World Views
The Rev. Lou Tiscione, Pastor, Weatherford Presbyterian Church (PCA)
Two great philosophical questions of the ages are, “Why am I here and where am I going?” Many give their answers to both questions from a self-centered perspective. This self-centered perspective defines reality in relative terms. That is, reality is how I perceive it. Everyone has a personal view of any issue. However, there is a need to hold a basis from which one sees an issue. Theologians call those bases from which an issue is seen presuppositions. All of us have presuppositions. Yet, in a sense, our presuppositions are irrelevant when discerning reality. Underlying all our presuppositions is our world view, how one views reality. There are two opposing bases by which one see reality, one either has a man-centered view of reality or a God-centered/biblical world view.
Reality is that which is real. Reality is factual. Truth is that which is real. Truth/reality is a given, a fact. All we can do is accept it or deny it. We are not able to alter it based upon what we desire. Reality and truth are not matters of personal perspective.
Everyone holds one of the two world views. Everyone looks at the world through his world view to make decisions. The one who holds a biblical world view looks at reality knowing God is at the center of the universe. The man-centered world view sees everything revolving around man. A God-centered world view is based on absolute truth. A man-centered world view assumes no absolutes except the absolute that there are no absolutes.
I suggest that the primary concern of life is truth. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). As previously stated, “truth” is that which is real. In other words, Jesus is reality; He is the primary concern of life. Jesus must be at the center of life. Yet, truth or reality is not dependent upon our embracing it. Jesus is the center of life whether He is believed or not.
“In the beginning God…” is an absolute truth. In Genesis 1:1 we learn that God is eternal. He is self-sufficient. He created everything seen and unseen. God has revealed His invisible attributes by what He has made (Romans 1:20). Jesus said if His disciples would abide in His word, they would know the truth and be set free (John 8:31-32).
The world view from which one can be confident of seeing all truth is the God-centered one. Truth is objective. Reality is not in the eye of the beholder. Here is the truth. The only self-existing being is God. He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). All truth and reality proceed from Him.
Obviously, much of society, some might even suggest that most of society, doesn’t look at life with a biblical world view. The basis of a man-centered world view, namely, moral relativism, is the primary means by which truth and reality are suppressed.
The man-centered world view is attractive because it suits man’s sinfulness. The Apostle Paul wrote that men suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). Jesus said that men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil (John 3:19). A case in point is the moral dilemma of abortion. The evil of abortion is evident when seen through the lens of Scripture. God’s word reveals the sanctity of human life. See Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7.
Seeing life through a God-centered World View is necessary not only for Christians but for all men. The reason is obvious. Truth/reality is not in the “eye” of the beholder. There are absolutes whether we think there are or not. There is a supreme being whether we think He exists or not. The Supreme Being who has revealed Himself as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit has established absolutes. Theologians refer to these absolutes that apply to all men as natural law. God established laws by which all nature is governed. God has also established moral law. All men have the moral law on their hearts. By God’s moral law, we can know whether something is right or wrong.
As a Pastor, I am accountable before God to ask you, “What is your world view?” “How do you decide what is right or wrong?” I close with the words of the Psalmist, “The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130) and the words of Jesus who said that the word of God is eternal and unbreakable (Mathew 5:17-18 and John 10:35).
