Christian Apologetics

Engaging young minds to think about worldviews

Why is it urgent to teach children how to think correctly?​

There are two main reasons why I think it is urgent to teach young children how to think coherently about worldviews:

(1) Because learning a worldview is inevitable.

(2) Because learning an inconsistent worldview can be subtle.​

​(1) Formulating a worldview is INEVITABLE.

Every child formulates a worldview as he or she grows up. This process is unavoidable for everyone, and I know of no exception. Everyone has a worldview. As John Stonestreet puts it, "The question isn't whether we have a worldview. The question is, which worldview has us."** A worldview is simply how a person looks at reality. And as somebody once said a long time ago, "An unexamined life is not worth living," it is certainly worthwhile to examine and better understand the type of worldview we hope our children will embrace as they grow up.

​(2) Formulating an inconsistent worldview can be SUBTLE.

In the West, unless children are intentionally taught the Biblical worldview when they are young, the ultimate worldview they may likely embrace by the time they grow up will be naturalism—a worldview that I have shown to be inconsistent. And when that happens, some Christian parents react with disbelief, "How did it happen!?"

Well, here is one possible explanation: The process by which children eventually come to embrace the naturalistic worldview of Western culture is a slow and subtle process over many years. Learning naturalism is an unconscious assimilation of the socio-cultural environment of the West. It is usually not "taught" but "caught." Every now and then, our children get to hear the following slogans uttered by their peers and in their public schools, "We evolved from primates," "There is no absolute truth," "There is no absolute morality," "What is right or wrong is relative; it all depends on your upbringing," "Your life has no specific purpose or meaning," "Anything that cannot be proven by science cannot be true," "Science has debunked the myth that God exists," "The Bible is not accurate," "The resurrection of Christ cannot be proven," The list of such cliches is quite endless. Imagine what happens when such cliches are drummed into our children's ears repeatedly throughout their adolescent years. These unsuspecting children are slowly and subtly being indoctrinated to embrace the naturalistic worldview, but never invited to examine it for logical consistency and coherence. So, unless we, as Christian parents and church leaders, intervene early in the lives of our children and make the effort to teach them how to think coherently about worldviews, we shouldn't be surprised if they grow up to distance themselves from the Christian faith to embrace other worldviews.

** John Stonestreet and Brett Kunkle, "A Practical Guide to Culture", David C. Cook, Colorado Springs, 2017