The Significance of One's Worldview

Ignorance of the Scriptures is epidemic in the Church today, even among those who call themselves Evangelicals. As a result, the average Christian does not have the slightest idea how to defend the fundamentals of the Christian faith. Even worse, many could not even define the fundamentals of the faith!The Significance of One's Worldview

Why is this important? As Barna puts it, "A worldview serves as a person's decision-making filter." It is what determines how the person will interpret and deal with the complexities of life. Barna's research has discovered that there are large differences in behavior related to matters such as media use, profanity, gambling, alcohol use, honesty, civility, and sexual choices — all depending upon one's worldview. And Barna's research has revealed that the worldview of the average person is firmly in place by the age of 13.

To get specific, Barna's research has discovered that those without a biblical worldview are:
100 times more likely to endorse abortion.
80 times more likely to say that exposure to pornography is morally acceptable.
31 times more likely to believe that living together before marriage is morally acceptable.
15 times more likely to believe homosexuality is morally acceptable.
18 times more likely to endorse drunkenness.
12 times more likely to accept profanity.
11 times more likely to say adultery is okay.
9 times more likely to gamble by purchasing lottery tickets.
Where Do You Stand?Let's take a look at how the Barna organization determines whether or not a person has a biblical worldview. Here are Barna's eight determining questions:
Do you believe that absolute moral truths exist?
Do you believe the Bible defines those truths?
Do you believe Jesus Christ lived a sinless life?
Do you believe God created the universe?
Do you believe Satan is a real living entity?
Do you believe that salvation is a gift of God that cannot be earned?
Do you believe that Christians have an obligation to share the Gospel with the unsaved?
Do you believe the Bible is accurate in all its teachings?

 Look over the above list carefully and ponder it in your heart. The fact that only 9% of those who claim to be born-again agree with all eight statements is mind-boggling. George Barna has concluded that "the primary reason Christians do not act like Jesus is because they do not think like Jesus."

Poll after poll has shown that the most widely known Bible verse among both adult and teen believers is "God helps those who help themselves." The problem is that this is not a Bible verse, and even worse, it expresses an idea that is completely unbiblical!

This incredible biblical ignorance among Evangelical teens makes you wonder what is going on in youth ministries. Are they doing anything other than playing games and conducting wiener roasts?


We need to get back to the Word. Back to the fundamentals of the Faith. And we need to learn how to defend what we believe.