Since the topic of worldview is relatively new on the scene, not too many people really understand why it could possibly be so important for Christians to grasp. After all, there are plenty of other topics that believers need to study and master – Christian doctrine, how to witness, how to develop an effective prayer life and the like. But to illustrate the importance of an understanding of worldview for modern Christians, let’s look for a moment at what is happening these days in England.
Just a few weeks ago, in July, the British Equality and Human Rights Commission announced that it was going to intervene in four cases involving religious discrimination against Christians that have come before the European Court of Human Rights. A couple of these cases are relatively minor, relating to workers not being allowed to wear religious jewelry on the job. But the other two involved matters of conscience. One man had been fired for not being willing to give sex therapy to same-sex couples and the other was disciplined after requesting not to conduct civil partnership registrations.
But, after pressure from homosexual organizations, the commission backed out of its support for the individuals in these cases. What, you might ask, is behind this change of heart? Is this something legitimate or is there something Christians need to be worried about? The answer is, we better start keeping our eyes open. Much of what is happening in England is also happening in America – and it is even worse in many other parts of the world.
But, at this point, I don’t want to go off in the wrong direction. The fact that Christians are being harassed and discriminated against does bother me. But my purpose here is not to advocate for some kind of civil action. Now, I don’t have anything against civil action to deal with these things and am thankful for Christian based organizations which lead out in trying to correct the wrongs of society against Christians. But my purpose here is different. I want us to understand why this kind of thing is happening.
The reason it is happening is because the worldview of the people who are fostering the persecution is becoming more prominent and powerful in society. The truth is, every worldview literally contradicts every other worldview. On top of that, a worldview is a faith position – the basis for every person’s religion (whether the beliefs are religious or secular in nature). It represents the most deeply held beliefs of an individual.
And what do people do with their most deeply held beliefs? They struggle against those who have opposing beliefs with all the vigor they can muster. This is why radical Islam fights against Western values (whether they are Christian or Humanistic). This is why the radical Hindus in India fight against the Muslims. This is why militant homosexuals in Western society fight against Christians. It is because of the clash of worldviews.
And Christians are not immune to this problem. Over the centuries, and even in our day, there are cases where Christians have persecuted those of other faiths, or even other factions of Christians. But believers in Christ have no excuse for this. We are called to win people to Christ, not to fight against them.
That being said, there is a place to stand up and be counted in society. Not to fight against those who believe differently than ourselves, but to fight for freedom for people to believe as they wish. It is only in that kind of environment that we will be able to freely live out and share the gospel of Christ.
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