One of the most important components in a person’s life which informs and drives his thoughts and actions is his/her worldview. Each person has one. Each person has a collection of beliefs, feelings, personal preferences, thoughts, and opinions about how life should be lived individually and in conjunction with others so that life is filled with meaning, purpose, and fulfillment. A person’s worldview can change depending on how he or she responds to life experiences and voices around them.
Whereas I have pondered much about the role of worldview in individual lives, it was not until recently that I have given any thought to the fact that governments, thus nations, are also established, founded upon, and maintained by a given worldview. And like the worldviews of individuals, a government’s worldview can also change. We’ve seen that very thing happen in our nation over recent years. What triggered my thoughts about our nation’s worldview was a description of the original worldview written by Noah Webster (1758-1843). Webster is known as the Founder of American Education and was the creator of the standard format for dictionaries. He was 18 when the Declaration was signed and from his home in New England, he watched our nation grow from infancy through years of growing pains to a place where the United States was a player in the international scene. His strong faith was evident when he wrote, “Every civil government is based upon some religion or philosophy of life…In America, the foundational religion was Christianity…Our liberty, growth, and prosperity was the result of a biblical philosophy of life.”1
Let’s unpack for a moment what Webster said.
- “Every civil government is based upon some religion or philosophy of life.” In other words, every government is created out of a worldview. The founding of our government is evidence of that. There were core values and core beliefs, such as individual freedom and self-government, which motivated and inspired our founding fathers to risk their possessions and even their lives to sign the Declaration of Independence, to fight and win a war with England against great odds, and then to endure the struggles that came with creating a government that represented their worldview.
- “In America, the foundational religion was Christianity.” According to Webster, Judeo- Christian values were a major part of the worldview which guided the creation of our government, and then guided the everyday functioning of that government. There are those today who seek to prove Webster wrong, but there is too much evidence in our founding documents and in the writings of our founding fathers to deny it. Following are just three examples I believe give evidence to that reality:
- One of the foundational statements of the Judeo-Christian worldview is found in the first sentence of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights….” That opening declaration is grounded in Genesis 1:26-27. There the Bible says, “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” What makes the rights that are listed in the Declaration of Independence to be “unalienable” is that every person who is conceived is created in the image of God and thus has inherent value that should be protected – beginning with the right to live, to be free, and to pursue happiness. Our government’s main role is to ensure those rights.
- Our legal system is influenced by parts of Old Testament law given by Moses to the Israelites which deal with relationships between individuals, and with individuals’ relationships with another person’s personal possessions (cf. Exodus 20-23). For example: differentiation between premeditated murder and involuntary manslaughter, the degree of evidence required to convict a person (especially evidence given by eyewitnesses), and the punishments and restitutions required for stolen or damaged personal property.
- A pastor friend a number of years ago helped me see the biblical worldview behind the checks and balances built into our Constitution. These checks and balances allow and enable the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of our government to keep an eye on each other and to hold one another accountable and in line. Hence, we have what seems to be endless Congressional investigations of the Executive Branch. The Christian worldview behind them is that all men are sinners and fall short of the glory of God. Wherever power and financial resources are found, so is the potential for corruption. Keeping an eye on each other in Washington therefore is essential.
Sadly, for a number of reasons, as we prepare to celebrate our nation’s 248th birthday in just a few days, we no longer live in the USA of Noah Webster. In many respects, Christianity is no longer a major influencer in our nation’s worldview. That being the case, what then should God’s people do? Should we lament, “What’s the use?”, throw up our hands and throw in the towel? Never! God have mercy on us if we ever do. Instead, we should daily make sure that Jesus is Lord of our lives, daily make sure we live up to the standards of His worldview, and use whatever channels are available to us as free citizens to influence laws, policies, and mindsets. Especially, we should vote for those who work from a Judeo-Christian worldview.
Most importantly we should pray for those in authority as 1 Timothy 2:1-4 instructs us when it says, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Does that mean that God expects us to pray for a leader even when the leader is leading from an ungodly worldview? Yes, especially then.
1 Websters Dictionary1628.com as first cited in In Other Words…iows.net.
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