World View and Christian Education

by Allison Hyer
Allison is a gradaute of Calvary Christian School in Naperville, IL (elementary school) and Wheaton Academy in West Chicago, IL (high school). She graduated from Bryan College in Dayton, TN. In addition, Allison is the daughter of Mr. Mark Strohm, Elementary Principal at Delaware County Christian School (Newtown Square, PA).

Every person has a worldview—a basic set of beliefs through which you see and understand the world. When you wear a pair of glasses, everything you see is affected because you see it through the glasses. Your worldview is similar. Based on it—your basic assumptions about life—you evaluate and act. Everything in your life is affected, from the priorities on your to-do list to the way you process the evil you see around you.

A worldview is made up of answers to some basic questions that everyone has to answer, whether they want to or not, whether they know it or not. As they grow into adulthood, every person has to answer questions like these: “Where did I come from?” “Who am I?” “What is my purpose in life?” “What is right and wrong?” and “Where will I go when I die?” The answers to these questions, acquired on purpose or picked up from others, are the foundation of their worldview.

The answers affect the rest of their lives—how they think about morality and ethics, what they choose to do with their money, the way they conduct themselves from day to day, their interactions with other people. Let me provide a simplified example. Worldviews are not usually as consistent as in this example, but this will allow you to see the thought process through to its conclusion.

If you answer the basic questions according to the worldview that the majority of our culture has, the answers are that we evolved from animals, so we are animals, fighting for survival. Right and wrong can only come from what works best—for the society, for you individually, etc. The ultimate fate is obliteration. This affects why people with this worldview believe in “tolerance”—because no animal has a better grasp of truth than any other. All views must be equal. Whatever works better for you, whatever it takes for you to survive, that must be right for you. Truth comes from within you.

However, if you answer the questions from a biblical worldview—we were created in the image of God, we are here to glorify Him and draw others to know Him, right and wrong are defined by God’s character, and ultimately all people are destined for heaven or hell, based on what they choose about Jesus—your belief in “tolerance” is much different. You do not affirm contrary beliefs to be true, because truth is defined by God’s character. You tolerate people with contrary beliefs not because whatever they believe is true for them, but you love others and are respectful to them because they, too, are made in the image of God.

Most people come by their worldview passively, never taking the time to examine the basic beliefs they have. They accept and proceed to act on opinions they have picked up, either from their parents, their friends, the media or others in authority in their lives. This includes teachers.

Because worldview is important, it is also important that a child’s influences share his worldview. The next blog entry (check back next Wednesday) will explore how the worldview of a school’s administration and teachers is foundational in developing a child’s personal worldview.