What is a Christian Worldview, part 2
A worldview is a comprehensive philosophical lens though which we attempt to make sense of the world. Everyone possesses a worldview (whether he realizes it or not), and everyone’s ethic is shaped by his worldview. With so many competing worldviews, how can we decide which is correct?
When analyzing a worldview, one must first ask, “Is there a correct view of the world? Is there a particular worldview that is true?” To understand the importance of this question, consider the following summary of a popular Hindu story: There were several blind Hindus that came across an elephant and each described what an elephant was like. One touching the elephant’s leg said, “An elephant is like a tree.” The one holding the elephant’s tail said, “An elephant is like a rope.” Another holding the elephant’s ear said, “An elephant is like a leaf.” One holding the elephant’s trunk said, “An elephant is like a snake.” This story is told to illustrate that no single worldview is totally correct; all philosophies, religions, or worldviews are only partially describing certain aspects of reality. However, the storyteller fails to see that there is one correct, comprehensive view in this story; the view that understands that all of the blind Hindus were describing an elephant. We can call this God’s view.
The foundation of the Christian worldview is that only God has the proper view of the world (He made it, and He alone knows it perfectly) and He has communicated essential truths to mankind through the Scriptures. As Francis Schaffer said, “God is there and He is not silent.” The Christian worldview does not begin with human reason (i.e. Descartes) but with God’s revelation. However, this does not mean that human reason is unimportant.
The first of several possible tests used when analyzing the truth claims of a worldview is the test of reason. Specifically, does the worldview in question violate the law of non-contradiction? For instance, when a relativist says there is no such thing as absolutes, she is violating the law of non-contradiction by making what she believes to be an absolute statement. In the same manner, a skeptic who is certain about his skepticism violates the law of non-contradiction. The presence of logical contradictions should be a red flag and may indicate a fatal error in a worldview.
Other tests include consistency, coherence, comprehensiveness, simplicity, empirical fit, and livability. In his book “Worldviews in Conflict,” Ronald Nash suggests four tests: The test of reason, the test of outer experience, the test of inner experience, and the test of practice. In light of these tests Dr. Nash writes, “When faced with a choice among competing touchstone propositions of different worldviews, we should choose the one that, when applied to the whole of reality, gives us the most coherent picture of the world.”
When analyzing a worldview, one must first ask, “Is there a correct view of the world? Is there a particular worldview that is true?” To understand the importance of this question, consider the following summary of a popular Hindu story: There were several blind Hindus that came across an elephant and each described what an elephant was like. One touching the elephant’s leg said, “An elephant is like a tree.” The one holding the elephant’s tail said, “An elephant is like a rope.” Another holding the elephant’s ear said, “An elephant is like a leaf.” One holding the elephant’s trunk said, “An elephant is like a snake.” This story is told to illustrate that no single worldview is totally correct; all philosophies, religions, or worldviews are only partially describing certain aspects of reality. However, the storyteller fails to see that there is one correct, comprehensive view in this story; the view that understands that all of the blind Hindus were describing an elephant. We can call this God’s view.
The foundation of the Christian worldview is that only God has the proper view of the world (He made it, and He alone knows it perfectly) and He has communicated essential truths to mankind through the Scriptures. As Francis Schaffer said, “God is there and He is not silent.” The Christian worldview does not begin with human reason (i.e. Descartes) but with God’s revelation. However, this does not mean that human reason is unimportant.
The first of several possible tests used when analyzing the truth claims of a worldview is the test of reason. Specifically, does the worldview in question violate the law of non-contradiction? For instance, when a relativist says there is no such thing as absolutes, she is violating the law of non-contradiction by making what she believes to be an absolute statement. In the same manner, a skeptic who is certain about his skepticism violates the law of non-contradiction. The presence of logical contradictions should be a red flag and may indicate a fatal error in a worldview.
Other tests include consistency, coherence, comprehensiveness, simplicity, empirical fit, and livability. In his book “Worldviews in Conflict,” Ronald Nash suggests four tests: The test of reason, the test of outer experience, the test of inner experience, and the test of practice. In light of these tests Dr. Nash writes, “When faced with a choice among competing touchstone propositions of different worldviews, we should choose the one that, when applied to the whole of reality, gives us the most coherent picture of the world.”
Next week we’ll compare Christianity with a couple of other competing worldviews.
Labels: Christian worldview
posted on Friday, November 17, 2006 |
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