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Worldview
Thinking A worldview is a grand schema or metanarrative by which a person views the world. The modernist era was full of these grand schemas, like the communist vision and Germany's National Socialism — lens by which people interpreted the world. Postmodern people no longer believe in worldviews. Postmodernism teaches there is no grand schema which gives a single meaning to it all, only the meaning and the truth we each attach to our own individual experiences. "Reality," a postmodernist would say, "is what we each make it out to be." If this is so, then there are no true metanarratives. All metanarratives are false, especially those which the powerful impose on others. All of our human worldviews are just personal perspectives. But if God is the ground of all being, then only God can give ultimate meaning to everything. This tells us that if there is a true metanarrative, it can only come from God. When Christians say that God once entered into human history in the Incarnation to bring redemption to the world, we are saying that there is, indeed, a true metanarrative. God has communicated a Story to the world which can give meaning to us all. Postmodern people might reply, "No, this is your own metanarrative which the Church is trying to impose on others. The history of the Church has been filled with injustice and war, oppression and unscientific thinking." We reply that Christians are not trying to impose a worldview; instead, we are giving a testimony. Aside from this, the criticism does have a point to make. Christians have often abused their power and led inconsistent lives, as if there is no God. But many have also lived like they actually believe in Christ. St. Francis of Assisi was a person who seemed to have gotten Christ right, and there are countless others. The criticism is also valid in that Christians have sometimes supported unscientific thinking. Galileo was persecuted by the Roman Church when he taught that the earth revolved around the sun. The Roman Church affirmed the opposite because some Bible verses talk poetically about the earth being immovable (Psalm 93:1, 104:5). Today, some Christian people, in an attempt to be faithful to God, adopt scientific views that seem strange and unbelievable to the scientific community. In turn, this makes the Incarnation seem strange and unbelievable and inconsistent to postmodern people. The focus of this website is on preaching, not science. Our job is to touch upon the hopes, aspirations and fears of our listeners. But a Christian witness to God's Great Story must also be consistent with what we know about the rest of the world. That is why we have included the accompanying articles on cultural pluralism, creation and providence.
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