I will now test a few different belief systems. In this short series I will not be able to delve into extensive details on each viewpoint. I will begin by testing the Christian worldview. The answers will be brief.
God – Who and what is God? Does God exist?
- God is a personal being.
- God has revealed himself in creation, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, and the Bible.
- One God subsists in three persons Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; co-equal and co-eternal.
Ultimate Reality – How does your worldview explain the existence of reality? How did the universe come about? Is it eternal or did it come into existence at some point in time? Does reality exist or is it an illusion?
- God is the creator of the material universe.
- God is transcendent from his creation and yet, He is immanent (Separate but is actively involved).
Origin of life – How did life begin? How did we get here?
- God is the creator of all life.
- God made humans in His image (character traits, rationality, etc.).
Ethics – What is the basis for morality? Where do moral truths come from?
- All morality comes from the nature of God.
- God is morally perfect.
- All humans are born with a sin nature (original sin).
Death – What happens when we die?
- All human souls continue to live beyond death.
- All souls will face judgment for sins committed during their lifetime.
- Those who trust Jesus, He pays for their sins.
- Heaven is for followers of Christ. Hell is separation from God for all eternity. A place for those who don’t trust Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins.
- Sinners will not be forced into heaven. They will be given what they desire; separation from God for all eternity.
Problem of evil – Does evil exist? What is the source of evil?
- All good comes from the very nature of God.
- God allows human free choice and evil results from bad choices.
- God is not the author of evil but allows evil to exist so free choice is real.
- God has good reasons for allowing evil.
Meaning to Life – Do we have a purpose and what is it?
- Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever[1].
- Followers are to live like Jesus and tell others about Him.
- Life’s meaning comes from loving God and serving others.
Knowledge – Where does knowledge come from?
- God is the basis for all logic and reasoning.
- God has given us an immaterial mind to develop and utilize knowledge and reasoning skills.
Then each of these answers needs to be given the REAL test questions:
- REASON: Do any answers violate reason or logic? None that I am aware of.
- EXPERIENCE: Does your answer match the way we perceive or experience the world? The answers seem to fit the world as we experience it. One example would be the doctrine of original sin. Christianity teaches every person is born in sin, passed down from Adam. If this is true then we would expect every person in the history of the world to have a dark side; to make moral mistakes in some way. I believe this is verified very early on. You don’t have to teach your children to be selfish. They come out of the womb saying “I want it! Give it to me!” I can say with confidence a perfect person, other than Jesus Christ, has never lived. This is exactly what you’d expect if original sin was true.
- AUTHORITY: By what authority are you basing your answers? Primarily on the teachings of the Bible. Evidence in support of the Bible can be found at my series called: Is God the Author of the Bible?
- LIVE: Can you consistently live by your viewpoint? YES. A follower of Jesus can live consistently but not perfectly.
The Christian worldview can compete in the marketplace of ideas. It can answer some of life’s toughest questions. In fact among all the religions of the world, I believe it is the one who makes the strongest case for the truthfulness of its beliefs.
In my next couple of posts I will examine other belief systems such as atheism, Hinduism, Mormonism, and Islam.
Go to part 4
[1] Westminster Shorter Catechism
