If the recent presidential election has shown us anything, it is that the country is divided almost exactly in half. There is something that you need to understand about this, though – in its essence, the division is not political. That’s right, the political divide in America is not primarily political. That may seem strange until you understand that political beliefs are not expressions unto themselves. No, they are an expression of one’s worldview beliefs.
At this point, you may be wondering about what that last statement means. Exactly what are we talking about here?
Let’s put it another way based on the political views themselves. Based on a worldview paradigm, when it comes to the values of the Republican Party, we can see that they are based on Christian Theism. This certainly does not mean that all Republicans are Christians, or even that the Party lives up to Christian values. We are only talking, here, about the source of the values themselves. When it come to the values of the Democrat Party, these are based on atheistic Naturalism. Once again, this is not saying that all Democrats are Atheists, or even that there are not some expressions of Christian values found in the Party’s platform. Again, we are talking only about the source of the values. So to express the central point here, it is these different values that cause Democrats and Republicans to prefer different political policies.
While the political expressions that emerge out of these facts are, themselves, rather profound, my concern is not with politics. Rather, it has to do with what this means spiritually. The above explanation is merely an illustration of the main point that is being made here – that the political divide in America is not essentially political, it is spiritual. And the different spiritual focus found in each party is based on different worldview beliefs.
Let me illustrate that for you. Do you understand this sentence: Vai to vari runat Latvieshu valodu?
How about this one?: Nihongo o hanasu koto ga dekimasu ka?
You would know what both of these sentences mean if you understood the Latvian language and the Japanese language. The first one says, “Do you speak Latvian?” The second one says, “Do you speak Japanese?”
Now why did I use this illustration? I used it because it illustrates an important worldview concept. You see, a worldview is a conceptual language. The point is that just as you can’t understand another person’s words if you don’t speak their verbal language, if you don’t speak their conceptual language, you can’t understand the way they think. Different worldviews literally conceive of reality in different ways, and worldview beliefs that do not fit your worldview actually do not make sense to you.
Worldview and Evangelism
This brings us to evangelism. Sharing one’s faith is the process of sharing the essential core beliefs of one’s worldview with someone else. So if the person you want to share with does not understand your worldview beliefs, they may understand your words, but will not understand how anyone could possibly believe what you are saying. As different worldviews are entirely different ways of understanding what is real and what is fantasy, they would see your explanation as not reflecting reality – as a fantasy point of view. (BTW, you will see theirs that way, too.)
So to share your faith with people who hold a different worldview from your own, you will have to build a worldview bridge before the gospel message will even make sense to them. This is a case where we recognize that the gospel message never changes, but in order to effectively communicate the message, we have to adapt our methods.
For example: Naturalists believe that the natural universe is all that exists. They do not believe in God, or any kind of transcendent reality. Thus, when you try to share with them that God exists and that a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the way to know God, they will likely look at you like you are crazy. They don’t believe in God, and they believe that even if Jesus was actually a historical figure, he was merely a man who died over 2000 years ago. The gospel message simply doesn’t make sense to them.
The example above relates to people who hold naturalistic beliefs, but the same principle applies to people who hold other worldview beliefs, as well. If you attempt to speak with an Animist about God, they will want to know which god (out of many options) you are talking about. If you try to share with a Far Eastern Thought believer, they will have difficulty because, even though they believe that a transcendent reality exists, they don’t believe there is a personal God.
So what is necessary for a Christian to build a worldview bridge that makes it possible for someone from a different worldview to understand the gospel message? The answer is found in identifying the answers to the three essential worldview questions – both for our own Christian faith as well as for the faith of the person to whom we wish to share the gospel.
The reason we need to do this is that for most people, their worldview beliefs are completely unconscious. They identify reality in a particular way, and any beliefs that are contrary to what they believe are considered to be fantasy. The way they answer the three worldview questions concretely identifies the content of their view of reality. This applies to the Christian and non-Christian alike. So, if we can identify the three questions, then put the beliefs of the Christian faith side by side with those of some other faith, we have created a bridge whereby it becomes possible for people of different faiths to clearly understand the beliefs of another person, along with the similarities and differences. This does not, of course, mean that people will necessarily accept each other’s beliefs, but understanding is the first step – and this becomes the bridge over which an intelligent conversation is able to take place.
The Three Worldview Questions
The three essential worldview questions define the beliefs a worldview (or belief system) considers essential. Every faith system (worldview and belief systems) answers these three questions in their own unique way. Answers outside of the definition for any particular faith system move a person completely out of that one and into another one. The three questions are:
1. What is the nature of ultimate reality? (God)
2. What is a human being? (Man)
3. What is the ultimate one can achieve in this life? (Salvation)
The Christian Faith Answers These Three Questions As:
1. What is the nature of ultimate reality?
For a Christian, ultimate reality is expressed as the God of the Bible. He is the Creator and Sustainer of the material universe. He is holy, just, and love. For His own purposes, God created mankind for fellowship with Himself. In eternity, human beings will either live in the presence of God or outside of His presence.
2. What is the nature of a human being?
Christians understand human beings to be persons created in the image of God, but who are tainted by sin because of the Fall. This has caused individual humans to be separated from God because He cannot dwell in the presence of unholiness.
3. What is salvation and how do you achieve it?
Salvation, for Christians, is the means by which the problem of separation from God is fixed. It was accomplished by the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross and His resurrection. It is specifically applied to individual human beings as they acknowledge their sinfulness and invite Christ into their lives.
Other Faiths Have Their Own Answers
The genius of using a worldview paradigm in the witnessing process is that it gives us a means for creating a communication bridge so that we can intelligently talk about our faith with people who view reality differently from ourselves. As was already mentioned, every faith system answers the three questions based on their own beliefs. To get at a different faith system’s worldview beliefs, simply answer the three worldview questions based on the beliefs of that faith system.
Building the Bridge
So how do we build that communication bridge? Well, since the questions used to get at our and anyone else’s beliefs are exactly the same, all we need to do is answer the questions for both belief systems and set the answers side by side for comparison. This may cause some people to shake their heads that someone could believe other beliefs, but the comparison makes it possible to at least discuss the differences and find out why people believe what they do, then present evidence for and against those beliefs.
When the Bridge Is Built
Building a worldview bridge to another person is no guarantee, of course, that the person you are dealing with will ultimately accept Christ into their life. What it does guarantee is that when you share the message of faith with them, they will understand what you are talking about. Remember, a worldview is a person’s way of evaluating what is real vs. what is fantasy. No one will take seriously something another person says if they believe it is not a plausible belief. Building the bridge provides you a way to make the message of the Christian faith plausible – or at the very least, understandable.
There is one other thing that must be also kept in mind as you engage this process – you must be sure that you always figure out some way to insert the Christian message in a way that you can encourage the person to consider or accept it. As a Christian, our purpose is not merely to be an educator, but rather to be a witness that provides an opportunity for the person to know Christ.
© 2021 Freddy Davis