Understanding Worldviews
Learn what people believe. Listen well. Make Jesus known.
Jesus gave His followers the Great Commission:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…" Mat 28:19
When we share Jesus with people who believe differently from us, it helps to understand how they see God, the world, themselves and the meaning of life. But the goal isn't to become experts at winning arguments.
The people we meet are made in the image of God, and God loves them just as much as He loves you.
Our command is to love God and love people. Sometimes loving someone means caring enough to listen carefully, understand what they believe, and lovingly tell them the truth about Jesus.
Explore a Worldview
There are countless religions, philosophies, spiritual movements, and combinations of beliefs in the world.
This section does not attempt to cover every religion or worldview you may encounter. Instead, it focuses on several of the major worldviews and religious traditions you are likely to encounter, giving you a starting point for understanding the ideas that shape people's beliefs.
The descriptions are only a starting point. The person in front of you is more important than the category they identify with. People may disagree with parts of their religious tradition, combine ideas from different worldviews, or have beliefs that don't fit neatly into any category.
Learn the worldview - then listen to the person.
People Who Don't Believe or Aren't Sure
Many people don't identify with a religion at all. They may be unsure whether God exists, believe there is no God, or simply have never considered these questions deeply.
Their questions may involve evidence, science, morality, suffering, meaning, consciousness, or whether God can actually be known.
Agnosticism
Understand the worldview of someone who is uncertain whether God exists. Explore questions about knowledge, evidence, science, meaning, and whether it is possible to know God.
Atheism
Explore common atheist views of God, science, morality, meaning, suffering, and the origin of the universe, and consider how these ideas can open meaningful conversations about Jesus.
Religious and Spiritual Traditions
Many people understand reality through a religious or spiritual tradition. These traditions can have very different ideas about God, humanity, sin, suffering, salvation, and what happens after death.
Buddhism
Understand the central teachings and worldview of Buddhism, including suffering, desire, karma, reincarnation, enlightenment, and the different Buddhist traditions.
Hinduism
Explore the diverse beliefs and traditions within Hinduism, including its views of God and the gods, karma, dharma, reincarnation, the self, and liberation.
New Age
Understand the diverse beliefs commonly associated with New Age spirituality, including consciousness, energy, manifestation, astrology, reincarnation, spiritual beings, and discovering the divine within.
One God
Judaism, Islam, and Sikhism all affirm belief in one God, while differing significantly in their understanding of God, revelation, Scripture, humanity, sin, salvation, and Jesus.
Understanding these differences is particularly important when speaking with someone who already believes in God and may already have a religious framework for thinking about spiritual questions.
Judaism
Explore Jewish beliefs concerning God, Scripture, covenant, sin, sacrifice, the Messiah, and redemption, and understand the Jewish context in which Jesus and the New Testament emerged.
Islam
Understand Islamic beliefs concerning Allah, Muhammad, the Quran, sin, judgement, salvation, and the identity of Jesus, including important points of connection and difference with Christianity.
Sikhism
Understand Sikh beliefs concerning God, the Gurus, Scripture, karma, human identity, devotion, and liberation, and the ways Sikhism differs from Christianity.
Christianity and the Gospel
A person may identify as Christian because of their faith, family, upbringing, culture, or nationality. A shared label doesn't necessarily mean that two people have the same understanding of the gospel.
We should never assume that someone who calls themselves Christian isn't a Christian. Instead, we should listen, ask questions, understand what they actually believe, and be willing to show from Scripture what the Bible teaches about Jesus and the gospel.
Catholicism
Understand Catholic beliefs and practices, including Scripture and tradition, the sacraments, the Church, Mary, justification, and salvation, and explore the significant differences between Catholic teaching and the gospel as understood from Scripture.
What Does the Bible Say?
Explore what the Bible teaches about the gospel, salvation, faith, repentance, following Jesus, and what it means to be a Christian. Use Scripture as the foundation for examining what we believe and how we live.
How to use these guides
These guides are not a substitute for talking with people.
Use them to:
- Learn - Get familiar with what a worldview teaches.
- Listen - Find out what the person in front of you actually believes.
- Ask - Give them space to explain their beliefs, experiences, and questions.
- Love - Treat them with dignity and respect because they are made in the image of God.
- Share Jesus - Look for opportunities to explain the truth and hope of the gospel.
You don't need to have an answer to every question. You don't need to know everything about someone's religion. And you don't need to win an argument. You need to be willing to take a step of faith and make Jesus known.
The Holy Spirit is your guide.
As you step out in faith, ask Him for wisdom, compassion, courage, and the right words.
He can lead you in conversations, bring questions to mind, and show you opportunities to speak about Jesus.
Trust Him. Listen to Him. Take the step.
Love them enough to tell the truth
Jesus commanded us to love God and love our neighbour. That means our conversations should be marked by both love and truth.
We don't share the gospel because we think we are better than someone else. We share it because Jesus is Lord, because the gospel is true, and because God loves the people in front of us.
We can listen without compromising the truth. We can disagree without being disrespectful. We can speak the truth without losing compassion. And we can trust God with the result.
"For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord…" (2 Cor 4:5)
The goal isn't simply to understand their worldview - it is to make Jesus known.