Defining Worldviews

What is a Worldview?

Walsh and Middleton define worldviews as "a model of the world which guides its adherents in the world."

James Sire, The Universe Next Door describes worldviews in much greater detail -  "A worldview is a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions, that may be true, partially true or false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides that foundation on which we live and move and have our being."

The basic questions + how a Christian Theist would answer them.

(Taken from James Sire's book The Universe Next Door .)  These are just point form answers, see book for more in depth information.

More in depth than version set forth by Ravi Zacharias.  I like that version better for its simplicity, and will try to show how the two would fit together.  See in brackets for which of Zacharias' four aspects I think Sire's six items relate to.

1. What is the prime or ultimate reality? (Origins)

aka Why is there something rather than nothing?

Christian Theist -> God

2. What is the nature of external reality, or the world around us. (Origins)

Christian Theist -> The world is a spatio-temporal universe created by God ex nihilo (out of nothing.)

3. What is a human being? (Meaning)

Christian Theist -> A human is a being, created by God, in the image of God, to have a relationship with God.

4. What happens to a person after death? (Destiny)

Christian Theist -> Either gate to life with God and His people or eternal separation from God.

5. How do we know what we know? (Meaning)

Christian Theist -> We are made in the image of God and thus we have intelligence and reason and self-determination (free will.)

6. How can we know the difference between right and wrong? (Morality)

Christian Theist -> Ethics (morality) is objective and transcendent, based on God's character.

The above notes were taken from the book The Universe Next Door.  It contains a very good introduction to the concept of worldviews.  I recommend you pick it up if you want more information on worldviews.