If you were to go out on the street and ask people about some hot-topic issue in society right now you would have no trouble eliciting opinions. People readily give their opinions about any number of topics under the sun. But if you were to ask a follow-up question of how they came to that opinion, I imagine most if not all would have a very difficult time explaining their thought process of how they came to their stated conclusion.
Most would probably be flustered and end up saying, “Well, that is just what I believe” or “That is what I think”. That is because most have a preconceived idea of what is right, wrong, or indifferent based on what they believe and how they see the world, but that viewpoint is very rarely conscientiously thought about or questioned why that is so. Yet that lens or filter by which they process thoughts, opinions, ideas determines what they see and believe about literally everything. That is what we call a worldview. A worldview is our philosophical view of reality.
Most would say that they do not believe in philosophy, or have a philosophical viewpoint of the world, but it is literally impossible to not. We must interpret the world and draw conclusions. We cannot be human and not do that. Those interpretations and conclusions form our worldview. In the book, "Why Should I Believe Christianity?", James Anderson puts it this way:
“Our worldview represents our most fundamental beliefs and assumptions about the universe we inhabit. They also incorporate and express our deepest values: what we see as the highest good, what standards we use to judge between right and wrong, what we value most in life and in other people, and what pursuits we consider most worthy. In sum, our worldview reflects how we would answer all the ‘big questions’ of human existence: the fundamental questions we ask about life, the universe, and everything.”
As you can see, our worldview is quite important – especially as Christians. We want to see and view the world correctly. In other words, we want to see the world as God sees it for that alone is the truth. All other views or viewpoints apart from God’s are distorted realities at best. Therefore, as one theologian put it, “We want to think God’s thoughts after him”. For God’s thoughts alone are true and right.
So how do we do that? Well, thankfully we do not need to wonder. God has given us the proper lens in which to view the entirety of the world, and that is found in his Holy Scripture. The Word and Spirit will lead us to have the right worldview of life. That does not mean that we will always get it all 100% right for our fallen sinful condition affects our heart and mind. But we will be able to interpret the world much better if we use the Word than if we rely upon our own thoughts and interpretations.
Our NEW Sunday School Class starting is looking at this whole matter of Worldviews. We are entitling the class, "What in the World?!? Formulating a Christian Life & Worldview". We hope to look at some hot-topic issues that are going on in the world – race, gender, sexuality, politics. But before diving into those topics specifically we want to lay some fundamental foundations for how we (or anyone else) form a worldview. This foundation will help us to examine our own worldview to see if it is truly founded on God and His Scriptures.
We invite you to join this study and hope that it will be helpful and insightful. We promise to make it as practical as it is informative so that you can rightly think about the world and its events around you. By beginning with the God of Scripture we can be rightly prepared to see and think about our lives and the world around us. As CS Lewis once said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” Our prayer is that we may see everything in the light of who God is, what He has made, and the purpose for which He made it.
See you Sunday at 9:45am in the Fellowship Hall. Coffee will be waiting for you there!
If you are unable to attend, we will be including the audio from each lesson below:
WEEK 1 Lesson Audio: Eyes - Seeing Clearly
WEEK 2 Lesson Audio: Mind - Thinking Rightly
WEEK 3 Lesson Audio: Will - Submitting Fully
WEEK 4 Lesson Audio: Heart - Worshipping Wholly
WEEK 5 Lesson Audio: What is Truth?
WEEK 6 Lesson Audio: Science & Nature
WEEK 7 Lesson Audio: Man (Part 1)
WEEK 8 Lesson Audio: Man (Part 2)
WEEK 9 Lesson Audio: Politics / Government
WEEK 11 Lesson Audio: Developing a Worldview (Part 1)