Truth in Relation to our Worldview
A worldview is the framework from which we view reality and make sense of life and the world around us. “[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,” so says David Noebel, author of Understanding the Times.
Dr. Jeff Myers from Summit Ministries writes that, “A worldview is a pattern of ideas, beliefs, convictions, and habits that help us make sense of God, the world, and our relationship to God and the world.”
“A worldview is a conceptual scheme by which we consciously or unconsciously place or fit everything we believe and by which we interpret and judge reality.” “A worldview is, first of all, an explanation and interpretation of the world and second, an application of this view to life.” (Phillips, W. Gary, and Brown, Williams E., Making Sense of Your World from a Biblical Viewpoint, Moody Press, Chicago, p. 29, 1991.)
The Biblical Worldview Institute says a Biblical worldview is an overarching view of the world based on God’s revealed truth found in the Bible, which directs every aspect of our life in this world. A Biblical worldview shapes our beliefs about God, Creation, Humanity, Moral Order, and Purpose. It helps answer the following questions.
1. God – To whom or what do I ultimately answer?
2. Creation – What comprises reality?
3. Humanity – Who am I, and how did I get here?
4. Moral Order – How do I determine right and wrong?
5. Purpose – Is there a reason and purpose for my existence?
Del Tacket from Focus on the Family says, “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.”
Our worldview determines how we interpret the facts of life. It is not facts or evidence that determines our worldview. It’s our worldview that determines how we interprets the facts of life. You don’t pick up a fossil with a date on it. Your worldview will determine how you calculate the date of the fossil. You look at the stars and if your worldview is atheistic, you will say, “Wow, look what random non-directed evolutionary processes can do.” If you have a Biblical worldview, you’d say, “Wow, isn’t our God amazing to be able to create such a magnificent universe.” Your worldview will affect what you think about the beginnings of the universe, the beginnings of life, about the moral issues of abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality.
Our worldview will influence our morality, our ethics (rules of conduct in a particular cultural setting), our behaviour, and how we interpret and interact with the world around us. The Nazis were operating according to their worldview. They were following their ethics, their social construct. To condemn the Nazis, the judges said there was a Higher Power whose laws they, the Nazis, had disobeyed. There was conflict in Worldviews. The social construct of the Nazis was diametrically opposed to the Judeo – Christian worldview. The conflict was a conflict in Worldviews.
An important aspect of our Biblical worldview is the search for truth in any given situation or statement of fact. Truth is part of what God is. Jesus said He was the Truth. Therefore, in a Biblical worldview, we should always look for and follow that which is true. It’s God’s Word that helps us discern truth. (Heb. 4:12.) We look to the Word to confirm what is true. (Ps. 119:105, & 160) Is it contrary to God’s Word? As we study the Bible, we should look for patterns of truth in the stories, and incidents which we read about. Biblical concepts will help us decide what is true or false in any given situation. Jn 5:39, Isa. 8:20, Acts 17:11, Matt. 22:29.
The translators of the Bible into English under King James the 1st wrote the following paragraphs within an eighteen-page introduction to the reading of the Bible. That lengthy explanatory introduction was found in Bible up until the end of the 19th century.
“The Scriptures can make us wise unto salvation (2 Tim. 3:15-17). If we be ignorant, they will instruct us. If we are out of the way, they will bring us home; if we are out of order, they will reform us. If in heaviness, they will comfort us; if dull in spirit, they will quicken us. If cold, they will inflame us. “Take up and read, take up and read the Scriptures,” said the supernatural voice to Saint Augustine who wrote, “Whatsoever is in Scriptures, believe me, is high and divine; there is verily truth, and a doctrine most fit for the refreshing and renewing of men’s minds, and truly so tempered, that every one may draw from thence that which is sufficient for him, if he come and draw with a devout and pious mind, as true religion requires.” (Isaiah 55:1-3). “Love the Scriptures, and wisdom will love thee,” said Saint Jerome.
“Why need we speak of three or four uses of the Scriptures, when whatsoever is to be believed, or practised, or hoped for, is contained in them? Or why should we write three or four sentences from the Church Fathers, since whosoever is worthy of the name of a Father, from Christ’s time downward, has likewise written not only of the riches, but also of the perfection of the Scripture? ‘I adore the fulness of the Scripture,’ says Tertullian against Hermogenes. And again, to Apelles, a heretic of the same stamp, he says, ‘I do not admit that which you bring and conclude of your own head without Scripture.’”
“The Scriptures then being acknowledged to be so full and so perfect, how can we excuse ourselves of negligence, if we do not study them, of curiosity, if we be not content with them?”
Besides reading and trying to follow what is written in God’s revealed Word, the Bible, we should also listen to God’s still small voice of conscience. The inner voice will speak to us and help to discern how to apply God’s Word to our lives. It can help us to discern whether we should accept the ideas and thoughts we are confronted with daily or not. Isaiah 30:21. 1 Kings 19:11-12. Deut. 30:14.
Ultimately, we believe that God is the originator of all truth and is the Ultimate Truth. We are made in His image, as we find in Gen. 1:27. As a result of being made in God’s image, God has placed a moral compass within our hearts to gauge truth and error. All men, even the unregenerated, have the moral compass within them, which we commonly refer to as our conscience. Rom. 2:14-15. But some men suppress the truth of conscience and the truths that are revealed in nature, and their hearts become darkened. Rom 1:18-32. Jn 3:19-21. Isa 5:20-24. 1 Tim 4:1-2. Jer 8:12. 1 Cor 2:14. 2 Thes 2:10-12.
Since God has given us a free-will, as is shown in Genesis 2, we have the choice of whether to follow the still small voice of conscience or not. We have the choice of whether we will listen to what God has said in His written Word and follow its leadings and how it speaks to our heart, or not. Deut. 28:1-2, & 15. Deut. 30:15-20. Remember God’s Word says that His word is not dead, but alive. Hebrews 4:12; John 6:63. God’s Word will speak to us if we take time to listen to it. Luke 16:19-31.
In Genesis 3 we see that Eve was deceived by the serpent, but the Bible says that Adam sinned. God had told Adam specifically not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil before Eve was created. Gen. 2:15-18. Since we don’t see God telling Eve about that commandment, maybe God left it up to Adam to transmit the information. Eve was more susceptible to the Serpents lies as a result. In Romans, Paul explains what Adam has done and what Jesus has done to redeem us.
“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.” Rom 5:12-19. NLT
Jesus broke the curse that was upon mankind through Adam’s sin and reopened the gates of heaven to all those that believe. (Jn 1:12. Jn 3:16. Rom 10:13. Hebrews 9:14-15). That’s our Biblical worldview. It has God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit as the principal and centre of our thinking and acting. God’s Word is the principal filter through which we judge all things to be true or false. We have put on the mind of Christ and are therefore able to judge all things. Jn 7:24. 1 Sam16:7; 1 Cor. 2:15-16. Phil. 2:2-13.
Our Biblical worldview helps us to interpret the world around us. We see and understand the world and all that is in it, and all that occurs through the lens of our Biblical understanding. We have the filter of Romans 8:28 that says that all things that happen in our lives will work together for good because we love and trust God. The filter of 1 Thessalonians 5:18 helps us to be thankful in every situation. We have the lens of 1 Corinthians 13 that admonishes us that love is the highest virtue. John 13 teaches us that the greatest among us must be servant of all. The many other Biblical filters or lenses enable us to face the world and all that confronts us daily with faith and hope and love and joy. It’s our Biblical worldview and the mind of Christ that makes us overcomers and knowledgeable of the truth that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. We are more than conquerors through Him that loves us. Romans 8:35-39.
In conclusion what is the Christian Biblical worldview? The following definition is offered as a working model from Answers in Genesis:
The Christian worldview sees and understands God the Creator and His creation, that is, man and the world, primarily through the lens of God's special revelation, the Holy Scriptures; and secondarily through the lens of God's natural revelation in creation as interpreted by human reason and reconciled by and with Scripture. The ultimate purpose is to believe and behave in accordance with God's will and, thereby, glorify God with one's mind and life, both now and in eternity.
What essentially distinguishes the Christian worldview from other worldviews? At the heart of the matter, a Christian worldview contrasts with competing worldviews in that it recognizes that God is the unique source of all truth, and relates all truth back to an understanding of God and His purposes for this life and the next.
Professor of Philosophy Arthur Holmes, formerly from Wheaton College, summarizes the unique implications of a Christian worldview when relating absolute truth to God.
1. To say that truth is absolute rather than relative means that it is unchanging and universally the same. (There is no true for you and not true for me.)
2. Truth is absolute not in or of itself, but because it derives ultimately from the one, eternal God. It is grounded in his “metaphysical objectivity,” and that of His creation.
3. Absolute propositional truth, therefore, depends on the absolute personal truth (or fidelity) of God, who can be trusted in all He does and says.
A Christian worldview provides a framework by which we understand the world and all of its reality from God's perspective and, therefore, order our lives accordingly to God's will.
Jeremiah 9:23-24. Thus, says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.
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