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It is all about Worldview

November 12, 2019
By Emory Latta

As we have looked at the topic the last few weeks in our teacher TEAMS of integration of the biblical Christian worldview into teaching, I think it is wise to pause and ask the question, “Why is this so important?” For me, the answer, however, is not necessarily obvious.

Douglas Wilson states that every day in the classroom, the Christian teacher teaches on the dawn of eternity. The impact of what takes place in the theme of each lesson, both the planned and the spontaneous, is the uncovering FOR the student the discovery and shaping of their own worldview--and these beliefs impact one’s view of eternity. In a Christian school faithful to scriptural truths, projection of worldview reflection into each of our hearts should be the goal of every lesson every day.

 I do not believe that anyone plans to live a pluralistic lifestyle, but we all tend to do it. The dichotomy that we all experience in life is described eloquently in Paul’s words in the passage of Romans 7, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do” (v. 15). We have all experienced that. The battleground is a lived-out, spiritual, real-life battle between ourselves and allowing Christ to lead us. It is a battle between wills—our prideful hearts vs. the humility of letting Christ rule.

Certainly, our sin nature is the cause of the pluralistic, double-life Paul experiences and describes so well. But, it is much deeper than our thoughts and what we profess as belief. It is the true north of our “heart-set,” or the direction of what we feel in our hearts is the “good life” (Smith, 2013). And that view of the good life is driven by our worldview.

The most essential part of any rifle or missile-system is the aiming mechanism. If the aim is off by even the smallest of margins, the longer the target of the projectile, the more off-target the aim will be. A person’s worldview is their aiming mechanism. One’s worldview is the presuppositions that they make about a topic or a truth. It is a pre-programmed perspective someone holds toward something.

Moreland (2018) suggests that the most substantial negative influence of the past 150 years on the Christian worldview has been the presupposition that science, especially natural science, is the most important part of human learning. This is supported by the thought that science is the most authoritative, serious, or beneficial part of human learning. Moreland says that as such, this view he calls “Scientism” directly challenges Christianity’s claim to be a knowledge tradition.

A Christian worldview sheds light on the creator through the created—science is the tool of the Creator (Psalm 19:1). Science as a subject is part of God’s created order; As a worldview, science becomes something it cannot support- a philosophy (Moreland).

One’s worldview is a matter of the heart and soul of a person and is expressed in behavior. The critical feature occurs when a person aligns his personal world-and-life-view with the biblical truth of scripture (Smith) and applies it to every encounter with creation and every principle, law, or opinion.

That is the purpose of the Christian school and it is why we exist.

-Emory

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