One hears much these days about "Christian worldview" - the term "worldview" denoting a framework of understanding wherein life's essential interests become definable in terms of fundamental truth, moral principle, meaningful social and political pursuit, etc.
Throughout its history the Church has frequently struggled in determining its proper relationship to the world and its related concerns. For some, answer has been seen as lying in total isolation from the world (physically, socially and/or psychologically), while others have frequently become so caught up in the flow of earthly mindset and order as to become essentially indistinguishable from the surrounding world and its values system.
In his "High Priestly Prayer," Jesus describes the believer as being "in the world... but not of the world" (John 17:11-21). This has much to say here in that spiritual or social withdrawal from the world fails of the believer's assigned role "in the world" ("salt, light," etc.), while the contrasting extreme falls short of a mandated sense of distinction - "not of the world."
What then of a "Christian worldview?" In "loving the Lord your God" with a totality of being and serving the interests of others with an intensity commensurate that of one's own concerns, Jesus defined the underlying intent of "the law and the prophets" (Matt. 22:37-40). Within such frame of reference, the values, principles and priorities essential to a "Christian worldview" are likewise established.
Burl Ratzsch
