Before we can adequately recognize and counter the deception that is so rampant, it is foundational for us to consider and attempt to answer life’s crucial questions in order to build a biblical worldview. We all have a worldview of some sort; even if it is a patchwork of mutually contradictory beliefs. The technological world in which we live might be thought of as a satanic strategy to keep people’s minds occupied with trivial things – games, social media, etc., rather than ponder the kinds of questions that might lead us to God.
A worldview is a framework or perspective through which we view and try to understand the world in which we live.
A person’s worldview will not only affect how he or she understands life and reality; it will also heavily influence decision making because it will determine what is valuable to us.
In this series of articles, I will show how the Bible answers five of life’s most crucial worldview questions.
- Origins: From where did I come?
- Identity: Who am I?
- Purpose: Why am I here?
- Morality: What is right and wrong?
- Destiny: Where am I going after death?
If we think about these questions for very long, it will become obvious that each one is related to the others. How we answer the first question will greatly influence how we answer the remainder. If we get the first question right from a biblical perspective, it will make it easier to get the others right, too. Conversely, if we miss the mark on number one, we will automatically err on the others.
Presuppositions
In order for us to answer these worldview questions, we must agree that everyone has assumed certain things, which cannot be proved true or false.
Presuppositions are what we each consider to be self-evident truths, which simply must be believed since they cannot be scientifically proved.
Our Declaration of Independence held that certain truths are self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, and that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. (Originally the last item was property, which makes a lot more sense.)
The writers agreed upon the following presuppositions:
- People are created by God.
- All people are equal.
- All people have God-given rights, specifically, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is impossible to “prove” that these presuppositions are true; however, it was considered to be obvious by the founders of our nation. Where did they get these “truths?” The first one comes from Genesis in the Bible. The second one is found in the New Testament. The third one derives from the philosopher John Locke’s Two Treatises on Government, which was widely read by the colonists. The right to life, liberty, and property are supported in the Bible. Jesus is the source of life, which humans are forbidden to steal through murder. Jesus died and rose again to liberate us from satanic oppression, and property rights are delineated in the Law of Moses. Locke emphasized what is called “natural law,” by which it was understood that the purpose of government is to protect these rights. This agrees with Romans Chapter 13, where Paul wrote that the government’s role is to ensure justice.
The colonists believed that their rights as citizens were being violated by the Crown contrary to English law, thus de-legitimizing the English government, which had become tyrannical instead of law abiding. By the time the Declaration was penned, these ideas were considered to be self-evident and beyond question. The colonists’ worldview, their understanding of right and wrong and the purpose of government, was Bible-based to a great extent and influenced their subsequent actions. People were willing to risk their lives supporting a revolution against tyranny in pursuit of what for them was required by their worldview. (If you wish to read a sermon by a Presbyterian preacher named David Caldwell, who lived in our area, click here. It lays out everything above.)
Perhaps some of my readers may not agree with our nation’s founders’ “self-evident truths,” but, whether we like to admit it or not, we all have such presuppositions. It is unavoidable. Even people who claim to be purely rational materialistic scientists have presumed on the validity of the scientific method, which presumes that there are unchangeable truths to be discovered, which presumes there is order and logic to the universe, which necessitates some unprovable reason for this to be so.
Using the Bible to Build Our Worldview
God has ordained that it is impossible for us to empirically prove many very important things in life, which, as a result, must be accepted by “faith.”
In other words, we all have to believe something, even if that belief is the self-contradictory notion that there is no such thing as unconditional truth. People jump to unscientific conclusions all the time because of our built in need to believe. That is one reason people fall for the false narratives of the media over and over again. We are believers by design, and what we choose to believe is all important.
God intended for us to depend on him to be our interpreter of reality and source of truth.
When Adam and Eve fell for Satan’s lie and rejected that way of “doing life,” humanity descended into the confusing darkness of trying to fathom the meaning of life by ourselves. We lost our way. That is why Jesus came, as he put it, to “seek and save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
In an effort to reorient ourselves, it is a good idea for each of us to ask ourselves, “Where did I get my ideas about life and reality?”
If we are followers of Christ, who accept the Bible as the most reliable source of God’s revealed truth, we will start there to build our worldview. If we do not accept what the Bible teaches, we must find some other way to construct a view of life and our world that is both satisfying and consistent. This I believe is quite impossible.
My hope is that you will stay with me as we consider some of life’s crucial questions from a biblical point of view. Even if you hold different presuppositions from mine, I believe considering what the Bible has to say will be beneficial and thought provoking. The very first verse of Genesis answers our first worldview question. That is where the second article will begin.
