Thought for Today
Deuteronomy 15:9 Be careful that you do not entertain a mean thought, thinking, "The seventh year, the year of remission, is near," and therefore view your needy neighbor with hostility and give nothing; your neighbor might cry to the LORD against you, and you would incur guilt.
Daniel 9:16 O Lord, in view of all your righteous acts, let your anger and wrath, we pray, turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; because of our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors,
2 Corinthians 5:16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way.
2 Timothy 4:1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you:
Recently, I encountered the phrase “Christian perspective.” I don’t remember where; I don’t remember the context; I don’t even specifically remember when I did. But, I did jot that phrase down on a pad next to my computer where I note things of interest about which I might want to ponder and even write.
Interestingly, the word ‘perspective’ does not appear in the Bible. The word means, “1. a. : a mental view or prospect; b. a visible scene; 2.a. the interrelation in which a subject or its parts are mentally viewed; b. the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance . . .” (www.merriam-webster.com) I suspect the usage I recently encountered was in terms of 2a, i.e., a point of view.
What is a “Christian perspective?” “A Christian perspective is one that views the world through a biblical lens, using Scripture to illuminate traditional philosophical disputes and addressing fundamental questions about existence and morality. It is a worldview that stands on its integrity and transcends the secular perspective” (word search using MSBing).
In seminary, I took a course titled “Christian Worldview.” It was the first time and place I ever even read or heard the word ‘worldview.” If you are not familiar with that word, it simply refers to how one views the world, to your perspective on the world in which you live. By that understanding, a Christian worldview or Christian perspective would be an understanding of our world through the ‘lenses’ of the Christian Bible. By our self-identification as Christians, we are defining our selves as followers of Jesus, the Christ, as revealed in the New Testament. Implicit in that, of course, is that we also read, accept and follow the teachings of the Old Testament, as did Jesus himself.
I am obviously biased; however, I do not view that as a bad thing. In the secular world, the Christian perspective or worldview is far too often easily dismissed. It is mentioned casually and with negative semantic context, somehow implying its impracticality, simplicity and otherworldliness.
For all Christians, trying to codify and organize what we mean by our Christian perspective can be challenging. Inherent in any such attempt is the obvious issue of whether all Christian perspectives are the same or even similar. Is my Christian perspective, as an ordained Presbyterian minister serving a Congregational church the same as that of a (fill in the blank)? Can Catholics have the same Christian perspective as do Methodists, Presbyterians have the same as Southern Baptists?
I believe the answer is a resounding “YES!” I believe a true Christian perspective is one based on "Luke 10:27 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." A true Christian worldview must include a response to “Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." That sounds like a pretty great sort of worldview and even better sort of world.
Stay safe, be deliberate in your faith, trust God,
Pastor Ray