Worldview

Worldview is the latest buzzword in Christian circles. We're all told we need one, and whether we know it or not, we all have one.

Although the Bible never uses the word "worldview," in Colossians 2: 6-8, we are commanded to be able to discern and discard false philosophy-which is essentially worldview. "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Christ."

But what is a worldview and how is it formed? A person's worldview consists of the values, ideas or the fundamental belief system that determines his attitudes, beliefs and ultimately, actions. Typically, this includes his view of issues such as the nature of God, man, the meaning of life, nature, death, and right and wrong. We begin developing our worldview first through interactions within our family, then in social settings such as school and church, and from our companions and life experiences. Increasingly, our media culture is playing a key role in shaping worldview. We are a culture saturated with powerful media images in movies, television, commercials and music. Consistently consuming entertainment with false ideas though will inevitably distort our view of the world.

Although our worldview is well established by the time we're adults, the challenge is to formalize it by asking probing questions to help you understand what you believe and why you believe it. During this process, if your thinking is inconsistent with biblical teaching, you can discard the false ideas and replace them with truth. Different resources employ somewhat different approaches, but they all provide foundational answers to the big questions of life. To help formalize your own worldview and evaluate competing worldviews, seven questions are common to many worldview resources:

1) Is there a god and what is he like?
2) What is the nature and origin of the universe?
3) What is the nature and origin of man?
4) What happens to man after death?
5) Where does knowledge come from?
6) What is the basis of ethics and morality?
7) What is the meaning of human history?

It doesn't matter how many questions you use, just that you begin asking the big questions of life in four key areas -- deity, origin, nature and rules -- and then answer them based on Scripture. Finding answers using the Bible provides the foundation of the Christian or biblical worldview. For example, someone who holds the biblical worldview would answer the question, "Is there a god and what is he like?" using what he knows to be true about the character of God according to Scripture. The Bible teaches that God is sovereign, personal, infinite, transcendent, just, omniscient, immanent, and good. These attributes are not exhaustive by any means, but do establish the basic character of God. This checklist provides a starting point for identifying false or competing worldviews.

Answers to the other questions can be derived from Scripture as well, and are presented in numerous worldview books or works of Christian apologetics. Once you can answer those questions clearly for yourself based on Scripture, you then can apply them to everything you watch, read or listen to. Why is this important? Any objective social analyst would conclude that the United States faces its fair share of moral and spiritual problems. A recent research study from the Barna Research Group also suggests that a large share of the nation's moral and spiritual challenges are directly attributable to the absence of a biblical worldview among Americans.

For the purposes of their research, a biblical worldview was defined as believing that absolute moral truths exist; that such truth is defined by the Bible; and a firm belief in six specific religious views. Those views were that: Jesus Christ lived a sinless life; God is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe and He stills rules it today; salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned; Satan is real; a Christian has a responsibility to share their faith in Christ with other people; and the Bible is accurate in all of its teachings.

Citing findings from a national survey of 2,033 adults showed that only 1 in 20 hold a biblical worldview as the basis of their decision-making, and researcher George Barna described the outcome. "Behavior stems from what we think -- our attitudes, beliefs, values and opinions. Although most people own a Bible and know some of its content, our research found that most Americans have little idea how to integrate core biblical principles to form a unified and meaningful response to the challenges and opportunities of life. We're often more concerned with survival amidst chaos than with experiencing truth and significance."

One of the most striking insights from the research was the influence this way of thinking has upon people's behavior. Adults with a biblical worldview possessed radically different views on morality, held divergent religious beliefs, and demonstrated vastly different lifestyle choices. Today's "culture wars" for example are, in fact, "worldview wars." Whether in the student's classroom, the neighborhood school board meeting, or the office hallway, dialogues and debates over abortion, gay and lesbian issues, or how the federal budget should be balanced are ultimately grounded in a person's worldview. And because we get our worldviews by and large from our parents, family, and larger surrounding culture, -- today's generation, unfortunately, is being grounded in whatever worldview dominates the arts and media of popular culture.

Upon comparing the perspectives of those who have a biblical worldview with those who do not, the former group were 31 times less likely to accept cohabitation (2% versus 62%, respectively); 18 times less likely to endorse drunkenness (2% versus 36%); 15 times less likely to condone gay sex (2% versus 31%); 12 times less likely to accept profanity 3% versus 37%); and 11 times less likely to describe adultery as morally acceptable (4% versus 44%). In addition, less than one-half of one percent of those with a biblical worldview said voluntary exposure to pornography was morally acceptable (compared to 39% of other adults), and a similarly miniscule proportion endorsed abortion (compared to 46% of adults who lack a biblical worldview).

Although attributes such as gender, age and household income showed no statistical relationship to the possession of a biblical worldview, adults who have a biblical worldview possessed a somewhat different demographic profile than those who did not. For instance, individuals who attended college were three times more likely than those who did not to have this perspective. Married adults were more than twice as likely as adults who had never been wed to hold such a worldview. And whites were slightly more likely than either blacks or Hispanics to hold this ideology.

One of the largest gaps was between Republicans (10% of whom had a biblical worldview), Independents (2%) and Democrats (1%). Also, residents of Texas and North Carolina were more likely than people in other states to have a biblical worldview. Among the states in which such a worldview was least common were Louisiana and the six states in New England. The nation's largest state - California - was average (i.e., 4% of its residents had a biblical worldview).

This research also found that one of the most effective methods of enabling people to develop a biblical worldview is by addressing the seven critical questions that consistently lead to beliefs and behaviors that are in tune with biblical teaching. Outlining that process in a new book he has written (as an outgrowth of the research), entitled Think Like Jesus, Barna also noted that many churches are already helping their congregants to implement such a way of addressing daily challenges and opportunities.

"The emphasis of these churches is to not only teach biblical perspectives," according to Barna, "but also to help people connect the dots of the core principles taught. Rather than simply provide people with good material and hope they figure out what to do with it, these are churches whose services, programs, events and relationships are geared to weaving a limited number of foundational biblical principles into a way of responding to every life situation. The goal is to facilitate a means of interpreting and responding to every life situation that is consistent with God's expectations. These are not perfect people, but once they catch on to the critical principles found in the Bible and train their minds to incorporate those views into their thinking, their behavior varies noticeably from the norm."

So how about your worldview, is Jesus Christ at the center of it? Have you invited Him into your heart as your Leader and Forgiver? Do you know why you are here, what you are to do, and where you are going? Do you have an everlasting certainty and hope in your heart of heaven, or a sense of foreboding regarding the afterlife? The Christian worldview transcends all others because it meets humanity's deepest need, namely peace with God, from which flows purpose, acceptance, belonging, significance, destiny and glory.

The Christian worldview can be summed up in a single phrase: "Jesus is Lord" -- which is the first creed of Christianity. Yielding to Christ's lordship over all of life is no easy task though. Yet, once we begin to understand that all of life -- not just "church" life -- is of intense interest to God, we are able to bring a renewed sense of purpose to our lives and faith. As such, the Lordship of Christ does not allow us to ignore art, politics, or literature, any more than it allows us to ignore the lost, hungry, sick, or the poor.

Only by seeing the world through God's eyes, or being "Christ conscious" will we understand our mandate to redeem the fullness of our culture and reach out to a dying world.


Roy Tanner


This report references data from Barna Research and Focus on the Family.