War of Worldviews

The question I hear most frequently when I discuss apologetics is something along the lines of “Why does it matter?” What people are really trying to ask is “Does it matter if God used evolution to create, or if He simply spoke the universe into existence? It doesn’t change the Gospel does it?” It is our contention at In His Image that, yes it does in fact matter.  What a person believes about origins influences how they view life. This is called a worldview. There are two worldviews which are locked in a battle of ideas. This battle of ideas is apparent in all facets of life and makes understanding what a Christian worldview is, extremely important.

A person’s worldview ultimately stems from their acceptance or denial of the authority of the Bible. Acceptance of Biblical theology results in a belief in Creation in six literal, twenty-four hour days. Rejection of a Biblical worldview results in acceptance of the secular philosophy of evolution.  This secular worldview manifests itself in a number of ways, which I will lightly touch on below.

Perhaps the most obvious manifestation of the secular worldview is the attempt to bridge evolutionary the philosophy and the Creation account in the book of Genesis.  Theories such as the Gap Theory and Day-Age Theory are common examples. The problem with these theories, aside from their torturous twisting of the meaning of the word “day”, is that they require death before sin.  Scripture plainly teaches the opposite.  “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Romans 5:12 says. These compromises are attempts to place man’s wisdom alongside God’s knowledge, an idea which never works well.

Another area where the influence of the secular worldview is clearly visible is in the sacredness of marriage.  God ordained marriage, in the beginning, to be between one man and one woman for life.  Jesus confirms this in Matthew 19:4-6, when the Pharisee’s ask him if the Law permits divorce for any reason.  “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Unfortunately, this intention taught clearly throughout Scripture, has been twisted into two men, two women, or even multiple men and women.

A third area in which the secular worldview is prevalent is sanctity, or lack thereof, of life. Euthanasia and abortion both end human lives and both are very popular with the secularists. Violent crimes such as murder are on the rise. An underlying cause is the lack of respect for human life. When a person is told by the media and his teachers in school that he is nothing more than a highly evolved animal, it should surprise no one that he then acts like an animal.  The Bible clearly states that man is different than the animals because he is made in God’s image. ” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Genesis 1:27 states.   If man is made in God’s image, then his life is sacred, to be taken only according to certain directives given by God after man’s fall.

The above is not an exhaustive list, and the secular worldview certainly has made inroads in other places. However, it should explain why understanding the difference between a secular and Christian worldview is so important.  It has a very strong impact on a person’s belief system.