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Faith
What’s a Christian Worldview?
By Del Tackett
A recent nationwide survey completed by the Barna Research Group determined that only 4
percent of Americans had a “biblical” worldview. When George Barna, who has researched
cultural trends and the Christian Church since 1984, looked at the “born again” believers in
America, the results were a dismal 9 percent.
Barna’s survey also connected an individual’s worldview with his or her moral beliefs and
actions. Barna says, “Although most people own a Bible and know some of its content, our
research found that most Americans have little idea how to integrate core biblical principles
to form a unified and meaningful response to the challenges and opportunities of life.”
1. What’s 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 2yearold 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 selfpurification.
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.
2. What’s a biblical worldview?
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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. That means,
for instance, you take seriously the mandate in Romans 13 to honor the governing authorities
by researching the candidates and issues, making voting a priority.
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:
Do absolute moral truths exist?
Is absolute truth defined by the Bible?
Did Jesus Christ live a sinless life?
Is God the allpowerful and allknowing Creator of the universe, and does He still rule it
today?
Is salvation a gift from God that cannot be earned?
Is Satan real?
Does a Christian have a responsibility to share his or her faith in Christ with other
people?
Is the Bible accurate in all of its teachings?
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 deepdown, honest
togoodness believe to be real and true.
3. 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?
4. Why does a biblical worldview matter?
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If we don’t really believe the truth of God and live it, then our witness will be confusing and
misleading. Most of us go through life not recognizing that our personal worldviews have
been deeply affected by the world. Through the media and other influences, the secularized
American view of history, law, politics, science, God and man affects our thinking more than
we realize. We then are taken “captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which
depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ”
(Colossians 2:8).
However, by diligently learning, applying and trusting God’s truths in every area of our lives
— whether it’s watching a movie, communicating with our spouses, raising our children or
working at the office — we can begin to develop a deep comprehensive faith that will stand
against the unrelenting tide of our culture’s nonbiblical ideas. If we capture and embrace
more of God’s worldview and trust it with unwavering faith, then we begin to make the right
decisions and form the appropriate responses to questions on abortion, same sex marriage,
cloning, stemcell research and even media choices. Because, in the end, it is our decisions
and actions that reveal what we really believe.
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind” (Romans 12:2).
Our first priority in family ministry should be to introduce people to the author of
family — He is the greatest hope for healthy, thriving families. We believe that
parents should aspire to model for their children how to humbly follow the
teachings and spirit of Jesus at home and in the community.
