What’s in a Worldview?
Romans 12:2
I was watching the NBC national news over the holidays with my father in law. He is a very conservative Republican and loves Rush Limbaugh. Nothing wrong with that. But all he watches is right wing Republican news programs which paint a very jaded picture of the liberal media. Thus, he mistrusts any other news organization. As we watched the news together, there was a story about a solar flare up on the surface of the moon on New Year’s Eve. The story was about the size of the solar flare which extended more than 16,000 miles into space. The news story then showed an image of the earth in relation to the solar flare to give some perspective on its size. In fact, the solar flare was taller than 20 Earths stacked on one another. Upon seeing the image, my father in law, who considers NBC to be liberal media said, “They’re just trying to scare us!” I asked what he meant and he said, “They’re just trying to scare us into thinking the earth almost got hit by this solar flare. They didn’t even tell us how far it was from earth.” He missed the point. The image was comparing the size of the Earth to the solar flare to give us some perspective as to how massive it really was. But there was no convincing him or rationalizing with him. Why? Because of his worldview. He mistrusts the “liberal media” and it influences any news report he hears from them. It’s his worldview.
What’s your worldview? Everyone has one. Whether or not we realize it, we all have certain presuppositions and beliefs that affect the way we view all of life and reality. These guide us in interpreting and forming opinions about the information we receive, humanity, our purpose in life and duties in the world, responsibilities to family, the interpretation of truth, social issues and everything else. A worldview is like a set of lenses through which we perceive the world around us. It’s formed by our education, our upbringing, the culture we live in, the books we read, the media, and the movies we absorb. For many people, their worldview is simply something they have absorbed by osmosis from their surrounding cultural influences. They have never thought about what they believe and wouldn’t be able to give a rational defense of their beliefs to others. Whether conscious or unconscious, every person has a worldview.
Why is your worldview so important? Your worldview determines every emotion, decision and action. George Barna writes, “The primary reason that people do not act like Jesus is because they do not think like Jesus. Behavior stems from what we think - our attitudes, beliefs, values and opinions.” Therefore, it affects your response to every area of life from money to morality, from politics to art, how you worship, how you relate to those around you, the way you study, how you work, how you use your abilities, the way you view sex, how you treat your spouse and friends, the way you train your children, how you vote, the way you deal with death, even what you believe to be true. Jesus Christ came to this planet as a model of how we ought to live. That means our goal should be to act and think like Jesus. George Barna continues, “Sadly, few people consistently demonstrate the love, obedience and priorities of Jesus.” In fact, Barna found that less than 4% of all Americans have a Biblical worldview.
What does it mean to have a Biblical worldview? Someone with a biblical worldview believes his primary reason for existence is to love and serve God. It’s not just about acting like Jesus, it’s about thinking and believing like Jesus. A Christian worldview is based on the truth of the infallible Word of God. When you believe the Bible is entirely true, then you allow it to be the foundation of everything you say and do. Do you have a biblical worldview? Answer the following questions, based on claims found in the Bible which George Barna used in his survey:
• Does absolute moral truth, what is right and wrong no matter what, exist?
• Did Jesus Christ live a sinless life?
• Is God the all-powerful, all-knowing Creator of the universe, and does He still rule it today?
• Is salvation a gift from God that cannot be earned?
• Is Satan real?
• Does a Christian have a responsibility to share his or her faith in Christ with other people?
• Is the Bible accurate in all of its teachings?
Did you answer yes to all of these? If so, then you have the foundation of a Biblical worldview. That’s the first step in putting it into action and living like Jesus.
Adults with a biblical worldview possessed radically different views from those who don’t on morality and acceptable behavior, held divergent religious beliefs, and demonstrated vastly different lifestyle choices. People's views on morally acceptable behavior are deeply impacted as well. Those with a biblical worldview were 31 times less likely to accept cohabitation; 18 times less likely to endorse drunkenness; 12 times less likely to accept profanity; and 11 times less likely to describe adultery as morally acceptable (4% versus 44%). They are less likely to view pornography. They were also twice as likely to have discussed spiritual matters with other people in the past month and to have fasted during the preceding month. As followers of Jesus, we are to think and live like Jesus and that means having a consistent and cohesive Biblical worldview.
Most of us go through life not recognizing that our personal worldviews have been deeply affected by the world. Through the media and other influences, the secularized American view of history, law, politics, science, God and man affects our thinking more than we realize. We then are taken as Colossians 2:8 says, "captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”
Here’s the problem. We’re constantly bombarded with a secular worldview. Non-biblical worldview ideas don't just sit in a book somewhere waiting for people to examine them. They bombard us constantly from television, film, music, newspapers, magazines, books and academia. Because we live in a selfish, fallen world, these ideas seductively appeal to the desires of our flesh, and we often end up incorporating them into our personal worldview. Sadly, we often do this without even knowing it. In the past decade many Christians have rallied around the slogan, "What would Jesus do?" This is a fine question to ask. Unfortunately, it can't really be answered effectively by people who don't share Jesus' worldview. How can we develop a Biblical worldview?
First, get to know the Bible. How well do you know the Bible? The foundation of a biblical worldview starts with what the Bible teaches. We must know and understand what the Bible has to teach in the following areas: creation, humanity, sin, death, marriage, other religions, money, scripture, family, salvation, other religions, government, materialism, hell etc. David Quine says that a Biblical worldview is like a filing cabinet with 7 drawers. In those drawers are answers to seven difficult questions. The first question is, “Is there a God, and what is He like?” The second is, “What is the nature of the universe, its origin, and its structure?” Is there both a seen and unseen part of the world that God is created? The third is “What is the nature of man? The fourth is, “What is the basis of ethics and morality?” The fifth is, “What is the cause of evil and suffering?” The sixth is, “What happens at death?” The final filing cabinet drawer is, “Does life and history have any real meaning to it?” All of these answers must be ground in the Scriptures to have a Biblical worldview.
Second, think theologically not rationally. Howard Stone and James Duke write, “Christian theology is at its root a matter of faith seeking understanding. . . . To be Christian at all is to be a theologian. There are no exceptions....Theology is…a process of thinking about life in the light of the faith that Christians engage in because of their calling.” Thinking theologically is not the same as having religious beliefs, or expressing them, even with great conviction. There is a difference between theology and faith, between doing theology and being religious. Theology is reflecting on our beliefs and seeing how they inform, guide or explain the events of our lives. The problem is most religious people spend most of their religious time "thinking rationally." This is why people can respond to a tragedy and say things like, “Everything happens for a reason.” The problem is they have never considered the true ramifications and implications of such a belief and whether or not it is in agreement with what the Scriptures teach.
So how do you think theologically? Find individual Bible passages that relate to that particular subject. You may not be able to think of many so you may want to consult a Topical Bible which is a tool listing topics and Scriptures which speak to that subject. The second is to ask how the Gospel message might speak to this subject. The Gospel goes like this: God is the loving Creator and Ruler of the world and he made us rulers of the world under him. We reject God when we try to rule the world or our lives without him. We eventually fail in this. God won’t let us rebel forever. There is punishment and death as a result. Because of our rebellion, God sent his son into the world. Jesus lived under God’s rule and died upon the cross as punishment for our sin and offers us forgiveness. God raised Jesus from the dead and gives new life to those who believe in him. He will return to judge the world. We have a choice to make: to reject God and live our own way thus ensuring God’s judgment and our death or believe in Jesus, live under his rule and receive forgiveness and the promise of eternal life. Third is reclusion: consider what conclusions you come to and then go through the process again looking at individual Scriptures and how this conclusion might fit into the Gospel story. This allows us to go deeper and deeper in our faith and closer to a theological foundation and making sure our understanding is theologically sound and in agreement with Scripture.
Delwin Brown and Meridith Underwood add a fourth step: consider why others might choose a different answer or explanation. What purpose might this belief serve for them? What reasons might they give for holding this belief rather than another? This allows us to explore the weaknesses, disadvantages, or possible harmful effects of each option identified, including the one you selected. Becoming aware of the strengths, weaknesses and dangers in any belief, including those we hold dear, does not necessarily mean we must abandon that belief, but does enable us to be on guard against its distortion and misuse. It also calls us to constantly reevaluate and refine our beliefs so that they better reflect what we mean and better serve the function they were intended to serve.
Third, become a doer of the word. James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” The foolish man just hears the words of Jesus, never allowing them to penetrate deep enough to affect him or change him to the degree that he would put them into practice and change how he lives. The Bible calls the action of the wise man faith—trusting in God and His words, the kind of faith that results in a corresponding change in action and behavior. It is the kind of faith that actually produces the kind of behavior based on what was heard. The apostle Paul called this the “obedience of faith” or “the obedience that comes from faith.” It is “the works of faith.” This is what they understood to be the goal of ministry and following Jesus. We are to be obedient by doing the words of Jesus, grounded in the Scriptures. (See Acts 6:7, Romans 1:5, and 16:26, 1 Thess. 1:3 and 2 Thess. 1:11.) If we don't really believe the truth of God and live it, then our witness will be confusing and misleading.
True Christianity is more than a set of ideas to use at church. Christianity as taught in the Bible is itself a worldview, a way of life. The Bible never distinguishes between a “religious” and a “secular” life; the Christian life is the only life there is. Jesus proclaimed Himself “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) and, in doing so, became our worldview. Diligently learning, applying and trusting God’s truths in every area of our lives — whether it's watching a movie, communicating with our spouses, raising our children or working at the office — we can begin to develop a deep comprehensive faith that will stand against the unrelenting tide of our culture's nonbiblical ideas. If we capture and embrace more of God's worldview and trust it with unwavering faith, then we begin to make the right decisions and form the appropriate responses to questions of life and the choices we make. Because, in the end, it is our decisions and actions that reveal what we really believe.
