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What does every person have but few

people are aware of?


The answer: A worldview. Everyone has their own
worldview, but the vast majority of people are
unaware of it, or wouldnt even know what a
worldview is. Its the sum of everything one believes
regarding the universe, life, knowledge & how
everything holds together. It determines how one
answers the big questions of life: Where do we come
from? Does life have purpose? Why are things the
way they are? How do we know right from wrong?
And most importantly, where do we go after this life
ends?
Why is it important for you to think about your
worldview? Because thatll determine your answers to
these questions. It also determines how you live your
life, how you relate to others & whether you believe
that your life (& of those around you) even matter.
Youll encounter people who hold all kinds of views
on these matters. Most have either not thought their
views through, or uncritically accepted it on bad logic.
Its important to consider your own views & make
sure that theyre internally consistent, coherent, &
applicable to life.
The purpose of this pamphlet is to list common
worldviews & examine them in light of logic &
applicability. Perhaps you hold to one of the
worldviews listed. I urge you then to read on, think
about your views & whether theyre sound.
A NATURALIST WORLDVIEW
One popular worldview is Naturalism. This
worldview claims that all that exists is matter &
energythings that can be known through physical
sciences (biology, chemistry, physics). Not only is
supernatural not real, but metaphysical concepts like
beauty & goodness arent objectively real either, being
purely subjective. Underlying this view are
philosophies like logical positivism which, though no
longer taken seriously by philosophers, survive in
popular form in the works of New Atheists like
Richard Dawkins & Sam Harris. Astrophysicist Carl
Sagan best summarizes this worldview in his famous
statement: The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will
be
Note that Naturalism is based on a self-refuting
premise: that only physical sciences provide objective

truth. The statement only physical sciences provide


objective truths is a metaphysical claim which itself
cant be verified through science, failing its own test.
Science says nothing about metaphysics. It can verify
things within nature, but cant say that nothing exists
beyond it. That can only be known through other
disciplines (like history or philosophy), or revelation.
Most importantly, since science says nothing
about metaphysics, Naturalism has no answer to any
of the major worldview questions. It cant say why
anything exists rather than nothing, whether life has
purpose, or how to tell right from wrong. Naturalism
can only say that such questions are meaningless;
nobody can explain why anything is the way it is. It
just is. This leads to Nihilism, the view that neither
morality nor purpose exists. This view can never truly
be lived out, as any attempt to do so can only lead to
despair.
A POSTMODERN WORLDVIEW
Seeing the failure of attempts to find objective
truth through science, a shift has occurred in recent
decades towards Postmodernism. This worldview is
characterized by a rejection of objective truth in any
area of knowledge. Everything is subjective, being
conditioned by individual perceptions & biases.
Whats true for you may not be so for me, & no one
can know the big picture story (if one exists). Many
who hold to this worldview are suspicious of all truth
claims, following philosopher Michel Foucault, who
said that any such claims are just attempts to exert
power over others.
The problem with Postmodernism is that like
Naturalism, its premises are self-refuting. It claims
that objective truth does not exist, yet Postmodernists
present this claim as objectively true. If theres no
objective truth, then this tenet of Postmodernism
cant be objectively true. If our perceptions are
culturally conditioned, then Postmodernism is also
culturally conditioned.
This self-refutation also holds for Foucaults
statement that truth claims are exertions of power. If
thats so, wouldnt that mean that those who claim
postmodernism are also attempting to exert power
over others when they make worldview claims? As
philosopher Roger Scruton once said: A writer who
says that there are no truths, or that all truth is merely
negative, is asking you not to believe him. So dont.

In the end, no one can live like we cant know


anything. Otherwise, we cant communicate meaning
fully or make value judgments, destroying the ability
to know truth from error.
AN EASTERN RELIGIOUS WORLDVIEW
Another set of popular worldviews are those
from the East. These include Hinduism, Buddhism,
Taoism, & the like. Of these religions, Hinduism is
the largest and oldest, influencing those after it. These
religions have various concepts in common with one
another, whichll be examined here.
One belief these religions have in common is
Pluralism: the view that all religions are equally valid
paths to God, or that theyre all true in one way or
another. This is likened to a mountain with many
paths, all leading to the top. The fallacy of this is clear
once one gets past the superficial similarities among
the worlds religions & gets to the core issues: Do we
have the same God concept? Some religions teach
theres only one God. Others teach there are many.
Others teach there are none, or that were all God.
This violates the law of logic called the Law of
Non-Contradiction: Something cant be both true &
false at the same time. Heres another example: Who
is Jesus? Many eastern religionists say hes one of their
great spiritual teachers (even though Jesus worldview
comes from 1st century Judaism & not Eastern
religions). Christians say hes the Son of God, & that
Jesus said his disciples are blessed for confessing this
(Mt 16:17). By contrast, Muslims deny that hes the
Son of God. The Quran curses Christians for calling
him that (Q 9:30). They cant all be right. Jesus taught
something, but not all these things at once.
Another common view in eastern religions is
Pantheism, the belief that the universe & everything in
it is God. Connected to this is the view that were
ourselves divine, & that all things are one. This view
has major problems: If all things are one, what
ultimately makes human life more valuable than any
other life? If God is all & all is God, then the death of
a person is no more tragic than the death of an ant or
amoeba. Also, what are we to make of good & evil?
The answer in Pantheism is that there is no ultimate
difference between good & evil. All moral judgments
break down. One anecdote illustrating this is told by
theologian Francis Schaeffer: In an encounter with a
Hindu student at Cambridge, he asked if he was

correct in saying that in the Hindus view, cruelty &


non-cruelty are equal. The Hindu nodded.
Understanding the implications, a nearby student took
a kettle of boiling water & held it above the Hindus
head, repeating, There is no difference between cruelty &
non-cruelty. The Hindu quickly walked out of that
room.
Thus the Eastern worldview fails to explain
reality as it really is.
A CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW
At this point, the most viable worldview one may
believe in is one with a personal God who not only
created the world but also interacts with it &
communicates via revelation. There are many books
that claim to be revelation, like the Quran, the Book
of Mormon, & the Vedas.
But one book stands out from all the rest: The
Bible. What makes this book unique from the rest? If
read it, youll find that its really a collection of 66
books in 3 different languages by 40 different authors
over a 1,500 year timespan, but with 1 consistent
message. These books come in different genres:
poetry, historyarchaeologically supported history
& prophecy, among others. Some prophecies speak of
future events that take place hundreds of years later
recorded in later books of the Bible. For example,
take the 53rd chapter of Isaiah & see how it talks
about the sufferings of Jesus 700 years before he was
even born!
It also records the life of Jesus, how he lived, died
& rose again. This was written by men who traveled
with him & saw the events with their own eyes (1 Jn
1:1-4, 2 Pet 1:16-18), & went through all kinds of
trials (leading to most of them being killed) for the
sake of their testimony, which shows that they were
certain about what they experienced.
Beginning in Genesis, the Bible explains how
everything came to be, & how God made us in his
image, forming the basis for humanitys inherent
dignity & worth. God gave us everything, & revealed
himself to us so wed seek him & know him (Acts
17:24-28). But instead of seeking God, we sin against
him by breaking his law & fall under his just
condemnation. This is the Bibles answer for why all
the worlds problems exist. Were all guilty before the
law, & must one day give an account to God for
breaking it (Rm 6:23, Heb 9:27).

You may not think that God will regard you as


guilty on the Day of Judgment, but the Bible is clear
that all have sinned (Rm. 3:23). Think about this:
Have you ever lied? Ever stolen anything, no matter
how small? Ever used Jesus to cuss? Even if you
havent done all these things, to break one law is to be
guilty of the whole Law (Jas 2:10). This leaves us all
without excuse. We are all liable to face Gods
judgment for our sins.
Here, the Gospel (good news) comes in: In
order to save us, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, as
the means to pay for humanitys sin. He laid his life
down as a ransom for many (Jn 10:17, Mk 10:45). By
his life, death & resurrection, we may be forgiven of
our sins & restored to a right relationship with God.
Jesus alone can do this because he alone obeyed
Gods law perfectly, giving him qualifications no one
else has (1Pet 2:22-24). But to receive these benefits,
we must turn away from our sins & trust him as
Saviour & Lord. Only then may we be acceptable to
God & adopted into his family, becoming children of
God. He isnt demanding that we be better people,
because nothing we can do can earn salvation. Rather,
he calls to us in our brokenness so that he may heal us
& give salvation as a free gift. Only then can true
transformation take place.
Think about this worldview carefully, as its truth or falsity
may completely change everything for you, both in this life & in
eternity. If youd like a further explanation of what
Christianity entails, check out 2 Ways to Live. This
presentation shows the choice we all face & why it
matters:

WHATS
YOUR

www.matthiasmedia.com.au/2wtl

WORLDVIEW?

Brought to you by Nicene International Ministries. Check


us out online at www.nimcanada.org.

J. Luis Dizon

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