An artificial-intelligence “expert” is predicting that by 2050, “we’ll be creating robots so lifelike, so imbued with human-seeming intelligence and emotions, as to be nearly indistinguishable from real people. And we’ll have sex with these robots. Some of us will even marry them. And it will all be good.”

Everyone, without exception, has an inherent “worldview” - the filter through which they view reality. It is their roadmap for understanding how and why everything works; their guide to the cosmos so to speak. Some worldviews are quite simplistic; i.e., that of a 5-year old child, while others are necessarily complex. It shapes how we think and act every moment. If, for example, my worldview includes belief in a sovereign God, then I’ll be more inclined to seek and to obey the will of that God than to follow the whims of my own intuition. Our worldview tells us what is real, what is important, what is right, and what is wrong.

Your worldview will dictate what you do, how you do it, and why you do it. For example, if one’s worldview believes that man is inherently good (i.e., rejects the biblical doctrine of original sin), there are powerful consequences. Virtually all problems that exist in society, must be externally induced as opposed to being internally originated. Thus, the solution(s) must also be external … better education, better health care, more money, better jobs, etc.

One’s worldview either accurately reflects reality or is deficient in some area(s). And deficient worldviews can be devastating. David Levy’s worldview obviously includes the conviction that sex is merely a pleasureable phsyical act. From his perspective, the notion of sex with robots is a logical (even necessary) deduction. Carrying it even further, it’s easy under this worldview to then justify such practices as beastiality (sex with animals) or necrophilia (sex with corpses).

Unfortunately, many Christians fail to grasp the practical importance of their worldview. A survey by the Barna Research Group, if accurate, reflects that only 4% of American adults have a Biblical worldview - which centers around belief that absolute truth exists, and this truth can be found in the Bible. It comes as no surprise that Barna found those with a Biblical worldview live according to a much higher moral standard than those without such a worldview.

The vast majority of Christians probably believe they have a Biblical worldview, but the most unsettling finding of Barna’s study was that only 9% of born again Christians have a truly Biblical worldview. That is to say, only 9% of those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior and committed their life to Him have learned to think as He thought.

A Biblical worldview is not something that is automatically appended to the Christian at the moment of justification. It comes only over time through diligent effort on the part of the believer. Contrary to what some Christians believe, a Biblical worldview is not merely pie-in-the-sky theology; it’s has enormous practical import. Why would anyone want to have a biblical worldview? After all, the Bible was written millenia ago, when people saw the world in pre-scientific terms. Why would we want to think in terms that seem so antique?

The best reason for adopting a biblical worldview is that it reflects the truth about reaility - i.e., what is. If we believe in a Sovereign God, for example, our belief system reflects reality. (Or at least it does to the extent that we have the ability to conceive of God truthfully.) To put it simply, if you have a biblical worldview, you will live better. You’ll tend to make better choices. And you won’t embarrass yourself by being blown around by the latest trend or fad.

The beginning of a genuine biblical worldview is the one, true God as revealed in Scripture. A true worldview that accurately reflects reality must begin with the Architect of reality. If your understanding of the Creator is shallow and superficial, your worldview is also necessarily shallow and superficial.

Consider just the first three chapters of the first book in the Bible, the book of Genesis. From Genesis 1-3 we learn the following, all crucial components of a biblical worldview:

1. There is one transcendent, sovereign, all-powerful God who created all things.

2. Matter matters, because God created heaven and earth and saw that all things he created are very good.

3. The image of God as male and female shows us that God is personal (not a thing or an it) and yet transcendent (not exclusively male or exclusively female).

4. The image of God as male and female shows us that we human beings are: uniquely valuable; essentially male or female; meant to share life together in a complementary relationship as men and women; created for life in community.

5. What’s really wrong with us is not our environment, but sin - our rejection of God’s rightful rule over our lives, seen in actions that disobey God. Sin explains what’s wrong in the world. Sin leads to brokenness between humans, between humans and God, and in creation itself.

7. A Biblical worldview does not minimize or deny the reality of pain and evil, but even the bad news of Genesis 3 offers glimmers of hope. God has not abandoned his creation or his people, but seeks us out. Jesus will ultimately crush the head of serpent, eradicating both sin and its consequences.

With only the first 3 chapters (a fraction of the whole of Scripture!) we already lay a crucial foundation for a true worldview.

One can be one of the most intelligent people on the planet like David Levy. His predictive conclusions, as troubling as they may be be to some, make perfect sense from the worldview in which he operates. But a false worldview is ultimately akin to playing Russian Roulette: it may seem harmless and even exciting as long as an empty revolver chamber comes up. But sooner or later, reality is going to destroy you and the fun and games are over.

Scripture is filled with people who while apparently true believers, suffered the consequences of false worldviews - people like Samson in the Old Testament or Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-10. We are warned in 1 Cor 3:10-15 of believers who in the final judgment, will suffer loss of all potential reward and will themselves be saved as one “escaping through the flames.”

Amidst a culture and world that is spiraling out of control, the rudder for the believer is a solidified Biblical worldview. If you follow Jesus, get to know Him and how He thinks. Start thinking like Him. And that happens only if we take the time and effort to cultivate a Biblical worldview.
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Bob Pratico
Fides Quaerens Intellectum
(my Sojourn blog)