Worldviews: Looking at the Big Picture and Connecting the Dots
If you have been following this blog, you are aware that I have been working through Nancy Pearcey’s book, Total Truth. To be sure, it has been a process of working through as there is so much in there that needs to be processed and applied. Over the weeks, I’ve taken opportunity to point out some of the highlights and comment on various parts of the book. I plan on doing more of that as I think this is an area that is of utmost importance, even though so many live inconsistently within the worldview they claim.
Coming from a biblical worldview perspective, one of the biggest affronts to this worldview (if not the biggest) is the proliferation of naturalism as advanced through Darwinism. As I have addressed this issue before, Darwinism is incorrectly categorized (and passed off) by many as science. In reality, Darwinism isn’t any more science than psychoceramics. It is a philosophy of science and, further, Pearcey makes a strong argument that it is really more in line with a religion. I will leave the arguments in support of this to my previous post.
The point of this post is, as a worldview, Darwinism is incredibly faulty. Nevertheless, even as weak as it is, it has tremendous influence over the world today, spanning every area of society from science, to economics, to psychology and even the law. The fact is, whether one accepts it or not, the Christian worldview is the only one that can adequately account for all of that we experience in the real world. This is not some inflated superiority complex, it is the simple fact. Theism (and Christian Theism most fully) accounts for such concepts as rational thought. It accounts for love and genuine, caring relationships. It accounts for altruism and self-sacrifice. It accounts for genuine freedom (including freedom of choice). No other worldview can adequately and legitimately account for any of these things without borrowing from (stealing; smuggling in) aspects of the Christian worldview. None of these things make any sense within naturalism when approached and examined honestly. Therefore, it is worth considering why those who adhere to biblical Christianity do not speak out more, unmasking the false assumptions made by naturalism (Darwinism, in particular).
Unfortunately, not even most Christians can adequately discuss the principles of their own worldview in such a way that people who have bought into false worldview philosophies can understand the truth (the total truth, as Pearcey would say). Christians have, in essence, given up ground that has illegitimately been taken from them, leaving a majority of the population of this world living with the false assumption that naturalism (Darwinism), materialism, socialism, postmodernism and all of the other “isms” merit their allegiance.
Pearcey points to the words of Francis Schaeffer in addressing this issue.
Schaeffer claimed that the reason the Christian, biblical worldview has largely lost its place in the public square is not because people have disproved Christianity or that there are issues to which Christianity cannot address, but because Christians “tend to see things in ‘bits and pieces.’ We worry about things like family breakdown, violence in schools, immoral entertainment, abortion and bioethics—a wide array of individual issues. But we don’t see the big picture that connects the dots.” (208)
The connecting of the dots that Schaeffer and Pearcey talk about is related to the big picture…the worldview. Schaeffer claimed that all of these changes, these issues that have become such a part of our culture are a result of a change in worldviews, from a Christian worldview to a naturalistic worldview:
It is one thing to examine and point out these various social issues, as I have done many times on this blog. If, however, people are going to understand the falsehoods involved with these social issues (which are merely symptoms of the real problem), it must be done by taking advantage of opportunities to explain the underlying worldview issues that lead to these problems. If you say you have a biblical worldview, it is important for you to take it upon yourself to understand what that means and how to address it with those who may be asking. If, on the other hand, you adhere to another worldview, I would challenge you
to examine how your worldview addresses those issues I listed earlier. Questions related to origins (where did we come from), how one makes sense (no pun intended) of rationality, love, altruism, self-sacrifice, and freedom of choice. Why are some people “good” and some people “bad”? I dare say that if, at any point, your worldview cannot legitimately address these without having to deviate from the core tenets of your worldview system, it’s time to cash in for a new one, because yours can’t hold water.
Stay tuned for future posts as I begin looking at the Christian, biblical worldview and how it addresses some of the major concerns of real life and where other worldviews drop the ball.
Coming from a biblical worldview perspective, one of the biggest affronts to this worldview (if not the biggest) is the proliferation of naturalism as advanced through Darwinism. As I have addressed this issue before, Darwinism is incorrectly categorized (and passed off) by many as science. In reality, Darwinism isn’t any more science than psychoceramics. It is a philosophy of science and, further, Pearcey makes a strong argument that it is really more in line with a religion. I will leave the arguments in support of this to my previous post.The point of this post is, as a worldview, Darwinism is incredibly faulty. Nevertheless, even as weak as it is, it has tremendous influence over the world today, spanning every area of society from science, to economics, to psychology and even the law. The fact is, whether one accepts it or not, the Christian worldview is the only one that can adequately account for all of that we experience in the real world. This is not some inflated superiority complex, it is the simple fact. Theism (and Christian Theism most fully) accounts for such concepts as rational thought. It accounts for love and genuine, caring relationships. It accounts for altruism and self-sacrifice. It accounts for genuine freedom (including freedom of choice). No other worldview can adequately and legitimately account for any of these things without borrowing from (stealing; smuggling in) aspects of the Christian worldview. None of these things make any sense within naturalism when approached and examined honestly. Therefore, it is worth considering why those who adhere to biblical Christianity do not speak out more, unmasking the false assumptions made by naturalism (Darwinism, in particular).
Unfortunately, not even most Christians can adequately discuss the principles of their own worldview in such a way that people who have bought into false worldview philosophies can understand the truth (the total truth, as Pearcey would say). Christians have, in essence, given up ground that has illegitimately been taken from them, leaving a majority of the population of this world living with the false assumption that naturalism (Darwinism), materialism, socialism, postmodernism and all of the other “isms” merit their allegiance.
Pearcey points to the words of Francis Schaeffer in addressing this issue.
Schaeffer claimed that the reason the Christian, biblical worldview has largely lost its place in the public square is not because people have disproved Christianity or that there are issues to which Christianity cannot address, but because Christians “tend to see things in ‘bits and pieces.’ We worry about things like family breakdown, violence in schools, immoral entertainment, abortion and bioethics—a wide array of individual issues. But we don’t see the big picture that connects the dots.” (208)The connecting of the dots that Schaeffer and Pearcey talk about is related to the big picture…the worldview. Schaeffer claimed that all of these changes, these issues that have become such a part of our culture are a result of a change in worldviews, from a Christian worldview to a naturalistic worldview:
In other words, long before there was an Intelligent Design movement, Schaeffer saw that everything hangs on your view of origins. If you start with impersonal forces operating by chance—in other words, naturalistic evolution—then over time (even if it takes several generations) you will end up with naturalism in moral, social, and political philosophy. (208)This, I believe, is exactly the problem. As naturalistic philosophy has become more and more prevalent in every aspect of life, we have witnessed an increase in social problems such as were mentioned above (abortion, family breakdown, etc.) to the extent that many of them have become not only the norm, but even acceptable. We could examine each of these issues individually and find the naturalistic influence (even in the lives of those who claim a biblical worldview—but are, themselves, living inconsistently!).
It is one thing to examine and point out these various social issues, as I have done many times on this blog. If, however, people are going to understand the falsehoods involved with these social issues (which are merely symptoms of the real problem), it must be done by taking advantage of opportunities to explain the underlying worldview issues that lead to these problems. If you say you have a biblical worldview, it is important for you to take it upon yourself to understand what that means and how to address it with those who may be asking. If, on the other hand, you adhere to another worldview, I would challenge you
to examine how your worldview addresses those issues I listed earlier. Questions related to origins (where did we come from), how one makes sense (no pun intended) of rationality, love, altruism, self-sacrifice, and freedom of choice. Why are some people “good” and some people “bad”? I dare say that if, at any point, your worldview cannot legitimately address these without having to deviate from the core tenets of your worldview system, it’s time to cash in for a new one, because yours can’t hold water.Stay tuned for future posts as I begin looking at the Christian, biblical worldview and how it addresses some of the major concerns of real life and where other worldviews drop the ball.
Labels: David C. Price
posted by DAVID C. PRICE at 9/26/2005 02:30:00 PM
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