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.

Definition

According to Leo Apostel, a worldview is an ontology, or a descriptive model of the world. It should comprise these six elements:

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. The symbolic term Christian worldview has been called a "defining marker of American evangelical culture."

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.

Key people and literary works within Protestant evangelicalism

Other relevant sources