worldview generates many related philosophies such as moral relativism, pragmatism, utopianism, or stakeholder capitalism/cultural marxism.
Christian worldview
This worldview, on the other hand, answers the three questions biblically:
- We are God’s creation, designed to govern the world and fellowship with Him (Genesis 1:27-28; 2:15).
- We sinned against God and subjected the whole world to a curse (Genesis 3).
- God Himself has redeemed the world through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ (Genesis 3:15; Luke 19:10), and will one day restore creation to its former perfect state (Isaiah 65:17-25). A Christian worldview leads us to believe in moral absolutes, miracles, human dignity, and the possibility of redemption.
Do all Christians have a consistent biblical worldview?
I wished that were true. A biblical worldview is one’s total concept of the world from a biblical standpoint. It’s a Christian’s basic belief system about the meaning of life, the nature of God, the source of truth, and other foundational concepts. Yet many Christians’ worldview is not biblically consistent. They may approach some issues from a biblical viewpoint, but not every issue.
There are many reasons why some Christians fail to have a consistent biblical worldview:
- They lack knowledge of what the Bible says. They do not know the Word. If someone doesn’t know what the Bible says about the sanctity of human life, for example, it will be difficult for him or her to form a biblical view on the subject. For the uninformed, education is the key.
- They reject what the Bible says on certain issues. The Barna Group conducted a survey asking questions about the Bible to determine if people truly believed what the Bible said. The results were startling: only 4 percent did. Professed Christians did not fare much better. If a professed Christian does not believe what the Bible says, it will be impossible for him to have an authentic biblical worldview. For those who are contrary, repentance is the key.
- They are more concerned with what the world thinks of them than what God thinks. “Fear of man will prove to be a snare” (Proverbs 29:25). A believer who views the world from a biblical standpoint recognizes that he is not of the world. Jesus said, “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you” (John 15:19; 17:14). When a believer starts making compromises with the world’s way of thinking, he loses focus on God’s perspective. For those who are fearful, courage is the key.
- They are lukewarm in their commitment to Christ. Like the church of Laodicea, they are “neither cold nor hot” (Revelation 3:15), unwilling to take a stand for Christ. For the lukewarm, commitment is the key.
- They are influenced by the lies of the world. From the time of Adam and Eve, Satan has used his ability to deceive and confuse (Genesis 3:1-6; Revelation 12:9). A powerful tool in Satan’s arsenal is the idea that the Bible is a book of myths, that it’s full of errors and not to be trusted. Satan wishes to convince people that the Bible is no longer relevant; its laws and principles are obsolete. Many in the church have been influenced by such thinking. For the deceived, discernment is the key.
- They are swayed by their circumstances and doubt God’s promises. In Matthew 14, when Peter stepped out of the boat to walk on the water, he was demonstrating a biblical worldview: Jesus is the source of all power. However, when Peter focused on the storm-tossed sea, his worldview shifted: maybe the waves are more powerful than Jesus. For the doubting, faith is the key.
To have a consistent biblical worldview we must go back to the Bible and take hold of God's promises, for the world offers us nothing (Luke 9:25; John 12:25; Matthew 6:19).
Sources: gotquestions.org