World-views directly impact the way in which we see and interact with the world, something that every individual adheres to. It is one’s perspective of a philosophical system on how the world operates and how we are to relate with the world. A world-view is an organized set of ideas and doctrines, an arrangement of principles that we rely upon in trying to comprehend the processes or functions of a working system of the world around us. Our understanding of these ideas and how they interact with the world must hold and work together in a way that will explain one’s ideology as a systematic whole. The way in which one thinks, makes sense of, and further interprets past, present, and future experiences is based on this systematic belief model from which the individual has constructed, either consciously or unconsciously, correctly or incorrectly. This conceptually becomes the framework of one’s beliefs and assumptions.
A world-view most commonly consists of, and is not limited to, the following components. God, metaphysics, reality, knowledge, truth, humanity, evil, and ethics. A world-view may also contain a set of ideals, or the disparity between them. The consequences of having a right perspective are many and varied making this aspect of our lives extremely important. We influence others by the way in which we live, by our thoughts, our emotions, our reactions, and our behaviours which leads to further ramifications on society. Studies have shown that beliefs are not chosen based on evidence, rather, people choose what’s most attractive to them. The attractiveness of a belief has been a critical factor in whether or not a person accepts the Gospel message. Every idea has consequences. When having a correct world-view based on a solid foundation, one is less likely to accept the social issues that are opposed by a Christian world-view. The Apostle Paul wrote:
Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty, deceitful philosophy that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. – Col 2:8.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the New English Translation
In this verse, Paul teaches that any philosophy that is not from Christ is a “deceitful philosophy”, and equates to not having a correct world-view. A philosophy not based on Christ is the difference between knowing the truth of Christ or believing a lie from the world.
This is a series of post meant to define and defend God, reality, truth, knowledge, humanity, and evil which compose the basic elements of one’s world-view.
Biblical Studies 