Forum 3

What is a Worldview?

Globe with Glasses, digital photo, All About Vision, accessed February 13, 2020.
https://www.allaboutvision.com/parents/myopia.htm

A worldview is an all-encompassing process of logic through which a person interprets the world around him. And it is often likened to a pair of glasses that helps a person to see. With his worldview, a person sees life events, global change, and even natural phenomenon and interprets what he sees; this worldview is especially applied to the study of history. 

And for most Christians, like myself, our worldviews are very similar, at least they ought to be. So what is this Christian worldview? And how does it apply to history?

What is the Christian Worldview? And How Does It Apply to History?

Bible on Desk, digital photo, Dreamstime, accessed February 13, 2020.

https://www.dreamstime.com

Defining a what a Christian worldview can be pretty tricky, mainly because most Christians do not adhere to the same exact doctrines. But on the whole, a majority of Christians should believe in the Gospel presented in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, “… that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” These verses, I believe, encapsulate the main themes of the gospel: redemption and renewal. And it is these two themes that Augustine also used in his approach to history and the Bible, especially in his work City of God. He approached history with the idea that whatever man made in this world is not permanent, rather the only immortal constant in our world is God’s plan for humanity (Schulz and Smith, 2014). However, a Christian and a historian should be cautious when attempting to connect the world and its events to God’s plan. An overly zealous Christian may be prone to believe that he knows what God’s plan is, and like Cromwell, he can seriously error (Fea, 2013, chap. 4). We are incapable of knowing God’s plan, and we see divine blessing, we should be cautious before claiming divine predestination. 

Research stock image, digital photo, Dreamstime, accessed February 13, 2020.
https://www.dreamstime.com

Instead, it is the approach of Augustine that I aspire to utilize in my own studies – to record the happenings of humanity through the lens of the Bible. Even though the works of humankind are fascinating and their reasons for all that they do intriguing, the greatness of humanity pales in comparison to the majesty of God’s handiwork. As Solomon writes in Ecclesiastes, “Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever” (Ecclesiastes 1:4. NIV).     

Bibliography

Fea, John. Why Study History? Reflecting on the Importance of the Past. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013. VitalSource.

Schulz, Roger and Sam Smith. “Augustine the Multi-disciplined Scholar.” Video presentation, Senior Capstone Seminar from Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA, 2014.