What do I mean when I say "Christian worldview"?

Imagine for a moment that the marketplace of ideas, was actually a place. There are carts and aisle, workers loading and unloading produce, and foot traffic milling about looking at the goods for sale. Above the shelves hanging from the rafters are signs denoting what goods are in that aisle. There is a "Philosophy" aisle, containing the wares of Plato, Aristotle, and Confucius. Another row is  named "Revolutionaries" including the likes of Georges Danton, Che Guevara, and Ghandi. Still another aisle is crowded beyond any safe social distancing protocol, it's named "Pleasures". A bit away from these aisles there are open booths in an area called "Free Religions". There is a crier calling out the Adhan أَذَان‎ directing faithful Muslims that it is time to pray. There is another booth with a statue of Buddha beside it, the people there greet shoppers with their hands pressed together saying "Namaste". Near the checkout counters there is a separate checkout area. In this area sit a group listening intently as one from among them reads from a scroll: 

12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:1-8 NIV) 

As the reader ends his reading from the scroll, a few shoppers begin to place their items on the counter for purchase. The checkout lanes all lead to one exit, while the one counter near the reader leads to another exit. The reader from the scroll says "These other wares must be purchased at another counter. You must lay down the wares of the world at this counter, and come purchase without money eternal life." 

The Christian worldview is one that is exclusive, demanding, and costly. The Christian worldview is exclusive in that it rejects any other claims to truth while jealously maintaining that God alone defines what is right and wrong, what is truth and untrue. The Christian worldview is demanding in that it requires a submission to God's authority, and a surrendering of any individual or corporate (group) claims to sovereignty. The Christian worldview is costly in that the rest of the world will reject and deride the one who adheres. This cost is offset with an eternal guarantee of life with the one who created all living things. 

When I say Christian worldview, I mean something that is all encompassing. Saying "christian worldview" is a recognition of two things. First, that the view of reality is both different from other views (Christian), and second, this view is all encompassing in its scope (view of the world). Recognizing that a Christian's worldview is different from other views is perhaps the most obvious part of this entire discussion for our present time. A Christian worldview offers a unique set of answers for the most fundamental questions of the human experience. 

While any number of world views can provide any variety of answers, a Christian worldview demands an exclusive claim on truth. Many religions and ideologies offer answers to questions like "where do humans come from" or "why do humans exist". Any worldview may equally ask the curious questions of human consciousness, where, what, why, how, when. The Christian worldview finds it's foundations in the revealed Word of God. The Word of God claims exclusive ownership of the truth. You may at first think this a very arrogant or ignorant thing to say, considering as many world religions claim to have special knowledge or understanding thanks to some source of divine aid. One distinction made continually throughout the Word of God is between truth and falsehood. The truth of God's reality, and the falsehood of the gods of the world. The truth of God as creator, and the lies of rebellious creation. The Christian worldview means looking at the universe as God see it. 

The Bible begins very early with an explanation of why the world is in its present condition. Shortly after God made the universe, the first humans rebelled against God's Word. Seeking their own way, their own desires, and their own godhood, Adam and Eve committed cosmic treason. This ushered in an era where death came as a consequence for rebellion, and nothing in the world is as it should be. Reality itself was now broken beyond human repair. This is a truth which almost every unbeliever I've ever spoken with agrees. While many disagree with statements regarding who the creator of the universe is, and whether or not human beings are basically morally good, or evil, broken reality is a truth that the vast majority of unbelievers believe. 

Whether I've been chatting with individuals who have been homeless, middle aged, teen aged, millennials, digital entrepreneurs, retirees, lawyers, students, or corporate leaders, there is unity on this point. Things in this world are not the way they should be. A brief overview of human history, current events, or life circumstances points to the truth that this universe is broken. This is a great starting point in conversations with unbelievers. The conversation generally turns to the question of WHY things are the way they are. 

This is one of the primary differences between the Christian and the non-Christian as they view the world. The Christian views the world through the lens of God's created order, and sees all of life's questions as simple for the God of the universe. The Christian worldview, is no more than, or less than, seeing the world from God's perspective. The Christian has a different answer to why things are the way they are than the humanist, the moralist, the deist, the pantheist, or the pagan. The Christian has true liberty to speak about the world as it is, with no hint of uncertainty or doubt. The world is broken in all the ways that it is because we humans are broken in all the ways we are. Not only does the Christian worldview speak about why the universe is broken, in addition, the Christian worldview speaks about the God who has been, is, and until the end of time will be active in reconciling the broken universe. 

We all interpret data. For the unbeliever, there are a host of various ways of interpreting the world as it is. For the christian, we interpret the data of life with the perspective of God in mind. In this way, as God is the Lord of the universe, all things within the universe are subject to the perspective of God. This is why the Christian worldview has so much to say and is so intrusive into all the fields of study in the human experience. When someone says they are studying "mathematics", they may be referring to a whole host of studies relating to arithmetic, algebra, calculus, and more.  Mathematics in this example is the overarching grouping of many other subgroups that are layered within the hierarchy of mathematics. The study of God (theology) and his creation are all avenues which the Christian worldview gathers its foundations from. The study of God includes the study of his creation and the study of his word. Just as a mathematician may have a specialty in their study, so too Christians have specialization in their own service and manifestation of the Christian world view. A Christian professor, lawyer, or plumber, brings with them a distinct perspective to their task which is uniquely Christian. A person holding to a Christian worldview interprets the data (life's experiences) with a different evaluation than someone with a competing worldview. A Christian worldview interprets the data of life through the lens of God's revealed Word. 

The Marxist find their worldview in the teachings of Marx and his disciples. The Evolutionist find their worldview in the teachings of Darwin and his disciples. The Atheist find their worldview in the teachings of Christopher Hitchens and his disciples. Each worldview finds their foundation in a revelatory teacher (What the Old Testament would call a prophet or false prophet) who lays out the precepts of their perspective on life. For the Christian our worldview if exclusive, demanding, and costly even as it is truthful, powerful, and constantly informed by the Word of God.