Introduction
As many know, all analogies will break down at some point. Nothing can be used to perfectly compare to a certain situation or idea. However, in an attempt to explain a worldview, the analogy of glasses works pretty well. Just as someone uses glasses to clearly see the world, so is the worldview. A worldview is a framework by which the world is seen by an individual. Everyone has one, whether they are ignorant to it or not; whether it is consistent or not. The question is, what is that someone’s worldview and where does it come from? What is the source of authority by which it stands?
It’s quite easy to derive where one stands in the topic of worldview. There are four sections to any worldview which answer particular questions. The first is Epistemology. Epistemology is the study of knowledge. It answers the question, “how can we know?”. The next section is metaphysics which is reality. Epistemology is how one knows reality while meta-physics is reality itself. Metaphysics is the object of that which one is trying to know. The third section of a worldview is ethics. Ethics is simply how an individual ought to act based on the reality and interpretation of it. The last is socio-political. Socio-political defines how humanity as a group ought to act based on reality and the interpretation of it. Inconsistency can come in many different places. If one’s ethic doesn’t line up with their view of reality, they are inconsistent. If someone has a single authority in epistemology but uses more than one authority to define their ethic, they are inconsistent. The list could go on and on. It should be the goal of anyone to have a consistent worldview to accurately view and react to reality.
It is the position of this writer that the only worldview which provides a consistent, valid and true view of the world and all that is in it is the Biblical Worldview. The Biblical Worldview provides a source of authority which is absolutely true (John 17:17; John 1:1–3; John 14:6)[1]. This authority, once interpreted, gives an absolutely true explanation to all reality such as origins (Gen. 1; John 1:1–3), future times (Revelation), existence (Rom. 1), nature (Rom. 1:18–20), and more (2 Peter 1:3). With this interpretation, this source provides means by how humanity ought to act individually and in community in light of the truth of reality (2 Timothy 3:16–17). The source of that authority is God who has revealed Himself to humanity through Scripture (John 14:6).
Presupposition
At the foundation of every worldview lies a presupposition. There is an aspect of faith within all frameworks. The Biblical Worldview contains a presupposition that the Bible itself assumes. That presupposition is that God exists. In Genesis 1:1, the Bible begins with “In the beginning God…”. The Bible assumes the existence of God. It doesn’t have to tell the audience that God exists followed by the cosmological argument; it simply assumes it. John 1:1 states, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God”. John is describing who the Word is, but he isn’t testifying to the existence of God directly anyway. John assumes the existence of God. The very purpose of the Bible (God’s revelation to mankind) assumes that there is a God who provided revelation. The Biblical Worldview must begin with the same presupposition as the Bible. Now, what the Bible claims about God is where epistemology comes in.
Epistemology
As stated before, epistemology is the study of knowledge. It answers the question, “how can we know?”. This question has been answered in a variety of ways such as reason, experience, existence, and senses. For example, “I know the wind is there because I can feel it on my face”. That would be an epistemology that was based on the senses. Every epistemology must have an authority by which it answers the question, “how can we know?”. The senses are the authority of some worldviews. The Biblical Worldview sets its authority in God Himself. God, being the creator of all things (Genesis 1–2), is exclusive (Psa. 89:3) which uniquely places Him alone in this place of authority. The Bible also clearly defines God as holy (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8). Holy points to a “set–apartness”. The God of the Bible is uniquely and solely God; there is no other. This places Him in a position of solo authority, meaning He is the final authority and Him alone.
This can also be seen in the sovereignty of God. Being the Creator, God is sovereign over all He has created (1 Chron. 24:19; Psa. 24:1–2; Romans 9; Psa. 29:10; Prov. 16:4). Being sovereign over all things, owning all things, His authority is final. A brilliant man I once knew compared this to him and his family. The man owned a couch, a nice brown couch. He ate a nice big bowl of cereal on this couch on a regular basis. However, whenever his kids wanted to eat on the couch, the man refused and wouldn’t allow them to do so. Seems hypocritical, but the truth is, the man owns the couch. He has authority over the couch. The analogy breaks down in that the man can’t command the couch, or define the couch. The couch is what it is, but if the man had created the couch, he could do so. God created all things and therefor set reality. Because God created reality, He has the ultimate authority over what that reality is. His sovereignty gives Him that.
So, knowledge comes from God. More specifically, Proverbs states that, “The fear of the Lord [Biblical God] is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 1:7). Knowledge, coming from wisdom (Prov. 9:10), is begun by fearing the Lord. So, “how can I know”? One can only begin to truly know reality whenever they begin to fear the Lord. The Biblical Worldview is the only worldview which contains true knowledge, because it is the only worldview which contains the Biblical God which one must fear in order to begin knowing. This does not mean that man is unable to know things. An atheist knows God exists. Romans 1 states the pagan knows God exists but is simply suppressing the truth. However, because the pagan does not fear God, they will not come into a full or accurate knowledge of the world. Psalm 14:1 actually calls these individuals fools or one who lacks knowledge.
Now, the question must be answered, “how do we know God?”. Without getting into the doctrine of salvation, God has graciously given humanity revelation in two ways. Romans 1:20 states, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse”. Through creation, God has made Himself known to all creation through reason and truth (being understood) as well as experience (have been clearly seen). God has revealed Himself in creation. However, how much can actually be known, and to what extent?
Not much can be discerned from creation outside of His eternal power and Divine nature. There are general truths that can be seen (again, this assumes the existence of God). However, through God’s grace, He has provided humanity with a special revelation that is a more complete revelation of God and His interaction with His creation (2 Peter 1:3; 1 Tim. 3:16–17) – namely, the Bible. It is through the study of the Bible that one comes to the correct knowledge of reality (Psalm 1; Psalm 119:51).
This then begs the question; how does one know they understand the Scripture accurately? Hermeneutics, or the interpretation of Scripture, also falls under epistemology because it is the interpretation of the very authority that reveals and accurate depiction of reality. The study of a correct hermeneutic is of grave importance as it is a huge indicator for the accuracy of one’s worldview. Without spending a lot of time on this topic (as it is important, yet a small portion of the Biblical Worldview) the proper hermeneutic can be explained quite easily. The source of knowing this proper hermeneutic is found within the Bible itself. The Bible clearly teaches how it should be interpreted. This can be found throughout the book of Genesis[2]. All definite fulfillments of God’s prophecy were fulfilled in a literal way. God told Abram to leave Ur and he did (Gen. 12:1–4). God told Abraham He was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and He did just that (Gen. 19). There are more examples within Genesis as well as outside Genesis. God told Moses to return to Egypt and he did (Ex. 4:18–20). The Bible sets a precedent for a literal (normative), grammatical, historical method for the interpretation of itself. Again, this method comes from the authority if God Himself.
Metaphysics
Now, what does the Bible say about reality? What does reality look like according to the Biblical Worldview? Well, first, there are four different sections to be addressed within metaphysics; Ontology (reality as a whole), Axiology (study of values), Eschatology (study of the future), and Explanation (past events).
Ontology
For the purpose of this paper, this section will be dedicated to the answer of life or existence beyond the natural realm. The Bible teaches the physical. God created a physical earth and all that is in it (Genesis 1). This includes the gravity, rock, water, land, animal, etc. The Bible teaches beyond just the physical. For example, God Himself is not physical (John 4:24). God is a spiritual being; He is supernatural. God also created many spiritual beings (Heb. 1:14) whom are without a physical body. God has a spiritual agenda which involves a physical man (Psalm 103:19).
Lastly, one of the biggest debates among philosophers is the makeup of a human being. Those philosophers who are not spiritual in belief would say man is simply physical or only made of matter. The Biblical Worldview teaches that man is both physical and spiritual (Matt. 10:28; 1 Cor. 5:3); man is both material and immaterial.
Explanation
Does the Bible teach origins? Does the Bible teach about past events? Is the Bible historical? What does the Biblical Worldview believe about particular historical events. For the purpose of this paper, origins will now be addressed. The goal is to answer the question, “where did we come from?”.
God created all things, seen and unseen, by the Word of His power for the purpose of His glory (Gen 1:1; Hebrews 11:3; Hebrews 1:2; John 1:1–3; Isaiah 43:7). Genesis goes on to state that God created everything by speaking it into existence. God created all things, including a historical Adam and Eve, in six days (Gen. 1–2). Genesis is a historical narrative; it is not poetry or allegory. With a normal historical grammatical interpretation of Genesis, one can’t help but conclude that the universe and all that is in it was created in six literal days. This means that evolution did not happen – making a historical Adam and Eve as the first humans to walk the earth possible (Romans 5:12). This has massive implications that should be studied further outside of the scope of this paper.
Eschatology
Does the Bible teach anything about the future? Well, of course it does. The Bible talks in plenty about the future. In fact, it gives very specific details about future events. Whenever a Christian dies, their soul is brought immediately into the presence of Jesus Christ and separated from their physical body (Luke 23:43; Phil. 1:23; 2 Cor. 5:8; Rev. 6:9–11). The very meaning of death is to separate. In the case of the physical death, the soul separates from the body. At this point, the soul goes immediately into the presence of the Lord and the immaterial never loses conscience. A pagan has a very similar experience with the separation of soul and body, but the destination is drastically different. They are eternally separated from Jesus (at least until the great white throne judgment). This separation for believers will continue until the rapture (1 Thess. 4:13–17). This rapture will be whenever Jesus comes secretly to the clouds and calls up His people to Him, first the dead in Christ then the living. This will happen just before the tribulation occurs (1 Thess. 4:16; Titus 2:13; John 14:1–3; 1 Cor. 3:11–15).
Immediately following the rapture of the church, a literal seven-year tribulation will begin (1 Thess. 4:13–18; John 14:1–3). This tribulation is a time when God’s wrath will be poured out on all those remaining on the earth (Dan. 9:27; Rev. 16). This wrath will be concluded with the physical return of Christ to judge the earth (2 Thess. 2:7–12; Matt. 24:27–31). At the end of the tribulation, the Old Testament saints and all those who were saved during the tribulation will be raised and the living will be judged (Dan. 12:2–3; Rev. 20:4–6). This tribulation is the fulfillment found in Daniel 9 (70th week).
After the tribulation, Christ will stay on the earth and rule for a thousand years on the physical throne of David in Jerusalem (Matt. 25:31; Luke 1:31–33; Acts 1:10–11; 2:29–30; Rev. 20:1–7). During this time, Satan will be bound and no longer roaming the earth (Dan. 7:17; Rev. 20:1–7). The millennium is the time when the promises to Israel will be fulfilled literally (Isa. 65:17–25; Ez. 37:21–28; Zech. 8:1–17). The millennium reign will be a time of peace and perfection on earth. Christ will be ruling, and heaven will meet earth (Isaiah 11; 65:17–25; Ezekiel 36:33–38). Christ will release Satan at the end of this literal thousand-year reign (Rev. 20:1–7). Satan will deceive the nations of the earth to rise up against Christ but will be devoured by fire from heaven (Rev. 20:1–9) and cast into the lake of fire. Following this, Christ will judge at the Great White Throne judgment. Those who are found guilty will be judged and suffer eternal punishment away from God (Matt. 25:41) as stated previously.
Those who are found in Christ will then enter the eternal state where they will share in glory of God (2 Pet. 3:10; Eph. 5:5; Rev. 20:15). Amen. As can be seen, the Bible is quite detailed about the future events and where humanity is going.
Axiology
The last piece of metaphysics (depending on the order one would sort these four) is Axiology. Axiology is the study of values. What is good and what is evil? What is of value? How does one determine value in life? What in the world is value!? The Bible makes it abundantly clear what is good. God is good (Psalm 119:68; 107:1; 34:8; James 1:17; Matt. 19:16–17). The goodness of God floods the earth. The center however, is God. So, what is of value? What is good? All that comes from God is good (James 1:17; Gen. 1:31; 1 Tim. 4:4).
How can one distinguish good from evil? If everything that comes from God is good, that which does not come from God is evil. Without defining a little further, this could get misunderstood. This does not mean that everything someone does or makes is evil. This means that everything someone does outside of God’s will is evil. Goodness comes from God, therefore, God’s will is good. Micah 6:8 states, “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”. God has told man what is good! Again, the Bible is God’s communication to man and must be known in order to know what this good is. Micah 6:8 points us even further into this goodness. “do justice”, “love kindness [or loyalty]”, and “walk humbly with your God” are all inside the will of God making them good. As the creator, God created the moral standard which makes all that he does good; God sets the standards.
Romans 12:2 pushes a little further into this matter. Paul writes to the Romans after 11 chapters of truth/reality and transitions with this, “…but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect”. Paul tells the audience to renew the mind for the purpose of finding the will of God, which is good! God’s will is good. God sets the standard of good and claims what is good. It is through God that goodness exists.
Ethics
So now, how should one act in response to what has been previously stated? The Biblical Worldview holds a different ethic for different group’s individuals. There are two groups; the believing and the unbelieving. As stated before, the standard of goodness is set by God. The biblical ethic is to follow God’s will (Romans 12:2; Col. 1:9–12; Eph. 4:1). As an unbeliever, “There is none who does good, there is not even one” (Romans 1:12b quoting Psalm 14:1). In fact, Psalm 14:1 starts this statement with saying, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God’”. The unbeliever cannot do good because the unbeliever is outside of the will of God (Romans 1:18–19). It is God’s will that all believe (1 Tim. 2:4).
The individuals in the second group are those who believe (Christians). These individuals are now given a second set of biblical ethics. This does not negate the first as the Christian should continue in belief (Heb. 6:1–8). However, the believer is now able to do good through the grace of God. Romans 12:1–2 again, transitions from a theology lesson to the response believers should give. They should present their bodies as a living and holy sacrifice which is pleasing to God. They do this by renewing their mind that they may prove the will of God because the will of God is good! This can be seen also in Ephesians 5:10, 17. Ephesians and Romans are similarly set up. Ephesians begins with a theology lesson from Paul and concludes with how to react as believers. Ephesians 4:1 is where this transition takes place. Because God has saved the believer (Ephesians 3:1–3, 20) “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called…” (Ephesians 4:1). Colossians 1:9–12 shows Paul praying that they “may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects…” (Col. 1:9–10). He goes on to give some specifics. In response to reality, mankind should come to faith in Christ and then continue to live a life pleasing to God – man should follow the will of God to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 3:17).
Socio-Political
The socio-political aspect of the Biblical Worldview involves the ethical requirements on a societal level. How should society or community view and react to ethics? Politics, social movements, church logistics, and much more would fall into this category. The writer of this paper has no intention of covering all topics (and couldn’t) that fall under the umbrella of sociopraxy. The goal is to see what the Bible has to say about ethics in a group setting. How is community to function?
Much like the previous section on ethics, the community should function ethically by following the will of God to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 3:17). This includes things which aren’t found at the individuals level, but there is much overlap as community is made of individuals. It is important to remember that sociopraxy only comes after praxeology (ethics on an individual level). With this in mind, if someone is consistent in their hermeneutic and worldview, their sociopraxy will be built foundationally on the will of God from an individual level worked out in the community. This will lead to logical and biblical conclusions of things such as Church discipline, abortion, law enforcement, politics, voting conviction, etc.
Conclusion
A worldview is a framework by which someone interprets reality and acts accordingly. The foundation for all worldviews is the authority by which someone lives by. If that authority is the senses, “truth” will be derived by the senses. In the Biblical Worldview, that authority is God who has revealed Himself to man through the Bible. The Bible is the foundation for the Biblical Worldview and must be consistently interpreted in order for humanity to live a life according to reality. A false view of Scripture will lead a believer to live a life mislead and a non-believer to not live at all. The literal, historical, grammatical hermeneutic is of the utmost importance. Learn it, use it, and live according to the ethic found within the proper interpretation of the Bible.
[1] The New American Standard Bible (NASB) will be the version used for all verses quoted throughout this paper.
[2] Dr. Christopher Cone writes a beautiful piece called “The Precedent for Literal Grammatical Historical Hermeneutics in Genesis” which gives some really good insight into the Bible revealing the interpretation method God would have you use. I will simply be touching on a small portion of this. http://www.drcone.com/2017/08/26/precedent-literal-grammatical-historical-hermeneutics-genesis/
