Apologetics to the Glory of God

Answering An Objection To Christian “Worldview”

There have been concerns about using Christian “worldview” in a loose fashion, or using it at all. Using the term might downplay the importance or significance of the Gospel, or imply that some people are not Christians when they really are. The danger is in taking Y to be the only position on X that is consistent with the “Christian worldview” where it is dubitable that any position on X is either consistent or inconsistent with the Christian worldview because, as one example, Scripture does not address X.

Yet it is not too difficult to see that the person raising an objection along these lines is making the objection from within the Christian worldview, given that the objection is consistent with the Christian worldview. So then, the Gospel is of utmost importance within the Christian worldview and there are people who do take positions that are inconsistent with the Christian worldview but are nevertheless Christians. Finally, by way of internal critique of the position the objection originates with we might point out that the objection is made from within the Christian worldview (given that the position is consistent with the Christian worldview) and thus it cuts its own throat with this objection. To clarify, in the example given Scripture does not address X and so Y cannot be taken to be the only position on X that is consistent with the “Christian worldview”, but this is a purely Christian objection as one can see by the appeal to Scripture. The argument here is only over what position is consistent with the Christian worldview. The answer may be that there is freedom with respect to the X in question, but this is itself then the Christian position on the topic. The person making the objection is taking Z to be the only position on X that is consistent with the Christian worldview while also asserting that it is dubitable that any position on X, in this case Y and to be consistent, Z; is either consistent or inconsistent with the Christian worldview because Scripture does not address X, but this is self-contradictory.

It is therefore incorrect and unhelpful to “rise above” worldview discussions by attempting to show X to be in some sense external to worldviews. The objection itself comes from within the context of a worldview which is either Christian or non-Christian. Therefore we are back to where we started on Y and X.


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