Category: Worldviews
If your neighbor were to ask you to describe your worldview, how would you respond? Would you know what they were talking about? Can you articulate your worldview? Do you know what a worldview is?
Our worldview (also called a life-view) is, simply put, the way in which we look upon our world; not the physical earth per se, but the totality of existence. It involves the underlying assumptions in our thinking about the universe, the filters through which we interpret the world around us. If we asked the question, “Why are things the way they are, rather than different than they are,” our foundational worldview would direct our answer. With respect to beliefs concerning the origin of the universe, ethics, purpose, time usage, money, marriage, college, family, literally everything that is part of our world, our worldview describes the basic presuppositions which influence our thinking and decision making.
For example, when election times come around I have heard Christians say that if a candidate is not pro-life then he or she is not an acceptable option. For these Christians, their view of the world is such that at the top of the list of requirements for a government representative is a high regard for human life. Now, suppose there are two pro-life candidates, and one of them wants to increase taxation in order to make government-sponsored programs such as health care and social security more extensive, and the other wants to reduce taxes in order to keep money in the hands of individuals. If your worldview includes a concept of government which is responsible to maintain the financial and medical well-being of its citizens, then you may opt for the former; if you see the government as primarily a protector against evildoers and believe that individuals should be responsible for their own fiscal well-being, then you may opt for the latter. In either case, the believer should seek the position that is a reflection of the teaching of Christ. Christians should have a Christian worldview in all things, including politics.
Everybody has a worldview. It is true that not everybody can explain their worldview in concrete, well-defined terms, but everybody has a system of thought through which they perceive their surroundings. If someone were to deny having a worldview because they believe that there are no filters through which to view the world, then they are filtering reality through the belief that there are no filters, which is their worldview.
We must be concerned with worldviews for two reasons: 1) to be sure that our view of reality is consistent with biblical principles, and 2) to understand our neighbor’s view of reality.