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.”
- 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. - 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.
