In part I of this posting, I gave you a basic understanding of what a worldview is and how it can seriously affect one’s thinking, attitudes and actions. In this posting, I am going to show you some examples of how deeply entrenched the non-Biblical worldview is today, and show you that there are some people who will never accept the truth no matter what the evidence says.
What glasses do you wear?
What about the facts?
Facts can be very important things, but two people wearing two different sets of glasses can look at the exact same facts and come to completely different conclusions. When you are talking to people about your faith, the facts alone are not enough to win them over. You have to show them why their worldview is wrong. In some cases showing someone that their worldview is wrong and that the facts speak against their worldview will not matter. Let me give you an example of this.
Several years ago the youth group lead by Shaun LePage (some of you know how long ago that was) went to a worldview conference in Colleyville, and I was able to go with my oldest son. There was a person there giving a talk on the facts of creation, and he told us about giving the same talk at a very liberal college. After his talk, a biology professor came to him, and they had a conversation similar to this (paraphrase as best I remember):
Professor: Your evidence for creation is very compelling, and I can see where some of it makes sense. But I am still going to teach evolution to my students.
Speaker: Why? You have just admitted that the evidence for creation makes sense. Why would you still want to teach something that you know may not be true?
Professor: It is quite simple; if I accept the facts of creation, then I have to accept the fact that there may be a creator. If I accept the fact that there is a creator, then I have to accept the fact that he makes the rules, expects me to live my life a certain way and expects things from me. I want to do things my way.
When I heard this I think it was the first time I had a clear understanding that the argument is not about facts but about what people want to believe or what people have been taught to believe from very early in life (remember we lose a lot of our kids by middle school or earlier.) The world today has forced a set of non-Biblical glasses on our children and they are very hard to remove.
How do you talk to someone who has a different worldview?
As you can see from that conversation above there may be nothing you can say to some people to show them they may be wrong, but you should not let that stand in the way of talking to people. Our job is to be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks of the faith within us (1 Peter 3:15). It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict them.
Proverbs 26:4-5 says
4) Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him. 5) Answer a fool according to his folly, Lest he be wise in his own eyes.
As you can see from the figure above, if we use the same standard as the person we are talking to, we will end up looking just as foolish as they do. If we do not compromise on our Biblical worldview then we will be able to show that person that their worldview does not make sense. Most of the time you will find that people do not see the logical conclusion their position will take them to or they do not understand where their position is really based on Biblical principles. There is one thing to note here. These verses are saying that people with a non-Biblical worldview are fools. Scripture talks about a foolish person (or a fool) as one who has willingly turned his back on God or does not want to know the truth. Do not think that this is trying to demean the unbeliever in any way.
Don’t answer, Answer strategy
How do you get people to see that their worldview does not make sense? A strategy you can use is the “Don’t answer, Answer” strategy. This will help you to show the other person why their worldview is wrong and where it can lead. For example, you will sometimes hear people say something like “Creation is not true, and it is not right for you to lie to children and tell them it is.”
The “Don’t answer” part of this would be something like:
“I do not agree that creation is not true and we are not lying to children about creation.”
With this kind of a response you do not have to go into details of why creation is true and getting side tracked from the real issue as that is what the other person is expecting (or hoping) you will do. Unless you are well prepared to argue the facts of creation you should try to avoid doing so. Also, if you get into some of those arguments it will be easy to get side tracked by the other person, and your frustration level will rise making it very hard to respond in “gentleness and reverence” as we are instructed to do in 1 Peter 3:15 (I am speaking from personal experience).
The “Answer part” could be something like this:
I do not agree that creation is not true, and we are not lying to children about creation. But for the sake of argument, according to your worldview why would it be wrong to lie to children? Lying is wrong because it is contrary to God’s character, but from a non-Biblical worldview on what basis is it wrong to lie? Especially if it benefits me or make my chances of survival better. I understand that you agree that is wrong to lie, but knowing that lying is wrong would not be possible if the Bible were not true.
What are we saying here? You are respectfully telling the person that you do not agree with their position that teaching creation to children is lying, but if what they are saying were true, why would it be wrong? Based on what authority? What you are trying to show the person is that their position is ultimately based on Biblical principles. This is a somewhat simplistic example, and I will address this in more detail in future posts. As you deal with people who have a non-Biblical worldview, you will hear statements such as “what is right for you may not be right for me.” This is moral relativism, and it can be a very dangerous position for someone to take. A simple response to this could go something like this:
I do not agree that what is right for one person may not be right for others. There are absolute standards that everyone has to live by. But if what you are saying is true, then I am going to kill you then take your money and your car.
What do you think a person’s response to something like that would be? Maybe “You cannot do that” or “it is wrong to kill someone and take their stuff.” Your response would be “that may be right for you but for me it is OK because I need a car and some money.” While again this is an extreme example, it will help to show the other person where their thinking may lead and that outside of the Biblical absolutes (Exodus 20:13, Exodus 20:15) they have no grounds to stand on.
Summary, Part II
In part I you saw how a person’s worldview can affect the way they think, act and treat others. In part II you saw that the type of glasses or filters you have affects your worldview and that for some people no facts are going to change the glasses they wear. You also saw that the facts alone will not convince people. It is helpful to know the facts to help your position, but ultimately you have to show that person that their worldview is dependant on Biblical principles and where the logical progression of their worldview can lead.
This can be a hard concept to master but with some practice it can be done. For more information on the “Don’t answer, Answer” strategy please refer to the Fool-Proof Apologetics article on the Answers In Genesis website (that is where some of this information came from). There is also a great video series and articles on the “Ultimate Proof of Creation” that helps you to better understand what to listen for and how to respond to people using the Don’t Answer, Answer strategy.
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