Obviously, a Christian worldview does not seem to conform to a static, universal category, as there seem to be Christians from every political spectrum, philosophical standpoint, degree of cultural immersion, as well as from the copious amounts of Christian denominations.
With this in mind, and with Christians ourselves composing such a broad category, we thought it might be helpful to discuss what it means to have a Christian worldview.
What Is a Christian?
Before we specifically discuss a Christian worldview, and in case you don’t have time to do a lot of reading today, a short, summarized version of a Christian worldview is that it is an overarching perspective of reality and morality that centers fundamentally and completely on the Gospel.
To have a Christian worldview, one must first have Christ in view. This is essentially what it means to be a Christian.
More specifically, to be a Christian means:
- Believing and confessing that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 4:15)
- That He is the full essence of divinity
- God in the flesh (John 1:1; 1:14; Colossians 2:9)
- The third Person of the Trinity (Matthew 28:19)
- Who was born of a virgin (Matthew 1:18-25)
- Lived a perfect life (1 Peter 2:22)
- Was killed on the cross in order to atone for the sins of humanity (Romans 6:10) as all of humanity is inherently sinful (Romans 3:23)
- Offering eternal life (John 3:16) to all who believe
- He was resurrected from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20)
- Ascended to the right hand of the throne of God (Romans 8:34)
- He will eventually descend again to the earth in order to judge all the world and to establish a new Kingdom in Heaven and on Earth (Revelation 11:15).
Being a Christian also means recognizing that another Member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, has been sent in order to guide believers (John 14:26) and offer us conviction (John 16:8), as well as lead us closer to Christ (John 15:26).
It’s a big deal to believe that God actually came to earth as a human being and that He was raised to life from the dead! To believe in such things means believing in circumstances that transcend physics, possibility, and human comprehension.
While it is absolutely improbable, all things are possible with God (Matthew 19:26), including and especially Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
By its very nature, such a drastic belief system should affect the beliefs in which we have about everything else. This leads to our central discussion.
What Is a Christian Worldview?
It is unfortunate how easy it is for many Christians to separate their theological beliefs from their “practical” beliefs as if the two were not interconnected. In The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, the author notes how some Christians even revel in this separation, believing themselves to be more rounded than either those in the church or those outside it (Lewis 1942, 51-52).
Most, however, prefer not to recognize the incongruity and instead choose to compartmentalize their Christian beliefs, recognizing them during preferred and convenient timeframes – never during times in which they may cause social, occupational, or personal discomfort.
Our culture encourages this separation, constantly affirming that one’s “religious” beliefs should be delegated to a private experience, never interfering with the secular realm.
However, the reality is that a believer’s core Christian beliefs should have a direct effect on every other aspect of their life. Having a Christian worldview means viewing the entire world through the lens of one’s Christian beliefs.
Everyone’s individual worldview affects the way in which we dress; it affects the way we talk, what we think, what we watch, what we listen to, what we do in our free time, how we treat others, how we vote, where our money goes, how we parent, how we navigate relationships, who we spend time with, who we don’t spend time with, what we seek, what we avoid, etc. Our worldview affects everything.
Let’s discuss an example:
Imagine you really want to go see a new movie coming out – Captain Canada: The First Revenger. The entire experience should be colored by your beliefs:
- If you truly believe that all of mankind is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27; James 3:9), you should recognize in the movie when human life isn’t being respected, and bad guys are being blasted into smithereens.
- You should be cautious about watching anything that might tempt you to have thoughts or actions that would be disobedient to God.
- If you truly believe that all of humanity is sinful (Romans 3:10-20; 3:23); you should recognize that the values presented will probably not align with your own.
- However, because all people have received a basic measure of general revelation about God (Romans 1:20), we can look for the ways in which there might be one or two points of the movie that are worth recognizing and remembering and may actually point to God without the creators of the movie recognizing it.
- Likewise, if you truly believe that the wisdom of God often differs from the “wisdom” of man (1 Corinthians 2:6-8), you will notice in the movie when the explicit and implicit “wisdom” being espoused is actually in disagreement with what is known from Scripture.
- If you truly believe that Christians are called to share the Gospel and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20), you will look for ways in which discussions of the movie could be used to share the Good News with others, telling them about the ways in which Jesus was a real-life superhero.
This is just one example, and yet you can see the wide variety of implications that arise from actually holding a Christian worldview within a real-life context. All of these were beliefs leading to practical action, and this was just regarding a single movie.
Imagine how this type of worldview affects more elaborate decisions and actions.
Perceived Worldview Versus Actual Worldview
In truth, everything we do is already influenced by what we believe. It is because of this fact that, by the way, each of us actually lives our lives; we showcase a lot more of what we actually believe than we may realize.
Many of us claim to believe that Christ Jesus is our Lord and Savior. But if we do not spend any of our time serving Him, acting like Him, talking to Him, learning about Him, learning from Him, etc., do we really believe that after all? If someone is our Lord, wouldn’t that mean we would serve them wholeheartedly?
If someone is our savior, wouldn’t that mean that our entire life would be one spent in gratitude? If neither of these is the case, we must ask ourselves how much we actually believe what we claim to believe. Perhaps it is instead just a group of beliefs with which we identify but do not actually truly believe ourselves.
We see this type of incongruity between identified beliefs and actual beliefs all the time. Parents might see this when correcting a child who was unkind, but later having that child question why we honked our car horn loudly at another driver. It is a lifelong process for believers in Christ to be sanctified, becoming more like our Lord through education, discipleship, community, and much prayer.
Taking On a Christian Worldview
Much of a believer’s life is the process of confronting their old personal worldview with the new one that Christ is developing within their hearts. During this time of reflection, many will find that their actions do not align with the beliefs which they claim to possess.
Thankfully, this is not the end of the story. Through the Holy Spirit, God works in us and allows us to continually change and become more like who we are meant to be (2 Corinthians 3:18). Every day He allows us to repent (1 John 1:9) and to walk further in the pursuit of putting on our new self and putting off the old one (Ephesians 4:22-24).
We must continue to be in prayer that God will guide us in this pursuit and will show us what it means to have a worldview that is entirely centered on Christ!
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what the will of God is, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2, ESV).
We at Emmanuel Lutheran School understand how easy it is for students to get swept up in the current culture and to forget what it means to have a Christian worldview. That’s why our entire faculty has such a passion for both Jesus and for students and why we try to incorporate Christ into each part of our curriculum.
If you’re a parent within the Western North Carolina region, and if you’re also passionate about students receiving a quality, Christian education, we would love for you to check out our website and would be happy to answer all of your questions regarding our school, our beliefs, and our STEAM-based curriculum!
Contact Emmanuel Lutheran School for more information today!
[1] A highly recommended book on the subject of a Christian worldview is Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey (2005)! It’s an excellent perspective on the practical applications of having a Christian worldview and was the basis for much of this blog post.