No. 7: Worldview

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I have been thinking about worldview. We have seen the word ‘worldview” in books, newspapers, and magazines, and we hear it on the news and even from the pulpit. But what exactly does it mean?

James W. Sire, in his book The Universe Next Door, writes that “A world view is a set of presuppositions (or assumptions) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously) about the basic makeup of our world.”

But I prefer W. Gary Phillips’ and William E. Brown’s definition found in their work titled Making Sense of Your World. They write, “A worldview is, first of all, an explanation and interpretation of the world and second, an application of this view to life. In simpler terms, our worldview is a view of the world and a view for the world.”

In the last decade or so, a wave of worldview-related organizations have sprung up across the land. The Worldview Academy sponsors leadership camps to help train Christians to “… live in accord with a biblical worldview…” Charles Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries, describes the imperative of worldview as a need to know “the truth about truth.” Colson helped to create The Wilberforce Forum, which “offers a number of resources to help Christians gain an understanding of a biblical worldview and to equip them to think and act Christianly in all aspects of life.” Colson also sponsors The Worldview Church, an online resource center providing worldview related materials.

In the spring of 2005 I attended a conference sponsored by Worldview Weekend, an organization founded by Brannon Howse, and dedicated to help believers “think and live like a Christian.” I found the weekend experience very stimulating and encouraging. Plug the words “biblical worldview” into your Internet browser and see what comes up. You will be amazed at how many groups and organizations are focused on promoting and teaching a Biblically based worldview.

Everyone possesses a worldview, whether it is an intentional, well developed, systematic set of ideas, or simply a hodge-podge of notions collected together from various sources over time. A worldview is a mental map of sorts, locking in on certain realities that provide anchorage for our entire spectrum of ideas. Maps are essential of course, for orientation, helping us to see where we are in relation to everything around us. Without a proper worldview we become disoriented, not able to locate ourselves in the big scheme.

Why do we need a Biblical worldview? I suggest that at the center or core of every worldview is our idea of God. Secondary to that core is our idea of man. Our ideas regarding God and man determine our ideas about everything else. If our ideas about God and man are not correct, then everything thing else in our mental map will be out of place.

Cultures in the free world are shaped by the collective worldview of a people. Business, education, the arts and civil government emerge as a reflection of the composite beliefs of the whole. In nations where civil government is elected freely by the governed, worldview determines the mindset (see No. 6) of those elected to govern. Therefore, every Christian should be studying Scripture to help anchor them in Biblical truth, so that we are properly oriented in reality.