Christian worldview (also called Biblical worldview) refers to the framework of ideas and beliefs through which a Christian individual, group or culture interprets the world and interacts with it. Various denominations of Christianity have differing worldviews on some issues based on biblical interpretation, but many thematic elements are commonly agreed-upon within the Christian worldview.
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Definition
According to Leo Apostel, a worldview is an ontology, or a descriptive model of the world. It should comprise these six elements:
- An explanation of the world
- An eschatology, answering the question "where are we heading?"
- Values, answers to ethical questions: "What should we do?" In this context, "What would Jesus do?"
- A praxeology, or methodology, or theory of action.: "How should we attain our goals?"
- An epistemology, or theory of knowledge. "What is true and false?" (See, for example John 18:38)
- An etiology. A constructed world-view should contain an account of its own "building blocks," its origins and construction.
Differing Christian worldviews
Different denominations of Christianity have varying worldviews. There are varieties of particulars within the Christian worldview, and disputes of the meaning of concepts in a Christian worldview. Certain thematic elements are common within the Christian worldview. For instance, Northrop Frye indicated as the central clusters of the system of metaphors in the Bible - mountain, garden, and cave. A similar thematic representation of Christian worldview in the Reformed tradition has been formulated as Creation, Fall, Redemption and Consummation.
Worldview vs. doctrine
The U.S. use of the term "worldview" in Christian rhetoric can be traced to the evangelical Reformed philosopher H. Evan Runner of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Runner used the term in his evangelical Reformed community in North America, promoting the worldview concept from a philosophical concept to a synonym for "doctrine."