The purpose of this book is to explain the "formation and impact of worldview". The book explains that a worldview is a "set of glasses through which you see and interact with the world around you."
Chapter one explains the importance of having a worldview that is both "personal and dynamic". This means that each and every person has a worldview that belongs to them personally, but it affects those around them dynamically. Based upon your personal beliefs, you can begin to impact the world around you.
A person's worldview is something that can be formed in any number of ways. For most people, their worldview is founded upon the beliefs and standards of their parents and family members. For others, their worldview is formed and shaped by the sculpting of their friends, teachers, or other influential people in their life. Although the foundation of a worldview is different for different people, the fact that worldview is affected by later events in life remains the same. Throughout everyone's life, their worldview is affected by people and events, tragedies and happiness. It is very easy for a specific person to affect someone's worldview, but it is just as likely that certain landmarks in their life can affect them aswell. Sometimes, it is just a slow, moderate process to mold someone's worldview... the combination of everyday life contributes a worldview. A worldview is prone to continual change.
Three dynamic topics shape someone's worldview- God, Man, and Existence. The three of these combined make up someone's basic worldview. In my opinion, God is the most important of these, because God is the ultimate. Without God there is nothing, and with God there is everything. Therefore, I believe that God shapes and forms the worldview of the other two topics.
Another thing that affects an individuals worldview is life itself. Money, work, family, education, government, art, music, sex, and leisure all affect an individual's worldview. For each person, it is differemt. Different parts of life affect people differently. For me, family is the most important. Family influences my worldview more than any other aspect of these things in life (although most of them definately play a huge part in it's formation). That is why it is so important to me to have healthy relationships with my family... (that is why it will be so important to me to marry someone with a strong, Christian family, because family is so important to me).
Well, there is a brief summary of my thoughts regarding chapter one of the book A Clear View. I hope that you will realize the importance of your worldview, and it's relationship to your Faith. Thanks for reading some of my thoughts on this topic, and I hope that you will discover for yourself what it means to have a worldview built on Christ!
God is bigger,
Shelby
(many thoughts and examples are based upon the book A Clear View)
