Our Worldview Shapes Our Lives

By D.C. COLLIER
Published: July 20, 2013

The Reverend Randy Alcorn, founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries in Oregon, sometimes presents his audiences with two creation stories and asks them whether it matters which one is true.  In the secular account,

“You are the descendant of a tiny cell of primordial protoplasm washed up on an empty beach three and a half billion years ago.  You are the blind and arbitrary product of time, chance, and natural forces.  You are a mere grab bag of atomic particles, a conglomeration of genetic substance.  You exist on a tiny planet in a minute solar system in an empty corner of a meaningless universe.  You are a purely biological entity, different only in degree but not in kind from a microbe, virus, or amoeba.  You have no essence beyond your body, and at death you will cease to exist entirely.  In short you came from nothing and are going nowhere.”

 

In the Christian view by contrast,

“You are the special creation of a good and all-powerful God.  You are created in His image, with capacities to think, feel, and worship that set you above all other life forms.  You differ from the animals not simply in degree but in kind.  Not only is your kind unique, but you are unique among your kind.  Your Creator loves you so much and so intensely desires your companionship and affection that He has a perfect plan for your life.  In addition, god gave the life of His only son that you might spend eternity with Him.  If you are willing to accept the gift of salvation, you can become a child of God.”

“Now imagine two groups of people—let’s call them the secular tribe and the religious tribe—who subscribe to these two worldviews.  Which of the two tribes is most likely to survive, prosper, and multiply?  The religious tribe is made up of people who have an animating sense of purpose.  The secular tribe is made up of people who are not sure why they exist at all.  The religious tribe is composed of individuals who view their every thought and action as consequential.  The secular tribe is made up of matter that cannot explain why it is able to think at all.”[1]

The Bible declares that we humans are the crowning achievement of God’s creative plan, and quite literally, the reason for it.  We are created in His very image and likeness, however marred by sin that we may be.  In honor of our dignity as humans, God forces nothing upon us.  He wants us to come to Him voluntarily, willingly, indeed seekingly.  He leaves the choice to us, just as He did in the Garden of Eden those many millennia ago.  But in these matters, there is no room for complacency, or ignorance.



[1] D’Souza, Dinesh. What’s so Great about Christianity. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub., 2007. 17-18. Print.

 

 

 

© 2013 It Is Finished Ministries. All rights reserved.

 

 

One thought on “Our Worldview Shapes Our Lives

  1. Exceptional post however , I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more on this subject?
    I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit more.
    Appreciate it!

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