What is Your Worldview?

back to Phase 1

Have you ever asked....

why am I here?

where did I come from?

where am I going?

how can I know "truth"?

what is the basis of morality?

Whether you are aware of it or not, you have an answer to each of these questions. You have to, otherwise you would not be able to function in life. The answers that you have are called your WORLDVIEW.

There are two kinds of people in regards to worldview.

1. The inherited worldview. You don't really know why you believe what you do, you simply inherited it from your parents, your friends, or your culture.
2. The informed worldview. You have been truly seeking answers to these questions and have formulated an idea about the nature of reality.

Below you will find a quick overview of the 5 basic worldviews. Take a few minutes and determine where you are on this chart. click here to discuss the big question...so what? Why does this matter in relation to my spiritual growth?

Explaining the Chart

Imagine that this island represents all of humanity and human experience. In the middle of the island there is a mountain range. The mountains represent spirituality, or the spiritual realm in which humans can interact with the spiritual realm of God. The surrounding lowlands of the island represents the physicality of human existence, as we plod around in the physical world, separate from the spiritual realm. This island can be divided into three basic regions that are based upon the three basic sections of the Worldview spectrum. On one end of the spectrum there is Pantheism, or the Pantheistic Worldview. In the Middle is the Theistic Worldview, and at the other end is the Atheistic worldview.

Physicality

We are physical creatures who live in the concrete reality of the physical universe. We experience hunger, thirst, pain, and sexual desire. We have five senses (taste, touch, sight, hearing, smell) through which we interact with the physical realities that surround us. Many of us believe that the physical realities of the world are the only realities and that there is nothing beyond them. In other words, to live in the lowlands of physicality is to live life believing that there is no supernatural or spiritual reality. Those who live in the lowlands of physicality are dominated by the physical senses and interact with life in a completely horizontal attitude.

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Spirituality

We are physical creatures, to be sure, but we are also more than that. We were created as spiritual/physical creatures. The mountains in the middle of the island represent the understanding that there is a spiritual, supraphysical, reality in the universe that can be accessed and interacted with through certain physical/spiritual exercises.

Please note: spirituality does not equal truth. Many religions (if not all) and worldviews have acknowledged the mountains of spirituality. In fact, atheism is the only system that denies the existence of the mountains. Each religious system has created physical/spiritual exercises (prayer, meditation, fasting, pilgrimages, etc.) in order to access the spiritual realm. It is true that many systems have successfully and authentically tapped into the spiritual reality of the universe. However, their spirituality does not mean that they have tapped into the truth of the one true God and found the path of redemption. The spiritual realm is a reality in the same way that the physical realm is a reality. We were created to interact in both. Both have the truth and deception present within them.

Notice that in the mountain range of spirituality there are many mountain peaks. Each peak represents a system of spirituality. However, there is only one true mountain peak. This peak represents the one true God that is calling to us to come to know him. He has provided a path to know him and has spelled that path out.

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What is a Worldview?

A worldview is the grid or lens through which every person interprets life. It is our philosophy—our way of viewing life.

James Sire defines a worldview as “a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic makeup of the world.” A worldview is therefore a vision of life, providing its adherents with a vision of the world. It is an interpretive framework by which order and disorder are judged, the standard by which reality is managed and pursued.

5 Basic Worldviews

GLOBE = All matter in the universe

RED CIRCLE = GOD

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GOD = Everything OR Everything is GOD

Pantheism

To say "GOD" is to refer to the non-personal life energy of the universe. The life energy (aka the Force, for all you Star Wars fans) is like the "web of life" that holds all things together. In this view, all matter is eternal and is in an eternal process of recycling itself.

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GOD = the mind of the universe. God is the mind, the universe is the body.

Panentheism

The difference between pantheism and panentheism is that pantheism denies a personal conciousness within the lifeforce of the universe while panentheism believes there is a personality to the creative energy of the universe. In other words, in panentheism, you can refer to "mother earth" literally. You can pray to the earth and the moon and the stars because there is a personality behind them. Yet, just like with our physical bodies, god cannot exist without the existence of the physical universe. God did not create the universe. God, with a physical need for the universe, has been in existence forever. We are members of god's body and interact with god in the same way that the stomach and the heart interact with the brain.

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There is no GOD, there is no supernatural.

Atheism

All that exists is the physical universe. All matter is eternal and simply exists in an amoral, eternal state of expansion and contraction. Any concepts of morality, supernaturalism, social order, or religion are simply projections of human psychology that exist to pacify a painful existence. The universe is "governed" by an eternal, random process of evolution, adaptation, and a struggle for survival.

GOD = supernatural being who created all physical matter, established the laws of physics, then walked away from the project, never to be seen again.

Deism

Deism was prevalent in the Western world during the 17th - 19th centuries. It is basically a religious form of atheism. Conceptually, there is a God who answers the big problems of the origin of things and the basis of morality, but, practically, the universe is governed by the laws of nature. If, in our current existence, God is not reachable or available, then why bother. Deism was a transitional worldview that carried the western world from a highly theistic worldview to a completely atheistic worldview.

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GOD = an eternal, supernatural entity that, being self-sufficient and needing nothing to exist, created all physical matter in the universe.

Theism

God is a personality that has purpose and emotions. God created all things for a purpose and seeks to interact with the creation. God can be known by the creation through a personal relationship. Life has a purpose, there is a basis of morality (God's character), and there is an objective guideline for life that has been revealed to humanity by God. This revelation has, in most theistic religions, been recorded in a written document that is considered to be holy scripture.

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Shrines of Religiosity

In every religious system there is a common trap. All systems are trying to explain the "mysteries of the universe" (why am I here? where did I come from? where am I going? How can I know "truth"? what is the basis of morality?) While most religious systems claim to understand the realities of spirituality, they end up falling short of spirituality and reducing their religion to a series of completely physical rituals and ceremonies that ultimate support a humanly constructed power structure. Unfortunately, the throngs of people that sit in the physical systems of their religion are being told that, by performing these physical acts and submitting to these human powers, they are being "spiritual people." Reducing spirituality to a "shrine of religiosity" is one of the many traps that keep us imprisoned within the realm of physicality and unable to truly know God.

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So What?

Knowing where you start in your worldview has direct impact on your spiritual growth in that it will set the trajectory of your growth and help you know the path that you must take.

This curriculum is written from a Theistic, Christian worldview. We believe that there is one true God that has created all things in a spiritual/physical reality for the purpose of interaction with Him. In order to begin the process of knowing God and getting on the path of redemption that comes through Jesus Christ, you will need to...

Acknowledge that the mountains of spirituality are real. (this is the path of the atheist)

Acknowledge that not all spiritualities are equal and true. If you are "spiritual" but are outside of the revealed truth of the one true God, then you will need to come down from your mountain of spirituality and start climbing the true mountain of spirituality. (this is the path of of the pantheist)

Acknowledge that there is more to "religion" than external forms, rituals, and social affiliations. Spiritual transformation happens through the spiritual/physical interaction with the one true God, through the atoning work of Jesus Christ, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. You will need to leave the safety of ritual and enter into the awesome and scary journey of relationship with the living God. (this is the path of those who are stuck in the shrines of religiosity. This is the path of many, many "Christians")