Can't Have One Without the Other
The Necessity of Worldview Analysis in Apologetics
By Graham/Stonestreet

Editor’s Note: John Stonestreet continues his discussion of the biblical worldview. This month, along with colleague Jason Graham, he shows the vital importance of worldview thinking to our evangelism and ministry.

We have been called to “make disciples of all the nations” (Matt. 28:19). Fulfilling this mandate is no easy task. Whether it is Paul sharing the truth with the Stoics and Epicureans in Athens or Campus Crusade sharing the message with America’s postmodern youth, the task of disciple-making is made more difficult because of the varying false beliefs that non-believers have mistakenly accepted.

Therefore, it is necessary when presenting truth to interact with the core convictions of our audience. There are no neutral hearers. Further, if someone is to place their faith in the Savior, they must be convinced that Christianity is actually true. This begs the question, is it possible to demonstrate that Christianity is true? Also, is it possible to demonstrate that non-Christian religions are false?

Many Christians blindly devote their lives to the Christian faith without really wrestling with its truth claims. This doesn’t mean that such devotion isn’t genuine or that such faith is misplaced. Rather, it means that a good number of Christians have simply accepted the tenants of the Christian faith without ever contemplating the most pivotal question—“Is it true?” It also means that their attempts to make disciples lack the ability to offer others all the reasons there are to believe.

How should we respond when a skeptic asks if there is good evidence for the Resurrection, or when a Muslim wonders why they should abandon Islam for Christianity, or when a New-Ager wants to know why he or she should accept the Christian religion instead of all of the other religions that exist? Moreover, what happens when our own faith is challenged: when a biology teacher confronts our children with the theory of evolution, or when a sociology professor suggests that truth is cultural, or when a Muslim asks how a God can logically be both three and one, or when a grieving family member asks how a good and perfect God could allow horrific acts of evil and suffering?

Thank God for Apologetics

The good news is that there is a long and abundant history of answers for both the shaken believer and the probing skeptic. Apologetics is the art of defending and promoting the Christian faith—a tradition that goes all the way back to the early Church (i.e. Origen, Justin Martyr, and Tertullian), the Apostles (i.e. I John 4, Galatians 2, Acts 17), and even Christ himself (i.e. Matthew 22). In his book, Scaling the Secular City: A Defense of Christianity (Baker, 1978), J.P. Moreland outlines the importance of apologetics as follows:

“First, Scripture commands us to defend the faith and gives us several examples of such activity [e.g. Jesus’ response to Thomas in the Gospels, Jude 3, and 1 Peter 3:15–16)] . . . Second, apologetics can help remove obstacles to faith and thus aid unbelievers in embracing the gospel . . . Third, apologetics can strengthen believers in at least two ways. For one thing, it gives them confidence that their faith is true and reasonable; therefore, apologetics encourages a life of faith seeking understanding. [Likewise], apologetics can actually encourage spiritual growth [i.e. help Christians identify and release us from the ways of the world]. . . Fourth, apologetics can contribute to health in the culture at large . . . When believers promote their faith because it is true and rational, they contribute to a general cultural perception which sees that moral and religious issues are not mere matters of private taste, but rather are areas where truth and rational argument are appropriate.”

When employed, apologetics can strengthen the faith of Christians as well as defend and promote Christianity at large. To successfully engage in the art of apologetics, Christians should have an understanding of worldview analysis. Worldview analysis deals with core beliefs, both of Christians and of non-Christians. By learning to analyze another’s core beliefs, and being sure of our own, we can discover the inconsistencies between the ideas people hold and the world in which live.

Worldview Analysis: What It Is and Why It Matters

As we’ve established in previous articles, a worldview is simply the way one sees the world. It is the basic set of beliefs that we hold, whether we know it or not, that shapes our view of the world and for the world. The method of comparing and contrasting worldviews is called worldview analysis.

Worldview analysis compares how different worldviews answer life’s ultimate questions—questions which include, but are not limited to:

Origin: Is there a God, and what is he/she/it like?

Identity: What is the nature of human beings?

Morality: What is the basis for right and wrong and how can we know?

Meaning: What is the purpose of existence? Why is anything here?

Destiny: Where is history going? What happens when we die?

As an example, consider the worldview of Democritus—a sixth century B.C. philosopher who believed that our world was comprised solely of material atoms. Like many modern scientists, all of his questions about life were answered by his core belief that eternal matter was all there is to reality. He believed that atoms’ chance combinations could explain the existence of such things as horses, spears, and even pre-Socratic philosophers. And since his universe was essentially physical, he believed it must also be devoid of any providential purpose or design, or for that matter, anything supernatural. Democritus thus had a naturalistic worldview.

Keeping with Democritus’ worldview as an example, it is easy to see how our beliefs about reality influence our beliefs about God (and vice versa); the core tenants of a worldview interconnect much like the intersections of a spider’s web. A naturalist’s beliefs about reality (i.e. that only matter exists) influence his beliefs about the divine (i.e. that God and the supernatural cannot exist) and his beliefs about human beings (i.e. that we are merely soulless matter caught in the inevitable chain of cause and effect).

To understand why worldviews matter, it is helpful to think of a tree. The roots are our beliefs, and the fruits are our values and actions. In other words, our basic beliefs shape our values, which in turn direct our behavior. The point here is that actions don’t exist in a vacuum. They are the results of our fundamental assumptions about reality.

For example, a Marxist believes that private property is evil because of his view of history and human behavior. The reason that some are left to die in the streets of Calcutta while cows are revered is because of the Hindu commitment to karma and reincarnation. The Islamic practice of jihad, in its various expressions, is based on the Islamic view of God and humanity. The mounting debt in America results from a culture addicted to immediate gratification as the highest good.

Ultimately, if values and actions (i.e. fruit) are to be changed, the worldviews (i.e. the roots) that produce them must also be confronted and changed. The apologetic work of defending and promoting Christianity requires worldview analysis.

Worldview Analysis and Apologetics

There are three ways in which worldview analysis is necessary in apologetics.

First, a Christian should have a coherent and consistent biblically informed worldview. The Christian who does not is in danger of misrepresenting Christianity, presenting an alternative version that either appears foolish to a thinking audience, or that is inconsistent with biblical teaching.

Second, the Christian should be able to defend or refute arguments against the Christian worldview. Many critics have compelling reasons for doubting Christianity. We should be willing and able to consider and respond rationally to such objections.

Finally, in order to point out the flaws of non-Christian positions, we need to be familiar with alternate positions and their inherent inconsistencies. One’s worldview is capable of either revealing the world as it truly is or distorting our perspective of the actual world, ultimately misleading us as we walk through life. If one’s worldview is false, it will likely have inconsistencies.

For example, the logical conclusion of naturalism is that life has no ultimate purpose; there is no universal foundation for ethical mandates; and that human beings are not free to choose. But few naturalists are willing (or even able) to live this way. In a 1994 debate, evolutionist Dr. William Provine was forced to admit to Dr. Phillip Johnson that if his naturalism were true, human beings were merely the purposeless products of natural process and possessed no free will. Yet by debating evolution, Dr. Provine demonstrated to the audience that he believed human beings were capable of freely changing their minds about such subjects. Although this discrepancy did not cause Dr. Provine to change his views, the inherent inconsistency suggested to the audience that they should reject his naturalism.