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, a 2-year-old believes he’s the center of his world, a secular humanist believes that the material world is all that exists, and a Buddhist believes he can be liberated from suffering by self-purification. Someone with a 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.
For example, let’s suppose you have bought the idea that beauty is in the eye of the beholder (secular relative truth) as opposed to beauty as defined by God’s purity and creativity (absolute truth). Then any art piece, no matter how vulgar or abstract, would be considered “art,” a creation of beauty.
Four Worldview Examples
Different worldviews prioritize different aspects of the human experience. Here are just a few types of worldviews you might encounter:
1. A humanist worldview: A person’s worldview might be humanist if they prioritize the importance of human beings solving the big questions of existence for themselves. This stands in contrast to more religious viewpoints, in which people hew close to what they consider to be divine or enlightened answers to these questions from deities or inspired teachers.
2. A naturalistic worldview: Some people believe the world is totally explainable through purely natural means. Naturalists also often take a stance of agnosticism or outright skepticism when it comes to any claims of the supernatural or divine.
3. A postmodern worldview: When someone holds to a postmodern viewpoint, they likely consider the concept of worldviews to be totally subjective. In other words, it’s difficult to ground your point of view in anything beyond personal preference. This renders all beliefs and precepts equally valid.
4. A religious worldview: People of faith base their worldviews around the values and dogmas espoused in their sacred texts. For instance, if you chose to espouse a Christian worldview, you would base your philosophical assessments of reality and ethical beliefs on the teachings and ministry of Jesus Christ. People of faith often turn to apologetics (or arguments in favor of their beliefs) to make a case for their worldviews.
What’s a biblical worldview?
A biblical worldview is based on 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 and which George Barna used in his survey:
Did you answer yes to these? Only 9 percent of “born- again” believers did. But what’s more important than your yes to these questions is whether your life shows it. Granted, we are all sinners and fall short, but most of our gut reactions will reflect what we deep-down, honest-to-goodness believe to be real and true.
How does a biblical worldview get diluted?
Here is the big problem. Nonbiblical 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.
For example, most Christians would agree with 1 Thessalonians 4:3 and other Scriptures that command us to avoid sexual immorality, but how often do Christians fall into lust or premarital and extramarital sexual sin? Is it simply because they are weak when tempted, or did it begin much earlier, with the seductive lies from our sexualized society?