The Christian Worldview
What is a world view?
A world view is a set of presuppositions which we hold about the basic make-up of our world.
It is how we answer the following seven questions:
- What is prime reality - the really real?
- What is the nature of external reality, that is the world around us?
- What is a human being?
- What happens to a person at death?
- Why is it possible to know anything at all?
- How do we know what is right and wrong?
- What is the meaning of human history?
How do you answer these questions? Maybe you haven't thought much about them. The answers given in the Bible makes up what we call the Christian World View. The basic tenents or beliefs of the Christian World View can be summed up as follows.
- God is infinite and personal (Triune), transcendent and immanent, omniscient, sovereign and good.
- God created the cosmos ex nihilo to operate with a uniformity of natural causes in an open system.
- Human beings are created in the image of God and thus possess personality, self-transcendence, intelligence, morality, gregariousness and creativity.
- Human beings can know both the world around them and God himself because God has built into them the capacity to do so and because he takes an active role in communicating with them.
- Human beings were created good, but through the Fall the image of God became defaced, though not so ruined as not to be capable of restoration; Through the work of Christ God redeemed humanity and began the process of restoring people to goodness, though any given person may choose to reject that redemption.
- For each person death is either the gate to life with God and his people or the gate to eternal separation from the only thing that will ultimately fulfill human aspirations.
- Ethics is transcendent and is based on the character of God as good (holy and loving).
- History is linear, a meaningful sequence of events leading to the fulfillment of God's purposes for humanity.
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Glossary of Terms
Infinite
- He is beyond scope or measure. The only self-existant being in the universe. No other being like him.
Personal
- He is not just a force or energy. He can relate to us in a personal way. Knowing God means more than knowing he exists, it means knowing him like you know a brother or father.
Triune
- within the one essence of the Godhead we have to distinguish three 'persons' who are neither three gods or three parts or modes of God, but coequally and coeternally God.
Transcendent
- Beyond us and our world or universe. Not something we come up with.
Immanent
- God is with us. He is not matter, not a part of our world but with us in the midst of our world.
Omniscient
- God is all-knowing.
Sovereign
- Nothing is beyond God's ultimate interest, control and authority. God has the final say.
Cosmos
- The universe
Ex Nihilo
- latin for out of nothing.
Uniformity of natural causes
- The universe operates orderly according to natural laws.
Open system
- Forces outside the system (universe) are able to influence the system (universe) God is able to cause things to happen that do not conform to natural law (i.e. miracles).
Self-transcendence
- The ability to go beyond our environment in thought, reaction, and experience.
Gregariousness
- The ability and desire to interact with others and develop relationships.
The Fall
- In the Bible, Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, and fell from the position of perfection. This fall was passed on to their children and successive generations. It is known as the sin nature. It is why we do things that we know are wrong and later regret doing them.
Copyright © 2000 Rev. Jeffery D. Elliott