Definition of terms:

What’s a worldview?

Words are funny things. We use words to designate a particular object or person, to describe an action, or to convey a thought. Words are our primary means of communication, but for words to help us, we have to agree on the meaning given to those words.

The same word in two different languages can mean completely different things—like gift, which mean poison in German, and brat which means brother in Russian. In English, one word can have several different meanings, like right, which can refer to one side of a person or a road, be a synonym for correct, or indicate a political position. Other words have different technical meanings, like black, which means the absence of color when speaking about light and the combination of all colors when talking about pigment.

Concrete nouns are usually easy to define. We all know the difference between a table, a chair, and a couch. (Although, when you throw in settee and sofa, it can get a little more confusing.) Abstract nouns are more difficult. Freedom, happiness, and justice can mean different things to different people or when used in different contexts. Combinations of words can be trademarked or copywritten, but individual words do not belong to any one person or group. What you mean when you say awesome may be different from what I mean when I say the same word, and that’s okay—as long as we use words carefully to convey what we really mean.

In my book, I use two terms which require additional explanation: Christian and worldview. If you understand the terms the way I use them in the book (even if you don’t agree with my definition), you will understand the ideas in the book much better.

Christian

The word Christian is only used in the Bible three times. In Acts 11:26, we are told, “the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.” In Acts 26:28, someone arguing with Paul asks, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” Finally, in 1 Peter 4:16, we are encouraged with these words: “However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.”

The Christ in Christian comes from khristos, the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word messiah, which means “anointed one.” Jesus was identified by his disciples as the Christ—the long-awaited Messiah God had promised to send for the redemption of Israel and the world (Matthew 16:16; John 1:41; Acts 10:36). The suffix -ian refers to membership in, association with, or being a proponent of something, making Christ-ian a person who in some way belongs to, follows, and advocates for Jesus Christ.

Although Christian usually means someone who identifies with and belongs to one of the recognized Christian churches, anyone can claim to be a Christian and use the word to mean what they want it to mean. Different groups have tried to define what it means to be a Christian, but they have no way to stop other people from misappropriating the term.

In my book, I use the word Christian in two different ways. Sometimes it is used to include the wide reach of people who identify themselves as Christians, irrespective of what they actually believe or whether they are actively following and advocating for Jesus Christ. Other times it is used to classify beliefs held by the majority of people in traditional Protestant and Catholic churches. I have attempted to keep to the mainstream of Christian thought and have not included the beliefs of groups such as the Latter Day Saints, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Unitarians who do not believe in the deity of Jesus Christ but are sometimes included in the broader category of Christian.

The truth is that I have very strong beliefs about what it means to be a Christian, but the purpose of my book is not to advocate for a particular set of beliefs. The purpose of the book is for my readers to carefully consider what they believe and why they believe it. How do their beliefs compare with other Christians? Are their beliefs consistent and defensible? Most importantly, are they living like they believe what they say they believe? For, in the simplest sense, to be a Christian means to be in and of Christ, and that involves a way of living, not just a set of theological beliefs.

Worldview

Like Christian, the term worldview can mean different things to different people. In the first two chapters of my book, I make an effort to define the term worldview as I will be using it. To state it simply, a worldview is “the fundamental perspective from which one addresses every issue of life.”[2] A worldview is a way in which one understands the world around them—where we came from, what our purpose is, and how we should live. In Naming the Elephant: Worldview as a Concept, James W. Sire asserts that a worldview should answer seven foundational questions:

1. What is prime reality—the really real?
2. What is the nature of external reality, that is, the world around us?
3. What is a human being?
4. What happens to persons at death?
5. Why is it possible to know anything at all?
6. How do we know what is right and wrong?
7. What is the meaning of human history?[3]

In Worlds Apart: A Handbook on World Views, Norman Geisler and William Watkins identify eight primary worldviews that answer the first of these questions and help to answer the rest:

1. Theism – a personal God created and sustains the universe;
2. Atheism – there are no gods; the universe was not created and is all that exists;
3. Pantheism – the universe and God are one and the same;
4. Panentheism – God exists in the finite universe (his body) and beyond it (his mind);
5. Deism – God exists beyond the universe but is not active in it;
6. Finite Godism – God exists but is limited in his power, his goodness, or both.
7. Polytheism – there are multiple gods within the universe and active in it.[4]

Some books limit their definition of worldview to a include only the primary worldviews, or they may include other -isms like pluralism, humanism, and relativism.[5] Others writers compare and contrast groups within these primary categories, giving them the name worldview as well. For instance, Christian, Jewish, and Islamic worldviews all fit within theism, and Hindu and Buddhist worldviews fit within pantheism.

All of these are what I call external worldviews. They are defined and described by a list of propositions with which the majority of people who share those worldviews agree. A Christian worldview can be defined by the beliefs that most Christians share about Sire’s foundational questions. Buddhists answer those questions differently, defining Buddhism, and humanists define them differently again, defining humanism.

When we look deeply enough, we see that we each have our own individual worldview based on what we personally believe. This is what I call an internal worldview. Our personal worldviews are influenced by what we have learned, observed, and experienced throughout our lives. My personal worldview is how I answer the big questions of life—what I truly believe.

In Finding Your Part in God’s Master Story: An Exploration of Christian Worldviews, I hope to help my readers understand some different beliefs Christians have about how our world started, what went wrong, what God is doing to fix it, and how we can help God reach his goal. While exploring external Christian worldviews, each reader is asked questions to help them understand their own internal worldview and to ensure that their personal beliefs are consistent, comprehensive, and truly Christian.

[1] Guisepi, Robert A., editor. “A History of Christianity.” International World History Project, history-world.org/christianity.htm, accessed 1 January 2019.
[2] Sire, James W. Naming the Elephant: Worldview as a Concept. 2nd ed., Intervarsity Press, 2015, p. 24.
[3] Sire, p. 113.
[4] Geisler, Norman L., and William D. Watkins. Worlds Apart: A Handbook on World Views. 2nd ed., Wipf and Stock, 2003, pp. 15-17.
[5] Zacharias, Ravi, and Vince Vitale. Jesus Among Secular Gods: The Countercultural Claims of Christ. Faith Words, 2018. [Zacharias and Vitale include atheism, scientism, pluralism, humanism, relativism, and hedonism in their book on secular worldviews.]