Worldview

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What Is A Worldview?

Our major task in life is to discover what is true and to live in step with that truth (Colson/Pearcey).

Introduction

The purpose or aim of this blog is to put forth the idea of a Christian worldview, and what that looks like in people’a day-to-day living as believers in Christ. (I approach my faith from a Reformed perspective, e.g. the Westminster Confession/1698 Baptist Confession of faith.) But exactly what is a worldview? When I speak of a Christian worldview, what do I mean? This blog over the years contains several articles pertaining to worldview [here], [here], [here], [here], [here]. Although I want to avoid unnecessary repetition, I think it is time once again to clarify how a worldview is formed, and specifically what makes up a Christian worldview. I want to build on the blog article I wrote nine years ago in 2016 [Thinking, Reading, and Living “Worldviewishly”]. Building on James Sire’s description of worldview in his work The Universe Next Door, I want to specifically stress the notion of commitment, as well as some of his updated thought in the most recent edition of that work. In addition to Sire, I will draw from Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey’s work, How Now Shall We Live? The very title of that work indicates the influence of Francis Schaeffer, his writings, and his work at L’Abri.

Worldview Explorations

So what is a worldview? To take it at its most simplistic level, a worldview is a way of life. But that description leaves many unanswered questions regarding a practical understanding of what a worldview consists. James Sire, in his work, The Universe Next Door, offers an extended definition of worldview. Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey talk in terms of worldview from the perspective of Francis Schaffer in their thorough work, How Now Shall We Live? While there are many other scholarly writings from a Christian perspective, both of these works provide a good starting point for understanding worldview in general and specifically a Christian worldview.

James Sire’s Catalog of Worldviews

Although I will not repeat Sire’s extended definition verbatim, I will highlight what he proffers as the major components of a worldview. First, Sire, draws on the work of James H. Olthuis who describes a worldview as a framework by which we live built on a set of fundamental beliefs. He calls such a framework a vision of life. Human beings draw on such fundamental beliefs to give direction and meaning to life. Hence a person’s worldview is both interpretive and integrative. Olthuis states becoming aware of one’s worldview is significant step toward self-awareness, self-knowledge, and self-understanding.

Sire, however, expanding on what Olthuis presented, believes that a worldview is more than merely a logical connection of a set of propositions. People may or may not fully and logically understand the implications of their worldview; nonetheless, they move through life according to their worldview, whether or not they can fully delineate it. Sire’s extended description of a worldview contains several components. First, a person’s worldview is a fundamental orientation of the heart. People, regardless of the level of their awareness, hold a set of beliefs about how reality is constituted. One’s worldview provides a foundation on which we live, move, and have our being. (See Acts 17:28).

Second, and most importantly, according to Sire, a worldview is a commitment. One’s worldview is a matter of the soul, a spiritual orientation. Biblically, the heart is the center of who one is and thereby, one lives from the heart. A worldview then is situated in the self. Whether or not people are fully aware of their worldview is superfluous to the reality that they nevertheless live out their worldviews in relation to self, reality, and others. Indeed, in his extended description of worldview, Sire holds that a worldview can be stated in a story or a set of propositions, which may or may not be consistent.

A third component of Sire’s extended description states that a worldview provides a foundation on which one lives. Sire highlights an important aspect of a worldview within this component. The simple fact is that not only may individuals be unaware of their worldview, but also what they state as their worldview may not align with how they live. Such a delineation recognizes the old adage that actions speak louder than words. How one lives belies one’s self-knowledge.

Sire indicates that one’s worldview is grounded in how a person answers eight basic questions: 1) what is prime reality – what is really real? 2) what is the nature of external reality? 3) what is a human being? 4) what happens to a person at death? 5) why is it possible to know anything at all? 6) how do we know what is right from wrong? 7) what is the meaning of human history? and 8) what personal, life-orienting commitments are consistent with one’s worldview? Sire delineated the first seven questions in his earlier editions of The Universe Next Door. I want to focus on the notion of commitment because Sire added this eighth question to the latest edition of his book. This question also gets at something Sire said earlier, and it also aligns with one of the categories I delineated for an understanding of a Christian worldview in particular, that is thought/action. Do people’s actions align with the worldview that they claim to hold? Sire explicated nine worldview: 1) Christian; 2) Deism; 3) Naturalism; 4) Nihilism; 5) Existentialism; 6) Pantheistic monism; 7) New Age Spirituality; 8) Postmodernism; and 9) Islamic Theism. Followers of each of these worldviews will live out question eight differently. Each individual has his or her own take on reality. People evidence their commitment to a worldview by the way they live out their lives in the world. Whether or not people realize it, or even want to admit it, they have and live by a worldview. They may believe that these eight questions are superfluous and/or cannot be answered. Such a stance evidences a worldview they already hold: skepticism that leads to nihilism. It was Socrates who said the unexamined life is not worth living. As Sire states, each individual is caught in a worldview. The question becomes do people care to examine what they claim to be their worldview and whether or not they are consistent in living it out.

Colson and Pearcey’s Challenge

Francis Schaeffer first authored the work, How Should We Then Live? Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey built on his thought in their How Now Shall We Live. In that work they challenge Christians to live out their worldview. This entails both Christians’ sanctification and their possession of Biblical wisdom in knowing how to live out their faith (thought/action). The authors challenge believers with the notion that the way they live out their moral and spiritual choices are realized in the world, whether or not they know or want to admit or embrace that truth. Every action a believer takes is either furthering the kingdom of God or not. The actions believers take either mesh with the fallen and broken world, or they align with God’s decree to transform the world in a manner that reflects His righteousness. Believers in Christ either live out their Christian worldview consistently, albeit not perfectly, or they live in a manner that is inconsistent with what they purport to believe. The dominion mandate, or what Colson and Pearcey call renewal, will occur when Christians are committed to living out their faith, seeing the world as God sees it, viewing reality through the lens of divine relation . . . Our choices are shaped by what we believe is real or true, right and wrong, good and beautiful. Our choices are shaped by our worldview. As with Sire, Colson and Pearcey believe that worldviews are intensely practical. People’s worldviews are the sum total of their beliefs about the world, and those beliefs direct their actions and all the decisions they make. Genuine Christianity is a way of seeing and comprehending all of reality. It is a worldview.

Conclusion

One of the chief aims of this blog is to explore what it means to live out the Christian worldview. What Sire, Colson, and Pearcey have explicated should help all Christians come to an understanding of what a worldview actually entails, that they have one whether or not they realize it, and that they are living either consistently or inconsistently with their purported faith. In terms of the categories I have delineated throughout this blog, the Christian mind should seek the wisdom that comes with knowing God as believers grow in their sanctification. Believers can find meaning and purpose in their pursuit of knowing God. Christians develop their values and morals according to God’s precepts. Morals are not simply chosen willy-nilly. Believers in Christ should develop the humility, becoming aware that they are in God’s hands, dependent on His providential care and guidance. Finally, for those who proclaim to be Christian, their actions should align with what they purport to believe. Thought and actions should be in alignment. Taken all together, such a way of life is a worldview. And as Sire, Colson, and Pearcey stated, Christianity is a worldview. Renewal or the dominion mandate will come about when Christians, by God’s grace, live out their proclaimed beliefs.

No doubt, this is a tall order. And all individuals are still products of the Fall. The challenge with which the above authors present Christians is to live the examined life, know that they have a worldview, and by God’s grace and strength seek to live out that worldview consistently, knowing that they will fail at times. But God’s lovingkindness is for everlasting (Psalm 103:18).

[References]: Colson, C. & Pearcey, N. (2004). How Now Shall We Live? Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

Sire, J. (2020). The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog [6th edition] [originally published 1976]. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Press Academic Revised.

John V, Jones, Jr., PhD/April 14th, 2025

THEMATIC/ Worldview

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Pathways 2025

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. (Psalm 3:6)

Introduction

On past blogs, I have explored to a limited degree what goes into formulating a worldview. There are several categories I considered that I believe must be taken into account for understanding all that a worldview entails. You can read my thoughts here, here, and here. I recently subtitled this blog, A Christian Worldview; consequently, I hope to shape this blog in the future, filling out what a Christian worldview entails. You can read my earlier thoughts on this notion here and here. For the coming months in 2025, the theme of a Christian worldview is what I hope to work out here on this blog. Such a path is not one I can forge on my own. I will draw on works of such authors as Abraham Kuyper, Francis Schaeffer, R. J. Rushdoony, Nancy Pearcey, and Chuck Colson, among many others, including early church fathers such as Augustine and Calvin.

A Word About Categories

Over time, I wrestled with thematic categories that I believe shape the way we think about the world. My earlier thoughts focused on mind, and how the human thought process shapes how we live in the world. Earlier categories included mind, meaning making, humility/finitude, and thought/action. I explored how the last three categories contributed to how we might view and understand the mind. Later I added valuation/values because what we value shapes our ethical and moral understanding of how we live. Still later I became convinced that all these categories shape the worldview by which we live. Hence, mind, meaning making, humility/finitude, valuation/values, and thought/action all contribute and speak to the worldview we hold. Worldview and mind are difficult to nuance, but I believe they should be deciphered because various worldviews hold different viewpoints on what makes up the mind.

Worldview

As I stated, the sub-title for this blog is A Christian Worldview. There are a plethora of worldviews that clash with Christianity, and over the course of time, I will explore those on this blog. Suffice it say, the general heading of secularism covers many isms that not only differ from Christianity, but also have been formulated to directly oppose Christian thought. Atheism, naturalism, materialism, reductionism, pragmatism, scientism, rationalism, and empiricism make up the wide gamut of worldviews that are in opposition to theism and Christianity. Philosophically, humanism, existentialism, romanticism, modernism, and postmodernism take aim at theistic worldviews. Politically, Marxism originated as a form of thought that set itself up as antagonistic to a Christian worldview. Many of the worldviews listed above can be integrated into a Christian worldview with a correct nuanced understanding of their propositions. For example, we live in a world that God created, so the material universe is real and external to us. But to hold that the material makes up everything, and the material is all there is to existence, is a self-defeating worldview. What I hope to discuss over time on this blog is that the Christian worldview is the only consistent worldview for understand ourselves as human beings and the universe in which we live. Some of the Christian writers I will draw on for this task include James Sire, C. S. Lewis, Francis Schaffer, and Os Guinness, among others.

Mind

Theories of mind have been proffered for centuries. What is mind? From a Christian perspective, we are commanded to to love the Lord your God with all your mind (Matt. 22:37-40). To live up to that commandment, we must understand what the Biblical understanding of mind entails. I hope to explore that question over the course of time on this blog. I will also look at some various worldviews that have a different take on what the mind is. The fields of cognitive science and neuroscience are on the cutting edge of a scientific understanding of the mind. However, much that comes from these fields are materialistic and reductionistic. What is a Christian view of mind, rationalism, and reason? What is the relationship of mind to body? Critical inquiry is an important endeavor for every Christian. Consequently, how we think about critical thinking, our thought process, logic, and reason must be clarified as much as possible.

Meaning Making

As human beings, we search for meaning and purpose in our lives. We want our work, relationships, family life, and even our R & R time to be meaningful. What is the relationship between worldview and meaning making? How does a Christian worldview shape the way in which we make meaning for ourselves? The greatest fear that many human beings experience is a wasted life. Near the end of their lives, people do not want to look back on their existence, believing they have accomplished little. A meaningful life, however, is not one big home run swing. Meaning exists in even those experiences we may think are trivial, small, and unimportant at the time. Human beings tend to set goals for themselves. Although they may not accomplish all the goals they set (time runs out for all of us), what gives many people purpose in their lives entail the goals they set for themselves, experiencing those goals as their lives unfold. From a Christian perspective, the sovereignty of God is a great comfort for the believer. How are we to understand God’s sovereignty in our lives as it relates to our meaning making and purpose for living? Christian writers such as Francis Schaeffer, C. S. Lewis. and Os Guinness have addressed these questions. Those outside the faith have also, e.g. Rollo May and Viktor Frankl.

Valuation/Values

Whether we realize it or not, we all have values that guide us through life. As a professional counselor, I used the process of valuation in my practice with clients, but have come to have a different take on what valuation entails. I don’t believe that people can simply choose their values and begin living by them. The thought process and life formulation for creating values for our lives is much more complicated and complex than that. I repeat, we all have values by which we live. Several questions emerge from that fact. First, are we aware of the values we hold? Second, are the values we hold helping or hindering how we want to live and fulfill the goals we have set for ourselves? If we come to understand that we are living in ways contrary to our values, what does that mean, either about making changes in our lives or making changes in our values? The atheistic philosopher, Frederick Nietzsche, talked about our re-evaluation of our values. However, his thought stood on the proposition that there is no God. From a Christian perspective what does it mean to hold and live by Christian values and virtues? (e.g. the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23; Christian virtues, 2 Peter 1:5-7). Do we truly believe that who we are is how we act in the world? Put another way, do we embrace the notion that how we act speaks to who we are, what we believe, and what values we hold? The values we hold and seek to live by form our worldview, framing our ethics and morality. None of us are perfect; consequently, from the Christian perspective those actions of confession before God must be real in our lives.

Humility/Finitude

We all have a limited amount of time on this side of life on this earth. Time impacts all the other categories – mind, meaning making, valuation/values, thought/action – in a powerful way. And we have a limited time and capacity to shape our worldviews. Scripture calls us to be humble before God, knowing our limitations and our finitude. As finite beings, however, we have an infinite and sovereign God whom we can approach and before whom we bow. The tension between sovereignty and human responsibility is one we must hold. Each day I am aware of the decisions I make for my life. I’m also aware of God’s sovereignty in my life. The latter is not an excuse or a copout for negating or short changing the former. Psalm 31:14-15 tells us that our times are in God’s hands; nonetheless, one of the most hard-hitting sins we can commit is slothfulness and the wasting of our time. Our humility before God allows us to place our lives in His hands so that we can learn to live in ways that are pleasing in His sight. What does Biblical truth mean for those of us who want to develop fully a Christian worldview? How should our humility be lived out in relationship to others? Humility is a concept easily misunderstood. It’s neither weakness nor groveling before others, but it is treating others in the way we want to be treated by them (Matt. 7:12; Luke 6:31). What will our Christian worldview look like as we live it out among others, both believers and non-believers.

Thought/Action

Our worldview will be nothing but inconsistent if our actions do not follow from what we claim to believe and value. To claim that we hold to a Christian worldview must manifest the life of Christ in our lives as we seek to live in the world but not be of the world. As a Christian, we will be challenged by others to live consistently with our worldview in a harsher manner than applied to others who hold different worldviews. Two keys to understanding this are important. One, we are not perfect and need not grovel before others on that account. However, we will need at times to ask others to forgive us while apologizing for our misgivings and actions that are contrary to our being in Christ. How we act in the world will say much more than what we say. If our actions are not consistent with what we claim to believe, then we need to reflect intensely on what we claim to believe. I’m not talking about sins here and there. We will commit those daily, if not by action surely by thought. I’m talking about a lifestyle that is directly contrary to what we claim to believe. We should have Christian brothers and sisters in our lives that will say to us how we are living doesn’t appear to align with what we claim to believe. A worldview that is lived out inconsistently is a worldview built on shifting sand or over an abyss of nothing.

Conclusion

Moving forward in 2025, these are the themes and topics I hope to explore on this blog. That doesn’t mean I will not take excursions into other areas, but I want the focus moving forward to be on the exploration of what it means to hold and live by a Christian worldview. The final word should be that building such a worldview is impossible apart from being in Christ, depending and leaning on the complete sovereignty of God. As Christians we are called to relate to God as Abba Father (Galatians 4:4-7). Our being in Christ should be witnessed by those whom we encounter in the world. I pray that the task I have set for myself on this blog will, by God’s grace, be accomplished. To Him be dominion, forever and ever. Amen.

Some Core Source References:

Baucham, V. T. (2021). Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism’s Looming Catastrophe. Washington D.C.: Salem Books.

Chesterton, G.K. (2009). Orthodoxy. [originally published 1908]. Rockville, MD: Serenity.

Colson, C. & Pearcey, N. (1999). How Now Shall We Live? Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Lewis, C. S. (2002). The Complete C. S Lewis Signature Classics. New York: HarperOne.

McGinn, C. (1993). The Problem of Consciousness. Oxford, U.K.: Basil Blackwell.

Moreland, J. P. & Craig, W. L. (2017). Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic Press.

Pearcey, N. (2004). Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity. Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

Pearcey, N. (2010). Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, and Meaning. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing.

Pearcey, N. (2015). Finding Truth: Five Principles for Unmasking Atheism, Secularism, and Other God Substitutes. Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook.

Pearcey, N. & Thaxton, C. B. (1994). The Soul of Science: Christian Faith and Natural Philosophy. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Schaffer, F. (1985). The Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer: A Christian Worldview (5 Volume Set). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Sire, J. (2010). The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog. [originally published 1976] Lisle, IL: IVP Press.

Trueman, C. R. (2024). To Change All Worlds: Critical Theory from Marx to Marcuse. Brentwood, TN: B & H Academics.

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D./February 14th, 2025

CHRISTIAN THOUGHT/Christian Worldview