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Picture three friends on a camping trip, lying on the grass and looking up at the stars. One says, "Makes you feel tiny. We're just specks on a rock spinning through space." The second says, "Makes me wonder who made all this, and why." The third says, "Makes me realise life's short. I've got to chase my dreams and be who I really am."
Same sky. Three completely different reactions. None of them said "here is my worldview", but each one showed it. This term we're going to look at the biggest questions people ask about life, and at the different stories people use to answer them, including your own.
What you'll learn
- What a worldview is, and why everyone has one (even people who say they don't)
- The seven big questions we'll explore all term
- How to describe other people's views fairly before you decide what you think
Glasses you forget you're wearing
A worldview is the set of answers a person gives to life's biggest questions. It shapes what they notice, what they value and what they do.
A good way to picture it is a pair of tinted sunglasses. You look through them, not at them. They colour everything you see, and after a while you forget you're wearing them. Most people never stop to ask where their worldview came from. They just picked it up from family, friends, school, films, songs and their phone.
Everyone has a worldview. Even "I don't really believe anything" is an answer to the big questions. It's just an answer that hasn't been looked at closely yet.
Here are the seven big questions we'll use all term. Each one lines up with a "chapter" of the Bible's big story:
| Big question | Where the Bible's story answers it |
|---|---|
| Where did we come from? | Creation |
| Who am I? | Creation |
| What's wrong with the world? | The Fall |
| Is there any hope? | Israel and God's promises |
| What's the fix? | Jesus |
| How should I live? | The Church |
| Where is it all going? | New Creation |
Paul on worldviews
The apostle Paul knew that every culture tells a story that quietly shapes people. He wrote:
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2)
To be conformed is to be pressed into a shape, like jelly in a mould. You can be shaped without even noticing. But notice what Paul's answer is. He doesn't say "stop thinking". He says renew your mind: think more carefully, not less.
He gives a warning too:
"See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ." (Colossians 2:8)
Some ideas are empty (they promise a lot but can't deliver) and some are deceptive (they look true but aren't). Paul's test is whether an idea fits with Christ. Christians believe Jesus is at the centre of the true story, so every worldview, including the one you picked up without noticing, gets measured against him.
Three stories we'll compare
All term we'll compare three worldviews you'll hear around you all the time:
| Worldview | In one sentence | Where you hear it |
|---|---|---|
| The Bible's big story | A good God made the world, people turned away, and God is putting everything right through Jesus. | Church, the Bible, Christian friends |
| Secular materialism | The natural world of matter and energy is all there is; there is no God, and we make our own meaning. | Some science documentaries, many university lecturers, much of public life |
| "Be true to yourself" | The most important thing is to find the real you inside and express it, without letting anyone else define you. | Films, songs, ads, influencers |
Two things to know. First, "materialism" here doesn't mean loving shopping. It means believing that material (physical) stuff is all that exists. Second, most people mix worldviews. A worldview is often more like a playlist than an album: a bit from here, a bit from there.
You'll hear these views in everyday sayings: "We're just a bunch of atoms." "Follow your heart." "God has a plan for your life." Once you start listening, you'll hear worldviews everywhere.
The steel-man rule
A straw man is a weak, silly version of someone's view that's easy to knock down. A steel man is the strongest, fairest version. Our rule this term is simple: describe every view so well that someone who holds it would say, "Yes, that's what I believe."
This matters. The Bible asks Christians to be ready to explain their hope, and to do it gently and respectfully (1 Peter 3:15–16). Christians should be the fairest people in the room. And whatever you believe, you can't really decide between views until you've seen each one at its best.
Key words
- Worldview: the set of answers a person gives to life's biggest questions; it shapes what they notice, value and do.
- Conformed: pressed into a shape by outside pressure, often without noticing.
- Secular materialism: the view that matter and energy are all that exist, with no God.
- Straw man: a weak, unfair version of someone's view.
- Steel man: the strongest, fairest version of someone's view.
How this points to Jesus
Paul's test for every idea is whether it fits with Christ. That's because Christians believe Jesus isn't just one voice among many, but the person the whole story is about. He said he is "the truth" (John 14:6). So this term, as we look at each big question, we'll keep asking: what difference does Jesus make to the answer?
Think about it
Is it possible to have no worldview at all?Show answer
Not really. Even "I don't believe anything" or "I've never thought about it" is a set of answers to the big questions; it just hasn't been examined yet.
Paul says "do not be conformed to this world". What are some of the moulds that try to shape people your age?Show answer
Social media, friends, advertising, pressure to succeed at school or sport, and the stories in films and songs all push us towards certain answers about what matters.
Why is the steel-man rule worth following, even if you think a view is wrong?Show answer
Because you can't fairly judge a view you've only seen at its weakest, and treating people's beliefs with respect is part of loving them.
Take it further
This week, listen for worldviews. Pick one song, ad or video you come across and ask: which big question is it answering, and which worldview is behind it? Your worksheet helps you start a worldview table that will grow every lesson this term.
If you'd like to, you could pray: God, thank you that you made us to think. Help me see clearly, listen fairly, and find what is true. Amen.