How Should We View Our World?

World View: A way of looking at or thinking about the world so as to make

sense of things, to know how to act or respond in any situation, and to know

one's own place, responsibility, and significance in the world. (My own

definition).

Nearly everyone has a world view, whether they realize it or not. Most of

us, in our own limited way, try to 'make sense' of things. We may not attempt

to understand the vast universe in all of its detail and complexity, but we do

feel the need to understand our own world of experiences, relationships and

duties. We need a sense of identity, a knowledge of who we are and what we

should be doing in our world.

But many of our world views are inadequate and too limited in scope. Many

of our beliefs and attitudes, if submitted to critical analysis, would be

found to be based on prejudice, cultural conditioning (being 'raised to think

this way'), or unreliable information. And there are probably many important

topics and issues on which we don't even have a certain opinion. We don't

know what to believe or feel about some things, so we just sort of 'play it by

ear' and hope that we never have to make up our minds.

But the fast-paced world in which we live today doesn't wait for us to

deliberate before it demands from us important moral, social and spiritual

choices. Decisions must often be made immediately, and we may be caught in

the dilemma of not knowing what is right, yet nevertheless having to respond.

Often the easiest route is to allow the circumstances to push us in one

direction or another, or to follow majority opinion. Many young men and

women, for example, who have never seriously thought about how they feel

concerning war and its moral status, could in the future suddenly face a

military draft. Circumstances are definitely in favor of simply submitting to

the draft (the current registration laws also help in that direction) -- it's

considered 'unpatriotic' to refuse to fight for one's country. So, a great

many people's decisions will be easy, as the world around them will 'squeeze'

them 'into its mold' (the paraphrase that J. B. Phillips gives to Romans

12:2).

All this is not to say whether war is always wrong (I don't feel certain

myself), simply that such important decisions as whether or not to participate

in violent combat resulting in the deaths of many human beings should be based

on firm and reasoned convictions -- not on blind faith in public or majority

opinion, the wisdom of the politicians, or on the ease of following the path

of least resistance.

We who are Christians believe that we have access to a reliable source of

guidance. God has revealed himself and his will in the writings of the Hebrew

scriptures and through the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as reported and

expounded upon in the New Testament. Why is it, then, that Christians often

seem to be as much in the dark on moral and social issues as non-Christians?

Part of the answer surely lies in weak and sinful human nature. For

example, Although Christians know the forgiving, renewing mercy of Christ,

they're not immune to sinful attitudes toward other social and racial classes

or apathy regarding others' sufferings.

But another part of the answer lies in the fact that although Christians

have the resources available to develop the most adequate of world views, they

either fail to work on such a development or that which they do construct is

based on faulty methods of Biblical interpretation. The New Testament, for

example, does not sanction second-class status for women or blacks, but some

Christians have been guilty of using scripture passages outside of their

proper contexts to rationalize and support prejudice and discrimination.

Neither does Genesis chapters one and two indicate how God created the

universe, but some Christians have used these passages as scientific documents

to argue against the theory of evolution. The Bible, when understood

properly, does not conflict with scientific knowledge, although it may

conflict with unsound theory.

It also seems at times that some Christians are too "heavenly minded." To

many Christians salvation and redemption is a matter of "pie in the sky when

you die," or when Jesus returns, whichever comes first. And, "though I won't

set a date (for no man knows the exact hour), look for Him somewhere near 19--

(insert arbitrarily chosen year here)." Many such Christians understand the

Gospel as a matter of being saved from eternal judgment and being assured of

eternal life after the grave. Nothing is said about this present life, except

that we should live in joy because of our future reward, and that we should

always live right so that we won't miss the "rapture" if Jesus should return

today or tomorrow. And, since he will be returning any time now, we should be

primarily concerned with getting everybody "saved" beforehand. There's no

time for long-term commitments to social and moral causes which are probably

futile anyway.

This is also an adequate perspective, both Biblically and morally. Christ

did command us to announce the Good News to every creature (Matt. 28, Mark

16), but he also made it clear from his example that we are to be likewise

concerned for people's physical needs. He constantly went about healing

physical illnesses, and two of his greatest miracles had to do with feeding

multitudes.

Young Christians who are presently involved in developing a world view

need to approach their task carefully, critically, and in a sincere attempt to

understand what is necessary for an adequate perspective. With this in mind,

I'd like to suggest a few guiding principles.

To begin with, the Bible states that God created the physical universe

(Genesis 1 & 2), and that man was given the responsibility of bringing nature

under to subjection to God's will and purpose (or, in Biblical language, to

"have dominion" over all of creation). Platonic dualism, wherein the material

world is considered an evil prison from which man must seek to be freed, has

had an unhealthy influence on Christian thought since the early Church ages.

But if God created the material world, then it is not bad in itself.

Otherwise, we would be attributing evil or imperfection to his character. But

it is what man does with the world that makes it a either a good or a bad

place, not the mere fact that it is physical (meaning to many, non-spiritual).

And because the universe is God's creation, because man is meant to

exercise dominion as a steward over it, we must make room within our world

view for a positive attitude toward the natural and physical sciences. The

scientific study of the world enables us to grow in our understanding of God's

way with nature and, very importantly, how we can more wisely exercise our

responsibilities as nature's stewards.

Science and technology has been misused to bring much harm to nature, but

the evil has been due to sinful man, not to science itself. Science has also

enabled us to develop such things as effective vaccinations against many

diseases, farming methodologies that tremendously increase agricultural

production (surely, feeding the world is not a bad thing), and surgical and

delivery room procedures that have greatly increased surgery and birth

survival rates. Christianity has nothing to fear from the sciences, for "all

truth is God's truth." If we don't speak out for the use of science and

technology for morally worthwhile purposes, they definitely will be used by

others to achieve immoral goals (as they often are now). We can't turn back

the clock and return to ignorance -- we need all the scientific understanding

that we can achieve in in order to survive on planet earth.

Neither should we have the attitude: "Well, Jesus will come soon and all

this mess will be over" in order to avoid dealing with problems. The Apostle

Paul also thought Christ might return within his lifetime. What if Jesus

doesn't return in this generation? What if the professional interpreters of

Biblical prophecy have somehow gotten off-track? Might we then through the

above attitude be guilty of having neglected our duty to our world?

Let's work against such a possibility. Christ became flesh, got involved

in the world in order to redeem it, and he said, "As the Father hath sent me,

so send I you." (John 20:21) The Incarnation is God's affirmation that his

will is to redeem the physical, material world, not simply to judge and

destroy it.

Another essential requirement for a wholesome world view is an adequate

concept of God's love and purpose for us. We Christians know that God loved

us so much that "He gave his only son, so that everyone who believes in him

may not die, but have eternal life." (John 3:16) But God's love and will

encompasses much more than the forgiveness brought by Christ's death on the

cross. He also desires to restore us to a close, intimate relationship with

him, whereby our own personalities will be fundamentally changed and renewed,

and we will gradually become the whole persons that he created us to be.

But God doesn't love only those who choose to believe in Christ. "He

makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those

who do good and to those who do evil." (Matt. 5:45) God loves and cares for

the needs of all people, whether they know his redeeming grace or not. His

care is much more than concern for their souls. He created the whole person

and he is concerned for human need at all levels of being: physical, mental

and social as well as spiritual.

As Christ's disciples, should our concerns be any less? He has called us

to love as he loves, to be his hands and feet, his body in this world. Our

world view must make room for a love broad enough to reach out to human need

wherever it exists.

Finally, we need to take a close look at how we can work for social change

on a larger scale. Not only do we need to influence individual lives through

close personal relationships, but we should follow the example of Old

Testament prophets such as Jeremiah and Isaiah, who cried out against sin and

injustice committed by their society's major institutions. The governments

and religious establishments of their days were often guilty of oppressing the

poor and favoring the rich, and sanctioning immoral practices and policies.

Should we in the Christian "dispensation" be any less involved than Jeremiah

in working for greater social and economic justice, and for a society openly

and sincerely committed to the things that please God and benefit all men?

Christ called his disciples the light of the world and the salt of the

earth. These analogies imply that our influence is to spread further than

just individual persons -- we are to affect our whole environment. We are

exhorted by Paul, in I Timothy 2:1-2, to pray for all those in governmental

authority; should our concern stop there?

As Christians, we should be aware that our responsibility doesn't end with

prayer for others' needs -- we are to do all we can to help meet those needs.

Surely, this should include things such as addressing the sins of large

corporations and institutions, as well as governments. Wherever society's

structure causes or supports injustice and human suffering, that's where

Christians need to be working toward change for the better.

The development of an adequate world view is a life-long undertaking, as

we will be continually adjusting and rearranging it as we mature in the

knowledge of who we are and what we are about.

Charles Shelton

Computers for Christ - Chicago

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