What is a Worldview?
“A worldview is the framework from which we view reality and make sense of life and the world. “[It’s] any ideology, philosophy, theology, movement or religion that provides an overarching approach to understanding God, the world and man’s relations to God and the world,” says David Noebel, author of Understanding the Times.
For example,
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a 2-year-old believes he’s the center of his world,
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a secular humanist believes that the material world is all that exists, and
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a Buddhist believes he can be liberated from suffering by self-purification.
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Someone with a Christian Biblical worldview believes his primary reason for existence is to love and serve God.
Whether conscious or subconscious, every person has some type of worldview.
A personal worldview is a combination of all you believe to be true, and what you believe becomes the driving force behind every emotion, decision and action. Therefore, it affects your response to every area of life: from philosophy to science, theology and anthropology to economics, law, politics, art and social order — everything.”
(The foregoing paragraph is an excerpt is taken from https://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/christian-worldview/whats-a-worldview-anyway written by Dr. Del Tackett)
We form a Worldview, and then the Worldview forms us
“These basic ideas become the framework for our thoughts, decision making, and way of analyzing issues.
“A robust and rich model of Christian thinking – the quality of thinking that culminates in a God-centered worldview – requires that we see all truth as interconnected.
“Christianity is a comprehensive worldview and way of life that grows out of Christian reflection on the Bible and the unfolding plan of God revealed in the unity of the Scriptures.
“A God-centered worldview brings every issue, question and cultural concern into submission to all that the Bible reveals and frames all understanding within the ultimate purpose of bringing greater glory to God.” (Albert Mohler – “The conviction to lead” 2012, pages 45, 46)
Why is having a truly Christian Worldview important?
This cannot be overstated: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.” Hosea 4:6
Christians seem to be adrift in a vast ocean of ideas and ideologies. Many of these ideologies have religious overtones and many have wording lifted from the Bible. But, make no mistake, they are worldly and not Christian.
Christian ideas, Christian thought comes from rightly understanding the Bible. The Bible rightly describes, defines and interprets Itself, from a God-centered perspective.
One recent example of how we are adrift comes from a remark from a respected Bible teacher who argues that the Bible is not always meant to be understood in a practical way. The fact that the Book of Genesis seems to explain that the earth is only thousands of years old is just wrong and that science shows us the true understanding of the age of the earth in terms of billions of years. https://youtu.be/SrjUq5K0LsE More and more often, we redefine our understanding of the Bible through the lense of science instead of understanding science through the eyes of God and by His Word.
Increasingly, we turn to science to solve our problems. So, the world increasingly suffers wars, poverty, crime, disease, lonliness, greed and self-destruction.
The Book of James tells us, that “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
Please watch this short intro video and tell me what you think, and if you would be interested in joining in this study by responding below.
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