What is a Christian worldview?
And why do we urgently need to understand it?

Welcome to the nerve-centre of ccfwebsite.com.

No other part of the CCF's work is more important than this 'Worldview' project

Most churchgoers are not equipped to understand the Christian worldview.

Most Christian students - who may be actively involved in their Christian Unions - do not apply their Christian faith to their field of study.

The great evangelist J Gresham Machen wrote: "False ideas are the greatest obstacles to the reception of the gospel. We may preach with all the fervour of a reformer and yet succeed only in winning a straggler here or there, if we permit the whole collective thought of a nation or of the world to be controlled by ideas which by the resistless force of logic, prevent Christianity from being regarded as anything more than a harmless delusion."

And over the decades since those words were written we have allowed "the collective thought of our world" to be increasingly godless.

This is a betrayal of the Commandment to love God with all of our mind (Matthew 22:37). We are called to understand how God's teaching applies to all of Creation: the natural world, science, business, education, politics, the arts. In God in the Dock, C S Lewis urges believers to contend for truth in all walks of life and writes: "What we want is not more little books about Christianity, but more little books by Christians on other subjects - with their Christianity latent."

Such engagement with our culture is vital if Christianity is to become plausible again and if the damage caused by the counterfeit ideologies ruling our world is to be exposed.

This menu page briefly introduces three introductory essays to the CCF's exploration of the Christian worldview:

WORLDVIEW INTRODUCTION (1): 'Why do we need the Christian worldview?'

WORLDVIEW INTRODUCTION (2): 'What are the characteristics of the Christian worldview?'

WORLDVIEW INTRODUCTION (3): 'What are the applications of the Christian worldview?'

Each of these three introductory essays - and other worldview materials - can be accessed by clicking on one of the 'related links' at the bottom of this page.

WORLDVIEW INTRODUCTION (1): 'Why do we need the Christian worldview?'

For two clear, connected reasons:

(1) A false worldview becomes a barrier to an acceptance of God's saving grace.

(2) Encapsulated in the doctrine of common grace, God has compassion for the saved and unsaved.

The failure to contend for the Christian worldview in politics has had three particular implications:

(a) Defeat after defeat on individual issues of importance to Christians;

(b) The persistence of a range of social problems in a world dominated by materialist worldviews.

(c) Increasing disillusionment with politics as counterfeit worldviews fail to meet the challenges facing society.

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WORLDVIEW INTRODUCTION (2): 'What are the characteristics of the Christian worldview?'

The following five principles are suggested as key underpinnings of a Christian worldview:

(i) Men and women are created by God for a purpose.

(ii) In Christ dying for every person, God affirms his high view of individual men and women.

(iii)But because human character has been spoilt by sin it needs to be trained to follow God's standards.

(iv) Christianity is fundamentally relational; rather than material - the bias of most worldviews.

(v) There is no neutral worldview; in the absence of a vigorous Christian worldview, counterfeit values fill the vacuum.

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WORLDVIEW INTRODUCTION (3): 'What are the applications of the Christian worldview?'

The CCF has developed four themes which we believe are helpful in understanding how the Christian worldview relates to today's social challenges:

(1) Respect for every human life.

(2) Liberty within community.

(3) Compassion for every neighbour.

(4) Stewardship of Creation.