A Biblical Worldview Has a Radical Effect on a Person’s Life
Any objective social analyst would conclude that the United States faces its fair share of moral
and spiritual problems. A new research study from Barna Group suggests that a large share of the
nation’s moral and spiritual challenges is directly attributable to the absence of a biblical
worldview among Americans. Citing the findings from a just-completed national survey of 2033
adults that showed only 4% of adults have a biblical worldview as the basis of their decision-
making, researcher George Barna described the outcome.(“If Jesus Christ came to this planet as a
model of how we ought to live, then our goal should be to act like Jesus. Sadly, few people
consistently demonstrate the love, obedience and priorities of Jesus. The primary reason that
people do not act like Jesus is because they do not think like Jesus. Behavior stems from what we
think – our attitudes, beliefs, values and opinions. Although most people own a Bible and know
some of its content, our research found that most Americans have little idea how to integrate core
biblical principles to form a unified and meaningful response to the challenges and opportunities
of life. We’re often more concerned with survival amidst chaos than with experiencing truth and
significance.”
Not Just Any Worldview
The research indicated that everyone has a worldview, but relatively few people have a biblical
worldview – even among devoutly religious people. The survey discovered that only 9% of born
again Christians have such a perspective on life. The numbers were even lower among other
religious classifications: Protestants (7%), adults who attend mainline Protestant churches (2%)
and Catholics (less than one-half of 1%). The denominations that produced the highest
proportions of adults with a biblical worldview were non-denominational Protestant churches
(13%), Pentecostal churches (10%) and Baptist churches (8%).
Among the most prevalent alternative worldviews was postmodernism, which seemed to be the
dominant perspective among the two youngest generations (i.e., the Busters and Mosaics).
For the purposes of the research, a biblical worldview was defined as believing that absolute
moral truths exist; that such truth is defined by the Bible; and firm belief in six specific religious
views. Those views were that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life; God is the all-powerful and all-
knowing Creator of the universe and He stills rules it today; salvation is a gift from God and
cannot be earned; Satan is real; a Christian has a responsibility to share their faith in Christ with
other people; and the Bible is accurate in all of its teachings.
The Difference a Biblical Worldview Makes
One of the most striking insights from the research was the influence of such a way of thinking
upon people’s behavior. Adults with a biblical worldview possessed radically different views on
morality, held divergent religious beliefs, and demonstrated vastly different lifestyle choices.
People’s views on morally acceptable behavior are deeply impacted by their worldview. Upon
comparing the perspectives of those who have a biblical worldview with those who do not, the
former group were 31 times less likely to accept cohabitation (2% versus 62%, respectively); 18
times less likely to endorse drunkenness (2% versus 36%); 15 times less likely to condone gay
sex (2% versus 31%); 12 times less likely to accept profanity 3% versus 37%); and 11 times less
likely to describe adultery as morally acceptable (4% versus 44%). In addition, less than one-half
of one percent of those with a biblical worldview said voluntary exposure to pornography was
morally acceptable (compared to 39% of other adults), and a similarly miniscule proportion
endorsed abortion (compared to 46% of adults who lack a biblical worldview).
Among the more intriguing lifestyle differences were the lesser propensity for those with a
biblical worldview to gamble (they were eight times less likely to buy lottery tickets and 17
times less likely to place bets); to get drunk (three times less likely); and to view pornography
(two times less common). They were also twice as likely to have discussed spiritual matters with
other people in the past month and twice as likely to have fasted for religious reasons during the
preceding month. While one out of every eight adults who lack a biblical worldview had sexual
relations with someone other than their spouse during the prior month, less than one out of every
100 individuals who have such a worldview had done so.
Some Groups Are More Likely to Have a Biblical Worldview
Adults who have a biblical worldview possessed a somewhat different demographic profile than
those who did not. For instance, individuals who attended college were much more likely than
those who did not to have this perspective (6% versus 2%, respectively). Married adults were
more than twice as likely as adults who had never been wed to hold such a worldview (5%
versus 2%). Whites (5%) were slightly more likely than either blacks (3%) or Hispanics (3%) to
hold this ideology. One of the largest gaps was between Republicans (10% of whom had a
biblical worldview), Independents (2%) and Democrats (1%).
Residents of Texas and North Carolina were more likely than people in other states to have a
biblical worldview. Among the states in which such a worldview was least common were
Louisiana and the six states in New England. The nation’s largest state – California – was
average (i.e., 4% of its residents had a biblical worldview).
Attributes such as gender, age and household income showed no statistical relationship to the
possession of a biblical worldview.
Some Churches Are Helping People
The research found that one of the most effective methods of enabling people to develop a
biblical worldview is by addressing seven critical questions that consistently lead to beliefs and
behaviors that are in tune with biblical teaching. Outlining that process in a new book he has
written as an outgrowth of the research, entitled Think Like Jesus, Barna also noted that many
churches are already helping their congregants to implement such a way of addressing daily
challenges and opportunities.
“The emphasis of these churches is to not only teach biblical perspectives,” according to Barna,
“but also to help people connect the dots of the core principles taught. Rather than simply
provide people with good material and hope they figure out what to do with it, these are churches
whose services, programs, events and relationships are geared to weaving a limited number of
foundational biblical principles into a way of responding to every life situation. The goal is to
facilitate a means of interpreting and responding to every life situation that is consistent with
God’s expectations. These are not perfect people, but once they catch on to the critical principles
found in the Bible and train their minds to incorporate those views into their thinking, their
behavior varies noticeably from the norm.”
What is a Christian worldview?
A “worldview” refers to a comprehensive conception of the world from a specific standpoint. A
“Christian worldview,” then, is a comprehensive conception of the world from a Christian
standpoint. An individual’s worldview is his “big picture,” a harmony of all his beliefs about the
world. It is his way of understanding reality. One’s worldview is the basis for making daily
decisions and is therefore extremely important.
An apple sitting on a table is seen by several people. A botanist looking at the apple classifies it.
An artist sees a still-life and draws it. A grocer sees an asset and inventories it. A child sees
lunch and eats it. How we look at any situation is influenced by how we look at the world at
large. Every worldview, Christian and non-Christian, deals with at least these three questions:
1) Where did we come from? (and why are we here?)
2) What is wrong with the world?
3) How can we fix it?
A prevalent worldview today is naturalism, which answers the three questions like this: 1) We
are the product of random acts of nature with no real purpose. 2) We do not respect nature as we
should. 3) We can save the world through ecology and conservation. A naturalistic worldview
generates many related philosophies such as moral relativism, existentialism, pragmatism, and
utopianism.
A Christian worldview, on the other hand, answers the three questions biblically: 1) We are
God’s creation, designed to govern the world and fellowship with Him (Genesis 1:27-28; 2:15).
2) We sinned against God and subjected the whole world to a curse (Genesis 3). 3) God Himself
has redeemed the world through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ (Genesis 3:15; Luke
19:10), and will one day restore creation to its former perfect state (Isaiah 65:17-25). A Christian
worldview leads us to believe in moral absolutes, miracles, human dignity, and the possibility of
redemption.
It is important to remember that a worldview is comprehensive. It affects every area of life, from
money to morality, from politics to art. True Christianity is more than a set of ideas to use at
church. Christianity as taught in the Bible is itself a worldview. The Bible never distinguishes
between a “religious” and a “secular” life; the Christian life is the only life there is. Jesus
proclaimed Himself “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) and, in doing so, became our w
What is a non-biblical Worldview?
If someone holds to a purely worldview and to the exclusion of the Bible and of God, then a
worldview is simply a comprehensive, fundamental cognitive orientation of humanity or society
which encompasses the entirety of the individual or society’s philosophy or point of view and
embraces what is good or true.( The worldview is a pragmatist’s view.( Pragmatism is what
works best for the most number of people for the longest period of time but the risk is that it can
be and has been to the hurt of the least number of people for an ongoing period of time. ( They
would be the minorities, the homeless, the jobless, and those who are living at or below the
poverty level. (Pragmatist’s generally stress that consequences are the criterion in which they
judge or determine the meaning, truth, or value of something or some system. (In other words, if
it works, it must be right; especially if it works for most of the people and so its practicality is
heavily emphasized.( If the consequences are good for the majority of the people then that makes
it truth or have value, at least to the many, but clearly the consequences to the few don’t really
matter as much in this worldview.
What is a Biblical View?
I believe a biblical view is like looking at the world through the lens of Scripture.( My biblical
worldview starts in Genesis 1:1 and ends with Revelation(22:21. It begins with “In the
beginning, God” creating everything.( It explains the cause for the universe, the purpose for
mankind, and the mission of Jesus Christ to redeem those who are cut off from God by their sins
(Isaiah 59:2), which included all of us. We see suffering as just a vapor in time compared to the
glorious eternity that’s coming (Rom(8:18).( We understand that whatever happens will be for
our very best, regardless of what it feels like at the time (Rom(8:28). (And it shows us how God
can use evil for His own good purposes (Gen 50:20), and we need look no further than the cross
to see that (John(3:16). (The more I have learned from the Bible over the years, the more it has
humbled me to see the enormous amount of grace that God has poured out for us in the Person of
Jesus Christ. (Biblical knowledge can puff us up (1(Cor 8:1) but it should humble us to know that
God has saved wretches like us (Rom(7:24), dying for us while still His enemies, living in
wickedness (Rom 5:8, 10).( To understand any worldview, you must first see the world through a
biblical view. Only then does it make sense and allows us to see our purpose in life.
Biblical Facts and Your Worldview
Whenever you see escalating violence, increasing natural catastrophes, and growing sexual
immorality and sin, you know why these things are happening. Those who hold to only a
worldview don’t see any real issues with these things because their hearts have been desensitized
by it. When we who hold to a biblical worldview look at the world, we see the world through
these unchangeable truths; Jesus is God; Jesus was sinless; Jesus Christ alone saves (Acts(4:12);
there are absolute, objective moral truths that can be found in the Bible (Ex 20); that Jesus came
to give His life as a ransom for many (Matt(20:28), and that whoever believes in Him will
receive eternal life and the forgiveness of sins (John(3:16; 1(John 1:9). Only then can they enter
the kingdom of heaven since God will see them as having the righteousness of Christ
(2(Cor(5:21).
Conclusion
What view do you hold?( Do you believe that God can control even a leader that’s not of God
(Prov 21:1)?( Can you trust a God who alone “changes times and seasons; he removes kings and
sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding”
(Dan(2:21) and can even use a man, Jeremiah in this case, “to pluck up and to break down, to
destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant” (Jer(1:10).( If you are not looking at the world
through the pages of the Bible, then what are you looking at it through?( The more we know the
Word of God the more the Word of God makes known to us and so the best we can do is abide in
Him (John 15:3) because apart from Christ, we can’t do anything (John 15:5), and anything is
not a little “something.”
