Christian worldview perspectives and theological foundations

Christian Worldview

A worldview is an intellectual concept of the world, or the universe, held by a group or an individual. One's worldview encompasses their beliefs concerning the origin and nature of human knowledge, reality, the universe, God, value and life, and the purpose of man and the universe

Christians hold certain beliefs with regard to the aforementioned aspects. Such Christian worldviews are based upon scriptures contained in the Bible. The biblical worldviews concerning five common questions have been explored in the subsequent sections of this text.

The Question of Origin: Genesis 1:27 instructs that human beings were created out of dust by the Supreme God, who was in existence from the beginning (Slick, n.d.). God created the universe and everything that is contained therein in a total of six days. On the sixth day, God molded a man, breathed life into him, but seeing how lonely he (the man) was, He created a woman out of the man's rib, and made his/her companion (Genesis 1: 28). Christian worldview asserts that the entire global population was generated from the first man and woman (Slick, n.d.).

The Question of Identity: Christians accept that mankind is the most unique of God's creation (Slick, n.d.). Genesis 1: 26-27 asserts that God, after creating mankind, described him as 'good' (Slick, n.d.). The uniqueness of the human being above all other creation stems from the fact that God created him with His very own hands, and in His own image (Slick, n.d.). God, who is intelligent and rational, therefore instilled this image in mankind, with which to maintain dominion over the rest of God's creation and unlock the universe's secrets (Genesis 1: 28-30) (Naugle, 2010). Christian doctrine accepts that if all men are created in God's likeness, then they are all worthy of honor and respect (Slick, n.d.).

The Question of Meaning or Purpose: The Christian worldview maintains that the sole purpose of man is to serve God (the creator) (Naugle, 2010). This he can achieve through a variety of means including prayer (Philippians 2:12), reverence (Psalm 95), and obedience, which is better than sacrifice (Proverbs 21:3). In so doing, man creates a personal relationship with God, at the end of which he eternally rejoices in His immeasurable glory (Romans 5:3) (Slick, n.d.).

The Question of Morality: The Christian worldview holds that morality was derived from God's person. God is upright and just, and since man was created in God's image, then morality proceeds from God to him (Deuteronomy 32:4). Man has, however, sought out many interventions, deviating from God's upright path, and is in need of salvation from Gods judgment (Proverbs 28:10) (Slick, n.d.).

The Question of Destiny: The Christian worldview asserts that after the physical death, the soul will either reside in God's eternal grace or in the fires of hell (Slick, n.d.). Though not figurative, Christians believe that both heaven and hell are literal. Heaven is for those who are sanctified and justified (Godbey, 2014). Sanctification is a process of daily prayer resulting in repentance, and whose product is the inheritance of God's immeasurable glory (1 John 1:9). Justification is the belief that Christ's death and resurrection was a perfect atonement for man's sin (Romans 10:9) (Godbey, 2014).

Part 3