Do You Have a Biblical Worldview? Part 1
Perhaps the most important issue in any person’s life is not his or her education, career, finances, address, or bloodline, but rather, his or her worldview. A person’s worldview guides and directs everything else, including parenting decisions. Children are reared according to their parents’ worldview and thus, the children’s worldview is being formed.
What is a worldview? A worldview is a collection of attitudes, values, and beliefs which inform our thoughts expressed through our decisions. We all have a worldview, but perhaps it comes about without intentional thought. Perhaps your beliefs and choices would reflect a worldview that would be categorized as a blend of secularism, postmodernism, humanism, and biblical truth.
Dr. George Barna, founder of The Barna Group a leading marketing research firm focused on the intersection of faith and culture, says most of us have a syncretistic worldview – a blending of ideas rather than a holistic application of truth from God’s Word, a biblical worldview. While 70% of Americans consider themselves to be Christian, just 6% possess a biblical worldview. Why is that number so low? Barna says the following: 1.Lack of Scripture knowledge or 2. The lack of an understanding of how to apply known biblical principles to beliefs and choices. I would add this: The influence of our changing culture and its impact on our convictions and beliefs.
Barna says, “A person’s worldview starts developing at 15-18 months of age—and it’s almost completely developed by age 13.” Besides parents, other influencers include media of all types, friends, teachers, coaches, and youth groups. These entities all help shape children’s thinking about their beliefs and values, and consequently, impact the decisions they make.
How can parents teach their children to have a biblical worldview? I would respond accordingly - by living out biblical convictions and discussing those decisions around the dinner table. Secondly, talk and teach, within the context of daily life, the five categories that help frame one’s biblical worldview:
Origins: Where did everything come from? Who is the God of the Bible?
Identity: Who is mankind?
Meaning: What is life’s meaning? What is our purpose?
Morality: Who determines right and wrong?
Destiny: What happens when we die?
Next week, we’ll examine the above bullet points in more depth.
In the meantime, you might want to take a worldview test online. One can be accessed at no cost CLICK HERE. This test takes about 5-7 minutes.
There is a more comprehensive test that can be accessed CLICK HERE. This $17.76 fee-based test is free until December 2025. This is a longer test which takes about 30-40 minutes. I have taken both.
