“They need to know that everyone embraces one philosophy or another-a worldview that defines his or her conception of the world, of reality, and of human life. These beliefs are woven into movies-often in subtle ways that viewers miss. That is why it’s so important that we teach our kids how to find the worldview message in every film.” -Chuck Colson on Worldview awareness when viewing films.
Chuck Colson has been a strong advocate for understanding Worldviews. Click here: breakpoint.org for Worldview research, commentaries, audio broadcasts, videos and resources by Chuck, Eric Metaxas, John Stonestreet and others.
Click here to check out Brian Godawa’s insightful book called “Hollywood Worldviews, Watching Films with Wisdom and Discernment.”
What is a Worldview?
When I look at my life now, compared to 15-20 years ago, I can see how drastically my Worldview has changed. The things that I think are important and that I like to spend my time on today would in no way be a part of my life back then, and visa versa. Why does that happen? I believe that when we decide to walk with Christ our interests, perspectives and attitudes change and we see the world differently. I think that, at least in part, this is what it means to be born again.
We all have a Worldview but many people do not realize it. A Worldview is our set of beliefs and presuppositions. What we believe to be true in the following areas form the foundation of our Worldview:
- God’s existence
- Humanity
- Purpose
- Duty
- Truth
- Society
- Education
- Science
- Aesthetics
- Destiny
Let’s look at the difference between a Christian Worldview and a secular Worldview:
| VIEW ON | SECULAR | CHRISTIAN |
| God’s Existence | No god or can’t know anything for sure about god | God is our Creator, we can know Him. He is triune: Father, Son and Holy Spirit |
| Humanity | Evolved from lower life forms | Made in the image of God |
| Purpose | To do whatever helps us survive—“be a good person” | To pursue God’s plan found in the Bible; Imitate the person of Jesus and follow the “Great Commission” |
| Duty | Self first-take care of the planet-others-maybe then a god | God first-fellow humans-take care of the earth-self last |
| Truth | Relative and culture based | Absolute-based on reality |
| Society | Cultural norms-whatever society accepts-changes with time | Biblical values based on God’s Word |
| Education | Humanism – man centered | Biblical – God centered |
| The Sciences | What we can test and observe – human discoveries – no god | God’s created with intelligent design – discovery of God |
| Aesthetics | Representative of a feeling or moment in time | Beauty based on God’s design and purpose |
| Destiny | Dust or some possible afterlife | Heaven—eternity with God |
Ravi Zacharias and his ministry, RZIM, does a lot of good work on Worldview and Christian Apologetics. Click here to view a short presentation by Ravi: “Worldviews And The Task of A Christian Apologist” For a slightly longer presentation click here: “Worldviews and Purpose and Meaning of Life” and for an even longer presentation click here: “Secularism and Religious Worldviews: Points of Tension”
What is a Christian Worldview?
A Christian’s worldview comes from the Bible. The Bible speaks to all of the life issues we encounter, including our…
- Understanding of God
- Understanding of science, health and medicine
- Understanding of life and purpose
- Understanding of what happens after death
- Understanding of history
- Views on politics
- Ethical practices
- Use of logic
- View of family life and relationships
- Attitudes in everyday life experiences
How do we develop a Christian worldview?
- Make a decision to follow Christ
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, in order that you may know that you have eternal life.
1 John 5:11-13
- Teach others about Christ
This is the “Great Commission” Jesus gave his disciples: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 28:19
(This command is found in all of the Gospels and in the book of Acts)
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
2 Corinthians 5:20a
- Know The Word
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.
2 Timothy 3:16
Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.”
Matthew 22:29
…for they (the Bereans) received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.
Acts 17:11-12
In the Old Testament the Israelites are told…
And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. These commands I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Deuteronomy 6:5-7
Jesus reinforces this command in the New Testament with the “Great Commandment” when He says:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.
Matthew 22:37-40
- Crave Wisdom and Discernment
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Proverbs 1:7
Listen carefully to wisdom; set your mind on understanding. Cry out for wisdom, and beg for understanding. Search for it like silver, and hunt for it like treasure. Then you will understand respect for the Lord, and you will find that you know God.
Proverbs 2:2-5
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best…
Philippians 1:9-10
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
James 1:4-5
Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding.
Proverbs 23:23
- Study Christian Apologetics
Apologetics helps you…
- Gain Biblical knowledge (Deut. 6:5-7; Matthew 22:37-40)
- Articulate Christian beliefs (1 Peter 3:15)
- Share the Christian faith (Matthew 28:19)
- Defend the Christian faith (Jude 1:3-4)
Stand to Reason Ministries with Greg Koukl has excellent resources on all kinds of Christian Apologetics topics. For some excellent short articles click here: The importance of understanding Worldviews
Summary:
- Everyone has a belief, or worldview, based on the way they live their lives.
- People often get their beliefs from people they know, their own feelings, or the culture in general. While such beliefs could be true, it is also possible that they are false.
- Truth in morality and religion has temporal and eternal consequences; apathy and ignorance can be fatal.
- Worldviews affect our beliefs about everything in life, and beliefs result in ideas that have consequences.
How do Christian kids stand up in college against attacks on their Christian Worldview? Click here to watch the documentary: “TrueU: The Toughest Test in College”
Take this quiz and evaluate where your Worldview might fall: Christian, secular or other?
A worldview quiz:
- Where do I spend my free time and what do I like to do?
- What do my friends like to do for fun?
- What do I read for pleasure?
- What do I mostly watch on TV or the internet?
- What type of movies do I like?
- What type of music do I listen to?
- What type of artwork do I display or like to look at?
- When I’m in my car or home alone what do I think about?
- When language becomes inappropriate (profanity, gossip, ridicule etc.) is it coming from me? If not, how do I respond?
- When the subject of God, Jesus, the Bible or Christianity comes up in a conversation, what do I do?
- What are my educational goals based on?
- What are my family, societal and political views based on?
Concluding thoughts:
You will not find this material in the public school curriculum even though it is based on solid evidence and grounded in research. It is ironic that following the evidence to where it leads stops at the door of our public schools as they will not let a “Divine footprint” in!
Join us this year as we examine evidence for the Christian faith and learn how to become a thoughtful defender and ambassador of your faith.
Click into the resource page of this website to view many of the top Christian thinkers and apologists along with some of their work; connecting to these types of resources is essential in your Christian growth.
Please let me know what you think: Give feedback, ask questions or send concerns in the comment section of the blog.
Teri Dugan
TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com
Always be ready to give an answer for the hope that you have in Christ Jesus as Lord. 1 Peter 3:15