What is a Worldview?

What in the world is a worldview? Put plainly, a worldview is what we believe about the central questions of life that affect the way we live. I (Luke) have been shaping my biblical worldview in class with Professor Matt Dee. If you want to shape your own worldview, there are four questions you must answer:  

What is our nature?
Our nature refers to things like who we are, what it means to be human, what makes us different from animals in terms of value, and whether we are created or evolved beings. 

What is our world?
This question asks about the nature of the physical world. Is it orderly or chaotic? Also, is the matter of our universe eternal and uncreated, or divine and coeternal with a deity? 

What is our problem?
This question looks for what is wrong with us, or what is wrong with the world. Specific examples include sin and a lack of education, but some people say there is absolutely nothing wrong.  

What is our end?
Finally, this asks what our purpose is in life. Do we create our own purpose, or is it created for us? It also asks where we go when we die.  

Not only must you answer these four questions to form a complete worldview, but your worldview must stand trial to three truth tests. These tests are the internal, external, and existential consistency tests. The internal consistency test examines components of a worldview to see if they contradict each other. For example, if you claim that truth is relative and no one can know it, then how can that very statement be true? The external consistency test sets the worldview alongside reality. Does this worldview align with what is known to be true? The existential consistency test examines whether the worldview is livable or not. Does it meet real human needs, desires, and aspirations? Is it practical to live? 

As a follower of Jesus, here is how I answer the four worldview questions. We were created in the image of God; we have a beginning but no end. Our world is both material and immaterial, meaning that our physical universe is open to the involvement of supernatural agents outside of it. Our problem is sin. Through the Fall, all aspects of humanity have been tainted. Our end is to glorify and enjoy God forever!

The Fellows of Class 18 come from different walks of life, but we are forging biblical beliefs based on God’s Word together.  

Luke Sherwood
Huntsville, AL