Biblical Worldview - Part 1 - What is a Worldview? Why is it Important?
By Ben Quine
**The way we act is shaped by the way we look at the world. Our lives are shaped by our basic assumptions and convictions. These Worldview Articles will explore what a “worldview” is. Each person has a worldview, whether they know it or not, and it determines every decision and choice a person makes. Do you have a Biblical Worldview or are factors other than the Bible informing your choices and decisions. In this series of articles, we will take an in-depth look at 7 Vital Worldview Questions, as the starting place for building a Biblical Worldview. (These articles are adapted from David Quine’s Answers for Difficult Days “Seven Vital Worldview Questions.” David is Ben’s father and the founder of Cornerstone Curriculum a Biblically based Homeschool Curriculum.)
“My wife grew up in a missionary family serving in Papua New Guinea. There, the local people believe that since outhouses are very dirty places, they should be kept far away from where you live. The villagers thought the missionaries were super gross for building a restroom in their home. A sensible person would never dream of putting an outhouse inside your house! Ideally, you would keep them downhill, a short hike away, and preferably on piers built out over the ocean water.
In ancient times, doctors believed that to restore health it was usually necessary to remove blood from the patient. This process, based on the teaching of the ancient Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers, was known as bloodletting, and it was meant to restore balance to the humors. But bloodletting — though it was the accepted medical treatment for many ailments for nearly 2,000 years — was actually very harmful and dangerous.
Have you ever considered your most basic beliefs? The two examples above show us that the way we act is shaped by the way we look at the world. Our lives are shaped by our basic assumptions and convictions. Those beliefs may be based on truth, or they may not. They may lead to inconvenience, like having to hike to the bathroom, or they may mean the difference between life and death.
Where do these beliefs come from? They may seem like obvious facts: “everyone can see that outhouses are dirty.” They may be beliefs that you have chosen after careful consideration: “__”. Most likely you were taught them in school, or compiled them from the films, news, and social media you’ve experienced, or maybe you’ve simply “caught” them from your family and culture, the way you catch a stomach bug.
Beliefs come from different places, but most people have never seriously considered their basic beliefs.
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, (II Corinthians 10:5)
We call the set of basic beliefs a worldview. Each person has a worldview, whether they know it or not, and it determines every decision and choice a person makes. We as believers are called to take every thought captive to obey Christ!
We are serious about worldview because it is a central component in determining the health and well-being of our nation and its people.
…A worldview is the filter through which you experience, interpret, and respond to the world. It is, in essence, your decision-making filter. (George Barna, American Worldview Inventory 2021-2022)
There are several major worldviews that have been dominant throughout history: Pantheism, Secular Humanism, Marxism, Eastern Mysticism, Nihilism, and others. Some of these worldviews are similar to and compatible with each other, but other worldviews are completely incompatible. The worldview that comes from the teaching of the Bible is the Biblical Worldview.
Why does it matter what you believe? How does the predominant worldview impact a culture?
And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)
First of all, we know from Scripture that there is no other name [title] besides Christ, the Messiah, which can save humanity. Only Jesus Christ—God’s perfect Anointed One—could die in our place and pay the debt we owed, to reconcile us to God. Since other worldviews reject the Bible and lead people away from the saving work of Jesus, or deny his sacrificial death and resurrection, they have no power to rescue a world dying in sin.
Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. (I Peter 2:10-12)
In addition to being incapable of providing spiritual salvation, non-biblical worldviews also inevitably bring pain and suffering to their people. They lack a sufficient basis for morality, justice, and the meaning of life, and consequently fuel the spiral of hopelessness and oppression of the weakest in society.
But the Biblical Worldview is based on the truth of God’s Word. If we want to have a good life, we should live according to God’s principles, according to His instructions, according to His standards of right and wrong, according to I Peter 2:10-12.
This is why the Biblical Worldview has brought more life, more joy, and more freedom to more people in history than any other worldview.
So what is the prevailing worldview situation in America today?
Pew Research Center has reported that in the 1970s, some 90% of adults in the United States claimed to be Christians, but by 2020, the figure had dropped to only 64%.
There are many professing “Christians” in America today, yet very few people actually have a Biblical Worldview. Dr. George Barna, in his American Worldview Inventory 2021-2022, found that while 51% of Americans think they hold a Biblical Worldview, only 6% actually do. In fact, most Americans (88%) hold core beliefs of their own individual concoction, blended together from various worldviews and religions. This hodgepodge of belief is called Syncretism.
Combining conflicting worldviews is not a new practice. In the early 1500s Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, depicting the major Biblical Prophets sitting next to the polytheistic Greek oracles known as Sibyls. Similarly, the attacks on Galileo and other early scientists were the result of Syncretism:
When the Roman Church attacked Copernicus and Galileo (1564-1642), it was not because their teaching actually contained anything contrary to the Bible. The Church authorities thought it did, but that was because Aristotelian elements had become part of Church orthodoxy, and Galileo’s notions clearly conflicted with them. In fact, Galileo defended the compatibility of Copernicus and the Bible, and this was one of the factors which brought about his trial. (Francis A. Schaeffer)
In this series of articles, we will take an in-depth look at the 7 Vital Worldview Questions, as the starting place for building a Biblical Worldview. These crucial philosophy questions include:
Is there a God? If so, What is He Like?
What is the Origin and Nature of the Universe?
What is the Nature of Humanity?
What is the Basis of Right and Wrong?
What is the Cause of Evil and Suffering?
What Happens to a Person at Death?
Does Life and History Have Any Real Meaning?
In this series we will dig deep into Scripture to find the true answers to these questions, to set our lives on the course marked out by God’s holy Word.
…so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (Ephesians 4:14)
The Apostle Paul declares that the secular ideas that assail us are like an ocean storm attempting to dash our ship against the rocks. We can be spiritually and mentally shipwrecked if we let the false teachings of the world direct our lives. Just like bloodletting was acceptable for millennia, false ideology, though embraced today, careens us individually and as a society towards death. Let us take every thought captive to Christ, embrace God’s truth, and reject the world’s philosophy.
Now, let us start at the very beginning in our next article: Is there a God? If so, what is He like?
Ben Quine is Vice President of Christians Engaged and is the Director of Curriculum Development and Strategic Ministry Partnerships.
Learn more about Ben on our website: christiansengaged.org/leadership
Find Ben’s corresponding “Answers for Difficult Days” books in our Christians Engaged Store