Biblical Worldview Basics

by Shawn Hassen

If you are not a follower of Christ, I hope you might be curious enough to keep reading. Both the popular media and often Christians, themselves, have made many erroneous claims, so you might make some discoveries in the paragraphs that follow. I have written this specifically to explain the biblical worldview basics to anyone and everyone, hopefully with helpful everyday language and not with “Christian-eze” jargon.

If you are a follower of Christ, I hope you will find this post useful in helping you succinctly articulate what you believe. And I hope, in particular, it helps your students connect some dots so that they can better evaluate the world’s ideas in light of Scripture.  

It is important to keep comparing apples to apples and oranges to oranges, so just like my previous worldview posts, this one will focus on explaining the answers to key questions about humanity and life, following the same framework we have been using:

How did humans originate? 

Are humans animals?

What value do humans have?

What is “human nature–” what are we like in our most natural state?  

What defines us?  Nature? Nurture?  

Is anyone or anything in charge here?  

Is this world/life as good as it gets? 

Why does so much seem to be upside down?  What’s wrong? 

Can’t we just all get along?  What’s the solution? 

We will be exploring the same questions, but the difference between this lengthier article and previous worldview posts is not one of bias, but rather one of intention. Very rarely will the literature we study in most classrooms evidence a biblical worldview, so my purpose here is not to highlight the key tenets of a philosophy, but rather to provide a more detailed resource for Christian educators (and/or parents) who are trying to help their students develop their own biblical worldview. As they read and study great literature—comparing and contrasting philosophy with biblical ideology—they will grow in confidence and discernment. But strengthening or building a worldview, not merely recognizing it, first requires some detailed groundwork.   

A biblical worldview is named for its “charter document,” so to speak—the Holy Bible. There has been fascinating research on the historicity of Scripture that will intrigue both believers and non-believers, but for brevity’s sake and to stay on track with our purposes, we will focus on the Bible’s sacred nature. For Christians, the Bible (the inspired word of God) provides the answers to many of life’s big questions, so its authority bears some explaining—starting with the confounding doctrine of the Godhead. The Bible teaches that the Godhead is three persons in One: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (also referred to as Holy Ghost). God, in the form of the Holy Spirit, indwells believers. This explains how Scripture was “God-breathed.” In essence, the Bible was written by God, through humans. The Holy Spirit led the writers to communicate exactly what God wished to reveal about the world, humanity, and Himself. The Bible by no means covers every detail of life, either historic or modern, but it establishes a worldview. And since it came from God, it becomes an unwavering, comprehensive source of truth for believers. It establishes that . . .

God created the universe. He does not reveal all of the details—all of the mysteries of time or processes by which he has created the natural world and the animal kingdom (i.e. natural selection, etc.)—but he does make clear that he first created animals (many species) and then he created men and women in his own image.  The last words are pivotal to a believer’s understanding of human worth. All human beings are created in God’s image and therefore have inherent worth and value irrespective of color, race, health, or ability (quite different from the economy of the animal kingdom’s survival of the fittest). Furthermore, humans have been placed in authority over the animal kingdom. We are to responsibly and thoughtfully “steward” the earth and its resources, emphasizing humans’ social ranking in creation.

So what happened after creation? Why is life enveloped in struggle?

For reasons not fully revealed, evil has existed in the form of a fallen angel, Satan. And while God drastically curtails Satan’s activities, the Bible nonetheless speaks of the wars between good and evil in the spiritual realms. Satan is on a short leash—yet he wreaks significant havoc on the world, starting with the first humans in the Garden of Eden. When God created man and woman, he granted them free will. They were innocent, living in peace and harmony as God intended. With everything at their fingertips, Adam and Eve had only one restriction placed on them from God. They had one rule to follow—yet they listened to the enemy whisper doubt, skepticism, and suspicion about God and his intentions. Was he holding out on Adam and Eve? Wouldn’t they enjoy life more fully if they were just like God, like equals? Could they really trust that God knows best? Falling for the lies, they chose disobedience. Enter evil—in an event which the Bible names the fall. This is also the record of what Christians recognize as “the curse” which all descendants of Adam and Eve now live under: discontent, jealousy, rage, sorrow, struggle, tragedy, sickness, disease, death. Summarized simplistically, Adam and Eve sinned when they put their selfish interest above God’s (a simplified definition of sin). Because of their disobedience, all of humanity has been tainted. Humans are born with infinite worth and value, created in God’s image, but they are not born tabla rasa. Certainly they will learn from and be influenced by their environment, but from birth they are tainted by sin from the original curse and will experience struggle and conflict throughout life.

It was immediately following this catastrophe in the Garden of Eden that God first revealed his plan to redeem humankind—he would send a savior. Taking the form of the Son, God came to earth as Jesus. He was necessarily perfect and without sin (being God) yet he subjected himself to die a sinner’s death on a cross to atone for human sin. Three days later, he defeated death and rose from the grave. All who repent and believe in Jesus as their savior are forgiven and promised eternal life/resurrection in heaven. God has a constant, personal, intimate relationship with all believers (unlike transcendentalists historically believed), while at the same time actively reigning sovereign over the universe. At some unrevealed time, He will return. Heaven will come to earth. The old earth and all followers of Christ will be resurrected--new, perfect, and without sin--as Satan and all other aspects of evil are destroyed.

A couple of theological points will further explain this worldview’s “solution” for what is wrong in the world. God has announced that he is “making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). Obviously, this is a future hope for the Christian, as it refers to his or her own perfected resurrection and the ultimate destruction of Satan, sin, and tragedy in the world. The Bible teaches that when a person becomes a Christian—often phrased by different denominations as “being born again,” “accepting Christ,” “choosing Christ,” “repenting” and so forth—his or her sins are immediately forgiven. This is theologically referred to as justification and it is a transaction of grace and mercy that happens one time for all time, and because a sinner has been justified, he or she will spend life with God in eternity. But Christians are not just waiting to die in order to be happy. . .

Christians also have a present hope through sanctification. Believers have been promised the Holy Spirit through the ongoing process called sanctification. The Holy Spirit indwells each and every follower of Christ, imparting Godly wisdom and bringing change, growth, and transformation throughout that person’s life. So there is both a future promise of peace and a present promise of increasing peace, of personal transformation that continually brings hope--patience, self-control, faithfulness, kindness, goodness, hope, joy, gentleness, and love--even in the face of a fallen world’s tragedies, struggles, and conflicts.