Our worldview determines how we live -- as individuals, as a nation, as a culture. And the Christian worldview, which created the most humane and advanced civilization in human history, is under attack from all sides.
Back in 1999, Nancy Pearcey and I wrote How Now Shall We Live?, a best-selling book about the Christian worldview, why it matters, and how crucial it is that the Church learn how to defend it. The ideas contained in the book became the foundation of my ministry with BreakPoint and the Colson Center.
The message of the book was summed up neatly on the back cover: “True Christianity goes far beyond John 3:16 -- beyond private faith and personal salvation. It is nothing less than a framework for understanding all of reality. “[Christianity] is a worldview.”
That message may be more important today than ever. Just listen to a little of the introduction from How Now Shall We Live? The words don’t just sound familiar, they are urgently relevant for today:
“We live in a culture that is at best morally indifferent. A culture in which Judeo-Christian values are mocked and where immorality in high places is not only ignored, but even rewarded . . . A culture in which violence, banality, meanness, and disintegrating personal behavior are destroying civility and endangering the very life of our communities . . . What’s more, when Christians do make good-faith efforts to halt this slide into barbarism, we are maligned as intolerant or bigoted.”
Well, I guess it’s not surprising that many Christians are intimidated by this, and they “withdraw into the safety of our sanctuaries . . . hoping to keep ourselves and our children safe from the coming desolation.” It’s a trend, I’m sorry to say, that has only gathered steam among many Christians since we wrote How Now Shall We Live?
But now, as then, “turning our backs on the culture is a betrayal of our biblical mandate and our own heritage because it denies God’s sovereignty over all of life.”
That betrayal is especially acute today, because people are looking for answers. They see the moral and economic chaos around them. But they can’t connect the dots. They are unable to see that they are the natural products of a culture that has rejected the Christian worldview and instead embraced moral relativism and personal autonomy as the great goods of modern life.
As we wrote in 1999, we Christians simply must be able to explain and defend the proposition that “only Christianity offers a way to understand both the physical and moral order. Only Christianity offers a comprehensive worldview that covers all areas of life and thought, every aspect of creation. Only Christianity offers a way to live in line with the real world.” That’s why I’ve devoted my remaining years of ministry to teaching Christian worldview.
I want you to go to ColsonCenter.org today and watch this week’s Two Minute Warning. I’ll give you some powerful examples of why worldview matters so much. And we’ll provide you with vital, practical resources. Look, this isn’t hard stuff. Every layman can learn this. We’ve got books, DVDs and great articles you can use to be able to defend your worldview in public.
That, after all, is the whole point of BreakPoint and the Colson Center. So please, go to ColsonCenter.org today.
This article published on March 30, 2011.
Chuck Colson's daily BreakPoint commentary airs each weekday on more than one thousand outlets with an estimated listening audience of one million people. BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on today's news and trends via radio, interactive media, and print.
