Does the Right Worldview Matter?
By Amy Beange
This post is the first in a three-part series highlighting topics covered in our 13-session Worldview Course, which is available on DVD/digital or taught live in person or via Zoom.
“Worldview” is a popular term in apologetics, and it serves as a foundation for FBB’s teaching on the Christian faith. But what is a worldview, and more importantly, what difference does the right worldview make?
A worldview is simply defined as a “way of understanding reality”. It consists of a set of beliefs and understandings that a person uses to comprehend the world and navigate through life. A worldview is often held unconsciously. As you can imagine, almost no one sits down and works out his or her core beliefs and how to live them in daily life. For most people, their worldview is unconscious and may even include points of contradiction. Nevertheless, everyone has a worldview and lives life according to its principles.
A worldview covers at least seven main areas.
What is ultimate reality?
What is the nature of the world around us?
What is a human being?
What happens to us when we die?
Why can we know things?
How do we know right from wrong?
What is the meaning of life?
The answers to these questions provide a framework for understanding the world. So, let’s walk through a couple of different answers in order to illustrate how this works. We will compare and contrast Christian Theism and Materialism. Christian Theism references the trinitarian nature of God (One God Who is three divine Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit), along with the teachings of the Bible, including the New Testament, as His self-revelation. Materialism is the philosophy that matter and energy are all that exist—it finds no room for a spiritual realm.
1. What is ultimate reality?
“A worldview is simply defined as a “way of understanding reality”. It consists of a set of beliefs and understandings that a person uses to comprehend the world and navigate through life.”
Christian Theism teaches that the self-existent, triune God is the foundation of reality. The material world is his creation and cannot exist apart from Him. Materialism, on the other hand, holds that matter and energy are the foundation of reality and no spiritual or otherwise non-material realm can exist. There is a place for God within Christian theism but not within materialism. Therefore, materialism will never reference God or non-material things in any of its answers to the rest of the questions.
A Christian witnessing to someone who holds a materialist worldview must understand that whatever he or she points to as evidence for the existence of God will simply be interpreted in a way that does not require God. For instance, if the Christian points to design in organisms, the materialist may speak about natural selection or mutations as being sufficient to explain apparent design.
Or if the Christian points to evidence for the resurrection of Christ the materialist may question the reliability of the claims, perhaps claiming Christ did not really die on the cross or that he did not exist as a historical person.
The materialist’s worldview prevents him from ever referencing a spiritual realm or supernatural entity, or force, and so what is convincing to the Christian will be unimpressive to the materialist.
2. What is the nature of the world around us?
Christian theism holds that the material world is the creation of God—it is completely dependent on God for its origin and continued existence. Materialism holds that since matter and energy are all that exists the world can be explained in terms of material, or natural processes. So, regarding the origin of the universe, the materialist might refer to the Big Bang, the multiverse, string theory or other such concepts, which are efforts to explain in material terms, why everything exists.
3. What is a human being?
“God has created humans for his glory and therefore the meaning of life is achieved in relation to how well any given individual honors God.”
For the Christian, humans are physical and spiritual beings created by God in His image and for His purposes. We are endowed with God-like properties such as personhood, intelligence, speech, creativity, and free will and are capable of having personal relationships with each other and with God. We are endowed with dignity and value by virtue of being God’s special creations upon whom he has lavished love and care, and especially as objects of His plan of redemption through Jesus Christ.
For the materialist, humans are highly evolved mammals whose intelligence, speech and creativity are the products of a long process of development from lower animals. Life is a continuum of species, some more complex than others; there is no qualitative difference between humans and animals or animals and plant life. To the materialist the idea of “inherent value” for humans does not appear to have an objective basis.
4. What happens to us when we die?
Christians believe that humans are immortal. Traditional teaching holds that when a person dies, his soul is temporarily separated from his body but will eventually be rejoined at the final resurrection, after which he will be judged and consigned to his eternal fate, either eternally in God’s presence or separated from Him forever.
Materialists believe all life is temporary. When a human dies his consciousness ends and his body decays.
5. Why can we know things?
Christian Theism holds that humans can know things because we have been created in the image of the God who possesses intelligence and who has made us in His image, engineering our minds, senses, and the world around us to make real understanding and knowledge possible.
Materialism holds that because knowledge contributes a survival advantage, we have evolved the ability to know things.
6. How do we know what is right and wrong?
For the Christian, morality is anchored in the character of God. God is good and therefore everything he does or teaches is good. God has created humans in his image and given them consciences which alert them to deviations from his standard of goodness. God has also revealed himself and his will through his Word, the Bible.
For the materialist, morality is an evolved survival mechanism. Humans organize societies around shared moral standards which vary depending on time, place, values etc. and for which each society develops standards of enforcement.
7. What is the meaning of life?
Since human life is anchored in God in Christian theism, its meaning depends on God’s will. God has created humans for his glory and therefore the meaning of life is achieved in relation to how well any given individual honors God. God is glorified in our acknowledgement of his sovereignty, our submission to his will, and our fulfillment of the mandate he placed on us at creation, which is to “fill and subdue the earth.”
In materialism life is the product of unguided evolution; therefore, no formal meaning or purpose for life can exist. But given that humans have attained a high level of consciousness, creativity, emotional capacity and social relationship, life’s meaning is often found in cultivating our abilities and forming intimate relationships with other humans, since these are things that give pleasure and a sense of fulfillment.
“If it is not truly possible to know reality; if we are simply left to our own best guesses, then no one is served by trying to persuade them that their views are incorrect or that they should adopt different ones.”
We can see from this short summary that worldviews can offer quite different answers to the seven basic questions. We can also see that how these questions are answered will have a significant impact on how each person lives. For instance, if a Christian believes the meaning of life is found in the will of God, he will naturally wish to look to God for guidance in specific situations. He may consult scripture and the opinions of mature believers for help in choosing a marriage partner or deciding how to manage money or raise children. He will look to God for comfort and guidance in crisis, and when confronting his own death God’s will will inform his response, reminding him of the temporary nature of physical death and the prospect of the resurrection to eternal life. Likewise, the materialist’s life will be informed by his answers to the basic worldview questions.
But in the final analysis, does any of this really matter? We live in a pluralistic world in which there are many disparate views about the nature of reality and the meaning of life. Inclusivity and tolerance are the buzzwords of today. If you wish to tell someone about your views you may well be met with “that’s nice, I’m glad you found something that works for you,” followed by a description of the beliefs the other person holds, beliefs that may be quite different.
If it is not truly possible to know reality; if we are simply left to our own best guesses, then no one is served by trying to persuade them that their views are incorrect or that they should adopt different ones. That would be forcing your opinion on someone else, and no one appreciates that. Today’s prevailing attitude is that so long as you find a way of living that works for you and doesn’t hurt anyone, you are doing fine. Live and let live.
But if reality is objective; if it can be known and if we can have confidence that our information is accurate, then persuasion might be a good idea. If there is a God who has made us and to whom we are accountable, then it behooves us to acquaint ourselves with His will, to submit to it and to help others come to know and hopefully submit to his will as well. It is in our own best interests and in the best interests of those around us to do so. This is the foundation of the gospel—Christ came to make God known to us and to show us the way to connect with him and to assure us that what He has revealed in the Bible is true and trustworthy, the “faith once for all delivered to the saints.”
How might we discuss these things with our friends? A place to start might simply be to ask them one of the worldview questions listed above and listen to what they have to say. And then ask more questions for clarity. The existence of God is an easy place to start. Do they believe in God? If so, what do they think God is like? Why do they think that? If they do not believe in God, ask about that—did they believe at one time but not anymore? If so, what changed their mind? Did they have any religious teaching in their upbringing? What was that like?
Don’t assume you know what someone means. Take the time to really get to know their beliefs. At first, it may be best to just ask questions and listen. An openness to hearing someone else’s views may well open the door to sharing your own.
The next blog in this series will discuss the case for design which is Session Three of the Worldview Course.