What Is a Worldview?
Did you know you have a worldview? We all do. It’s unavoidable.
A worldview is simply the set of beliefs that a person has about the biggest questions in life. It’s like a pair of glasses or lenses through which we view the world every day.
Some of the questions we all face in life include questions of:
- Origin. Where did I come from? Do I matter?
- Meaning. Why am I here? What is my purpose in life?
- Morality. How should I live? What is right and wrong?
- Destiny. What happens when I die? Is this life all there is?
Worldviews answer these kinds of questions. They provide truth claims about reality.
Most people pick up their worldview at an early age from their families or other close, influential people in their lives like teachers. But honestly, how many of us think about it very often?
I’m a firm believer that at some point in our lives—as early as possible—we should all make a decisive choice of worldview. Otherwise, we might be living life sort of by default, according to someone else’s choice.
I also believe that our choice should involve good reasoning and evidence. Remember that worldviews make truth claims about reality. Which one is right? Which one has the best evidence to support that it’s probably true? We should take a close look at the claims. Let’s consider a couple of examples.
Recall that according to the rules of good discussion, the one who makes a claim bears the burden of proof.
If I have a Theistic worldview and claim that there is a God who created the universe, then it’s up to me to support that claim somehow.
If I have a Naturalistic worldview and claim that there is no such thing as the supernatural, then I would have to explain how the universe—everything we see and know—came from nothing.
I have to admit that I didn’t think about worldviews much until well into my thirties. I always had a Christian worldview, but I didn’t know how to defend it very well. I had a vague sense of lingering questions, because I wasn’t familiar with the evidence that supports it, and the answers.
Have you thought about your worldview? Do you know how you arrived at it? Do you really believe the truth claims?
I suppose any one of us could try to ignore the whole idea of worldview. We could decide that we just don’t know what to believe.
But is that comfortable? Is that any way to live our whole lives?