At this time of the year when many people are still thinking about (and hopefully sticking to) their new year's resolutions a commitment that would benefit most anyone would be to closely examine his or her worldview. The first question you might ask is, “What is a worldview?”. One definition of a worldview is that it is a comprehensive philosophy of life and everything that exists. Another way to describe a worldview is that it is the filter through which one interprets the world around him.
The fact is, everyone possesses a worldview regardless of whether he is conscious of it. An individual’s nationality, gender, ethnicity, education, economic class, upbringing, political environment, and religious background all figure in. Conflicting worldviews is the reason that two intelligent people can observe the same event yet form entirely conflicting opinions concerning its meaning or significance. In our current culture of viral videos, information overload, and ubiquitous social media, most Americans witness a virtual train-wreck of worldviews on a daily basis. Barely has one national “scandal” subsided before we have all moved on to some fresher controversy. The barrage of diverse opinions that the average citizen encounters each day can leave one existing in a constant state of uncertainty and discomfort.
The good news for Christians is that in a culture whose sands are continually shifting we have a timeless, unchanging guide for life. The Holy Bible. Although the Bible was written over the course of 1500 years by 40 different authors, its basic teachings are clear and its themes are consistent. This is not to say, however, that a casual reading of Scripture can provide a person with an ironclad biblical worldview, it takes work. A biblical worldview can’t be formed from occasional church attendance or by cherry-picking verses to suit certain circumstances. In order to accurately process information and truly understand one’s place in the world one must be diligent and disciplined in his approach to learning and understanding the Scriptures.
Ephesians 4:14 warns us that it is very easy for Christians to remain like children who are “…tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine. The imagery here brings to mind a ship with no anchor being helplessly buffeted by waves. As in the days of the early church there is no shortage of false doctrines in our contemporary world. Some estimates place the number of religions in the world as high as 4200. In addition there are numerous philosophies and systems of ethics that purport to provide moral frameworks for living. The philosophy that few people understand but is rapidly reshaping our national morality is postmodernism.
Unlike systems that argue for a particular version of the truth, postmodernism asserts that absolute truth does not exist and that the individual must create his own truth (more on postmodernism in future articles). Much of the chaos that we see in our country today can be traced to this belief system that is being taught in universities around the nation and is even seeping into the church. Like termites in the foundation of a building, by the time the extent of the damage is discovered, it may be too late to correct.
Unfortunately, postmodernism is not confined to university campuses but also saturates our popular culture. It comes at the believer from many directions, movies, sitcoms, news media, and advertising, just to name a few. The idea that truth and morals are all negotiable can only be resisted by the believer who knows exactly what he believes and why he believes it.
As our American society descends into increasing confusion and disorder the Christian must arm himself with the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. He should also heed the command found in 1 Peter 3:15 which reads:
“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear”
A well developed philosophy of life and morality that is based firmly upon the timeless truths of Scripture is an indispensable anchor in our present, stormy world.
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