For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. (Psalm 36:9, NIV)
“We have very efficiently trimmed the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him meek and mild, and recommended him as a fitting household pet for pale clergy… We have quite forgotten that Christianity is an interpretation of the universe before it is a sentimental feeling or a code of ethics.” (Dorothy Sayers)
First, a simple definition: a worldview is a way of looking at the world. It is a perspective on reality. A worldview is like a pair of colored eyeglasses—we see the world through it.
Allow me to invite you into a simple thought experiment. Suppose you are making the turn to the back nine of life. Further, let’s imagine your spouse is an artist.
She wants to surprise you with a work of art for your anniversary. For months, she secretly gathers photographs of innumerable golf trips taken over many decades.
The big day comes! You look up and see the magnificent collage, featuring pictures of family and friends at hundreds of golf courses from all over the world.
As you zoom in on each photograph, your heart softens, and your eyes moisten as you vividly recall childhood buddies battling it out over the last drop of summer sunshine, old friends no longer with us, and cherished rounds with your dad.
All of it makes sense! Each snapshot is situated within the larger story of your journey, especially that picture of you after your 12th ace. Memories flood your mind, your emotions are raw, and it takes everything in you to hold back the tears.
Then, a particular photograph grabs your attention. It’s a picture of some unknown guy playing pickleball. Talk about cognitive dissonance! You chuckle and ask, “Who is that knucklehead and how does he figure into my story?”
Then, your son speaks up, “That’s Danny, my fraternity brother! How did that get in there, and look at those legs; they look like out-of-bounds stakes.” No one knows, but one thing is certain—Danny’s picture belongs in another storyboard.
Similarly, when we say that Christianity is a worldview, we mean it is a large story with many parts that fit together to tell the true story of the world. In other words, it makes sense of the world; there are no ill-fitting parts.
Every worldview has at least six major questions it seeks to answer and then integrates those answers into a comprehensive picture of reality. As Christians (those who follow the Christ of Scripture), we claim that only the biblical portrayal of life is the true story of the world.
And, of course, it’s no surprise that we live in a cultural melting pot of competing and contradictory worldviews that deny the biblical claim to absolute truth about reality. Therefore, we must know what we believe and why we believe it.
As disciples of the resurrected Lord, we are exhorted by Scripture “…to always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect ….” (1 Peter 3:14-16).
Additionally, we are to “…contend for the faith (i.e., the four big plot moves of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation) that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3)
This series endeavors to answer the questions that every worldview asks from a biblical perspective. Our explorations will probe the following questions:
- Where did we come from? The issue of origins.
- Who are we? The issue of identity.
- What is wrong with the world? The issue of alienation and fragmentation.
- Who or what is the answer? The issue of redemption.
- How should we live? The issue of ethics.
- Where are we headed? The issue of destiny.
- S. Lewis, reflecting on today’s text, Psalm 36:9, wrote, “I believe in Christianity as I believe the Sun has risen—not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
Lewis is getting at what we are trying to understand—Christianity is God’s perspective, revealed in Scripture, through which we make sense of the world and our place in it. And, it brooks no rivals!
Prayer: Jesus! Teach us to love you with our minds as well as our hearts! Equip us to commend and defend the good news of Jesus and his kingdom!