![]() ![]() Since a worldview gives the terms of reference by which the world and our place in it can be structured and illumined, a worldview binds it adherents together into a community. Although a is held only by individuals, it is communal in scope and structure. It is the set of hinges on which all our everyday thinking and doing turns. It is the integrative and interpretive framework by which order and disorder are judged, the standard by which reality is managed and pursued. Nevertheless, this vision is a channel for the ultimate beliefs which give direction and meaning to life. The vision may be so internalized that it goes largely unquestioned it may be greatly refined through cultural-historical development it may not be explicitly developed into a systematic conception of life it may not be theoretically deepened into a philosophy it may not even be codified into credal form. 16) Another definition of the concept of a worldview comes from James Olthuis, a professor at the Toronto Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto, Canada:Ī worldview (or vision of life) is a framework or set of fundamental beliefs through which we view the world and our calling and future in it. James Sire, whose book The Universe Next Door (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1976) is one of the most helpful on the subject of worldviews, defines a worldview as a basic set of beliefs and “concepts that work together to provide a more or less coherent frame of reference for all thought and action.” (p. Out of one’s worldview, a person evaluates, makes decisions, and makes meaning and sense of his or her life. It is a set of basic beliefs–about God, the world, human beings, history, death, knowing, as well as much more mundane things–that make up what a person assumes to be true. So what is a worldview? It is one way of naming the “grid” for thinking and believing that God built into every human being. The beliefs embedded in one’s worldview about when a truly human existence begins will have determined one’s perspective. When I understand how a worldview functions in the process of people making sense of their worlds and making choices for living their lives, I realize how people can come to a seemingly straightforward issue such as abortion and end with opposite opinions. The more believers understand the intellectual and psychological apparatus with which we believe and what difference it makes, the better off we are, because understanding confirms what we believe, our perspectives on life and human experience. I am a creature whom God will hold accountable for how I interpret the world and myself in it. And what difference does that make? I think of it this way: God created me to be a creature who knows, learns, makes important life-determining choices. ![]() Understanding what a worldview is, however, can bring vital clarity, not only to what I believe, but how I believe what I believe. Knowing about worldviews has nothing essential to do with whether I am a child of God, a true believer or not. I learned something very useful and important about the way I perceive things and gain knowledge I learned about things I didn’t know I knew. When I learned I had a worldview, my world didn’t change, but my understanding of myself, other human beings, society, and where I am in history and what that means changed enormously. Career DevelopmentLiberal Arts: Education for All Walks of Life.Mission & Philosophy of Education Statement. ![]()
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