Keystone
Academy
A Private Christian School
Specializing in Independent Study
"The fear
of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge."
What in the world is a Worldview and where can I
buy one?
by Philip Troutt
Headmaster
January 2006
The term “worldview” has become popular among many Christians over the last few years, especially so, it seems, with homeschoolers (or at least homeschool suppliers).
Like all words that gain such popularity (remember “paradigm”), it is likely that many who use it do not really understand what it means or how it relates to them in a practical way. This is truly a shame because a proper understanding of worldview and its application is of special significance to parents seeking to give their children a truly Christian education. So, what is a worldview and where can I buy one?
The term worldview is derived from the German original, “Weltanschauung,” and means a comprehensive philosophical view of the world and man’s place in it. The key word here is “comprehensive;” a worldview comprehends all aspects of man, the natural order, and experience. It relates to the nature/possibility of knowledge, ethics/morals, and the meaning and purpose of life.
A worldview is much more than holding the correct position on a few political or social issues, e.g., abortion, euthanasia, marriage, Michael Jackson, etc. A worldview is the foundation by which we judge such issues.
A worldview is not developed or “derived” from experience, but is a necessary prerequisite for making sense of experience. Thus, everyone has a worldview, though in most cases they are unaware of it.
As Christian parent/educators, we do not find understanding by studying a subject, but we must bring our understanding to the subject. For most of us, the meaning or purpose of a subject is not always apparent because we have never developed the capacity to think like Christians (the reasons for this are important, but beyond the scope of this discussion).
As Christians, we build our worldview from scripture, of course. But this is not a simple matter of looking for specific commands (Thou shalt; thou shalt not), but involves understanding and applying the principles of scripture as it relates to all of life.
Because it is based on scripture, as the revelation of God, a Christian worldview is Christ-centered because Christ is the focus and fulfillment of all of God’s word. In commissioning his apostles, Christ told them “All power (authority) has been given to me in heaven and in earth.” This is the key to our having a truly Christ-centered worldview. However, most of us do not understand the full scope of this “all authority;” for most Christians, this authority relates to issues of salvation, but not to academic, political or social issues.
The bible begins with God’s relationship as creator and understanding the nature and scope of this relationship is essential in developing a truly Christian understanding of ourselves and our experience. God in Christ not only created all things, he created all things for a purpose. That purpose is Christ-centered (Eph. 1:10), and it is manifest in every area of life (“even the wicked have been made for the day of evil” – Prov. 16:4). Every subject in our curriculum must be taught from and understood as revealing something about this purpose and Christ’s place in it.
We will look at Anthropology as an example of how worldview affects the way we approach a subject, either as Christians or as unbelievers. Anthropology is the study of man, specifically how man has developed over many years. The popular view (the one taught and held by most people, even Christians) is that man began as a primitive and has “progressed” to his current social, technological and intellectual state. This view is not based on “facts” that compel such a position but is, rather, based on a prior belief about the nature of man – an evolutionary view.
So, when a “new” tribe is discovered in Africa or South America, it is declared to be at the earliest stages of human development; they don’t wear clothes, they have primitive tools and practice superstitious religions (of course, on the evolutionary view, all religions are superstitions).
A Christian/biblical worldview, however, begins with man as created “in the image of God” and, therefore, perfectly suited to live in and understand the world God had created. However, sin intruded, corrupted man in the totality of his being; moral, physical and intellectual, though it did not destroy the original “imageness” of God.
Because of sin, both man and his environment were “corrupted” and the natural man understands neither himself nor his environment, and lives as a rebel against his creator (Romans 1:18 ff & Romans 8:20-22). The result of this estrangement is that the natural man falls further and further into corruption until he ultimately destroys himself (Genesis 6:5-7).
So, on a Christian/biblical view, the new tribes, wherever they are found, are not primitive but degenerate; they are not on their way up the evolutionary ladder but are on their way down from their original created state. If they remain undisturbed by the “outside” world, they would become extinct.
Every subject – history, geography, science, literature – is either interpreted according to an evolutionary/uncreated worldview and is therefore a lie, or it is understood according to its place and purpose in God’s eternal plan of redemption in Christ.
In Fine
One's Theology is one's Worldview. The degree to which one's theology is biblical will necessarily determine the degree to which one's worldview is biblical. Thus, Evangelical (Arminian) theology entails a worldview which is fundamentally, and significantly, different from a worldview produced by a Reformed (Calvinist) system.
Arminianism, while holding the bible to be the "ultimate" source of truth, acknowledges that there are other sources truth which can be known by both regenerate and unregenerate alike, while Calvanism insists that the truth can only be known by the regenerate.
Keystone
Academy
P.O. Box 1888
Norwalk , CA
90651
562/862-7134
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