Christian worldview
 | This article needs more citations. (October 2011) |
Christian worldview (also called biblical worldview) refers to the framework of ideas and beliefs through which a Christian individual, group, or culture interprets the world and interacts with it. Various denominations of Christianity have differing worldviews on some issues based on biblical interpretation, but many thematic elements are commonly agreed-upon within the Christian worldview.[1]
Definition
[edit]According to Leo Apostel, a worldview is an ontology, or a descriptive model of the world. It should comprise these six elements:[2]
- An explanation of the world
- An eschatology, answering the question "where are we heading?"
- Values, answers to ethical questions: "What should we do?" In this context, "What would Jesus do?"
- A praxeology, or methodology, or theory of action.: "How should we attain our goals?"
- An epistemology, or theory of knowledge. "What is true and false?" (See, for example John 18:38)
- An etiology. A constructed world-view should contain an account of its own "building blocks," its origins and construction.
Differing Christian worldviews
[edit]Different denominations of Christianity have varying worldviews. There are varieties of particulars within the Christian worldview, and disputes of the meaning of concepts in a Christian worldview. Certain thematic elements are common within the Christian worldview. For instance, Northrop Frye indicated as the central clusters of the system of metaphors in the Bible – mountain, garden, and cave. A similar thematic representation of Christian worldview in the Reformed tradition has been formulated as Creation, Fall, Redemption and Consummation. The symbolic term Christian worldview has been called a "defining marker of American evangelical culture."[3] Simon P. Kennedy has argued that Christian worldview is a "combat concept", a symptom of a community that sees itself as under siege from a hostile secular world.[4]
With regard to Calvinist theology, Reformed theologian R. C. Sproul argues that "Reformed theology so far transcends the mere five points of Calvinism that it is an entire worldview. It is covenantal. It is sacramental. It is committed to transforming culture. It is subordinate to the operation of God the Holy Spirit, and it has a rich framework for understanding the entirety of the counsel of God revealed in the Bible."[5] Simon P. Kennedy, a Reformed historian, has been critical of the typical uses of the worldview concept in this tradition, especially as it is deployed in Christian education contexts.[6][7]
Worldview vs. doctrine
[edit]The U.S. use of the term worldview in Christian rhetoric can be traced to the evangelical Reformed philosopher H. Evan Runner of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[dubious – discuss] Runner used the term in his evangelical Reformed community in North America, promoting the worldview concept from a philosophical concept to a synonym for doctrine.
Key people and literary works within Protestant evangelicalism
[edit]- William Lane Craig and J. P. Moreland. Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview. IVP Academic (2003).
- Gordon H. Clark. A Christian View of Men and Things: An Introduction to Philosophy. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans (1951); reprint, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker (1981).
- Herman Dooyeweerd. A New Critique of Theoretical Thought. Jordan Station, Ont.: Paideia Press (1984) online summary with excerpts
- Carl F. H. Henry. God, Revelation, and Authority. Waco, TX: Word (1976).
- Abraham Kuyper. Lectures on Calvinism. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans (1931) online version
- James Orr. The Christian View of God and the World. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (1893) online version
- Francis Schaeffer. The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer: A Christian Worldview. Wheaton, IL: Crossway (1982).[8]
- C. Fred Smith. "Developing a Biblical Worldview: Seeing Things God's Way." Nashville, TN: B and H Academic (2015)
See also
[edit]
Notes
[edit]- ↑ Worthen, Molly. "The Evangelical Roots of Our Post-Truth Society." New York Times. 13 April 2017. 13 April 2017.
- ↑ Diederik Aerts, Leo Apostel, Bart de Moor, Staf Hellemans, Edel Maex, Hubert van Belle & Jan van der Veken (1994). "World views. From Fragmentation to Integration" Archived 2009-09-19 at the Wayback Machine. VUB Press. Translation of (Apostel and Van der Veken 1991) with some additions. – The basic book of World Views, from the Center Leo Apostel. See also Vidal C. (2008) Wat is een wereldbeeld? (What is a worldview?), in Van Belle, H. & Van der Veken, J., Editors, Nieuwheid denken. De wetenschappen en het creatieve aspect van de werkelijkheid, p71–85. Acco, Leuven. http://cogprints.org/6094/
- ↑ Ward Sr., Mark (2023). ""Christian Worldview": A Defining Symbolic Term of the American Evangelical Speech Code". The Journal of Communication and Religion. 46 (3): 5–28. doi:10.5840/jcr20234631. ISSN 0894-2838.
- ↑ Kennedy, Simon P. (2024). "Christian Worldview and Cosmic War: Contexts and Origins of a Religious Combat Concept". Church History. 93 (1): 63–84. doi:10.1017/S0009640724000064. ISSN 0009-6407.
- ↑ Sproul, R. C. "Fueling Reformation". Ligonier Ministries. Archived from the original on September 20, 2025. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
- ↑ Kennedy, Simon P. (2024). Against Worldview: Reimagining Christian Formation as Growth in Wisdom. Lexham Press. ISBN 978-1683597810.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ↑ Kennedy, Simon P. (2024-10-16). "Rethinking Worldview with Biblical Wisdom | Simon P. Kennedy". American Reformer. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
- ↑ Naugle, David (2002). Worldview: A History of the Concept. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans. pp. 4–32.
Further reading
[edit]- Jürgen Habermas, The Theory of Communicative Action, Volume II (1981) – sections on Worldviews and Worldpictures
- Arthur F. Holmes, All Truth Is God's Truth. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans (1977).
- David Naugle, Worldview: A History of the Concept. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans (2002)
- Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books (2004)
- Nancy Pearcey, Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, and Meaning Broadman and Homan Publishing Group (2010), ISBN 978-1-4336-6927-9
- Quine, David Answers for Difficult Days: Surviving the Storm of Secularism. Cornerstone Curriculum Project (1998, 2014)
- James Sire, The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press (1997)
- Ninian Smart, Worldviews: Crosscultural Explorations of Human Belief (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000)
- Albert M. Wolters, Creation Regained: Biblical Basics For A Reformational Worldview. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans (1985).
- Leslie Stevenson, David L. Haberman, "Ten Theories of Human Nature" Oxford University Press (2004) – book examines each one of four points—the nature of the universe, the nature of humanity, the diagnosis of the ills of humanity, and the proposed cure for these problems. Good introduction to where main worldviews originate and how to begin to think about them in context of human nature.
- Graham Cole, "Christians have a Worldview?"
- Kennedy, Simon P., "Christian Worldview and Cosmic War: Contexts and Origins of a Religious Combat Concept", Church History 93 (vol. 1, 2024), pp. 63-84.
- Kennedy, Simon P., "W-w Reformed", American Reformer. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
External links
[edit]- McKendree R. Langley, "Abraham Kuyper: A Christian Worldview." From the Orthodox Presbyterian Church web site, retrieved September 16, 2006.
- "Worldviews" Website portal dedicated to Christian Worldview and comparative worldviews.