Chapter 11 - End Notes and Miscellany
The term ‘worldview’ is easily defined but it is not easily explained. It is defined by most dictionaries as either a philosophy of life or a particular conception of the world, while they both may be true, neither definition is very useful. Everyone has a worldview and after you recognize what shapes our worldviews, you will see why every person’s worldview is actually unique and different.
This may sound like a far-fetched question, however in order to understand the construct of a worldview we need to ask, “What is reality?” Now before you walk away shaking your head, think about the process for a moment that you go through in your mind to determine if something is real. There is no need to dig out those old text books or wish you paid more attention in your philosophy class, if you are like most people you can quickly realize that, even though the majority of people don’t spend a lot of time analyzing their surroundings, the process is actually somewhat complex. For example, our understanding of reality is strongly based on a combination of perception (what we see, hear, smell, touch, etc.), facts determined from past experiences (such as touching something that is hot), and learned knowledge (inferences, deductions, assumptions, presumptions, etc.) all combined within a strong sense of what we believe is possible (things we were taught as well as discovered on our own).
If you were right now distracted by a small bright point of light that quickly flashed from one side of you to the opposite side, would you think it was a small creature like a fairy or just a reflection off something like a passing car outdoors? Probably most of you would consider it to be a flash of light. Why? To begin with there are no such things as fairies, right? What about that small dark spot that is moving next to your foot? Is it a bug or a creeping ink spot? Our worldview is largely responsible for how we process information, not only to answer questions like these but also how we navigate through life (our decisions, values, morals, priorities, goals, etc.)
Everything from where we were born, where we lived, where we went to school, who our teachers were, who we had as friends, who were our parents and of course who were their parents, our neighbors, wealth, demographics, race, religious upbringing, level of education, exposure to politics and a lot more all have some influence in shaping how we view the world, our ‘worldview’. So you can see that you truly do have a unique view. The fact that you are unique is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good in the sense of having a unique perspective, something that you might be willing to share with others helping them see things differently. But sadly, since you do have a different view point it may mean more arguments or create contentious moments.
The term ‘disclaimer’ may be a bit strong for what I want to say, but it works. I just want to say that the Bible does not in any way state or imply that there are any actual ‘pegs’ or a ‘pegboard’. These are just terms I use to describe a straightforward theology. I also would like to add that this document is dynamic and will be added to as moved by the Holy Spirit to do, thank you for understanding.
Bullinger, E. W. (1898). Figures of speech used in the Bible. Eyre & Spottiswoode; E. & J. B. Young & Co.
Panin, I. (1891). The Structure of the Bible: A Proof of the Verbal Inspiration of Scripture. Grafton, MA: Gospel of Christ Print. Retrieved from https://www.logos.com