Worldviews and Culture:
Interacting with Charles Kraft, N. T. Wright, & Scripture

by Rev. Ralph Allan Smith

Conclusion

In this essay, I have offered criticism of Charles Kraft and a short introduction to N. T. Wright in order to consider the Biblical idea of worldview and its relation to culture. I have tried to show that Kraft's ideas about culture, which Carl F. H. Henry rightly criticizes as relativistic, go astray in part because Kraft regards worldview as a cultural product, and therefore relative to society. If we follow N. T. Wright's analysis of worldview and add to it a covenantal perspective on worldview, we are led in a very different direction. Worldview is basically a covenantal perspective because all men have covenantal psychology and all societies are governed by covenantal conditions.

These conclusions are important for missionaries in particular. If missionaries are going to be successful in preaching the Gospel in foreign nations, one of the most basic priorities is to offer a new story of the world. The Gospel is not a mere philosophy or a set of rules. It is first of all a story of what God has done, is doing and will do. To really tell the story of Christ, we must begin with the story of creation. The story of the world and of God's saving work in His people is the foundation for building a new Christian culture. There is a Christian worldview that all Christians can and should hold in common. There are also cultural particulars that will be different because we all have different histories. We will apply the Christian worldview in different ways and expound it with different emphases. But if we follow the Bible, Christians in modern Africa or Asia will recognize their affinity with the ancient Hebrews, with the North African Augustine and the French John Calvin. Christians of all ages and places form one community because they share one faith, one baptism, and one Spirit. It is into that unity of fellowship that Christian missionaries and pastors seek to lead their congregations.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Charles Kraft
• Worldview and Culture
• Worldview and Worldviews
• Worldview and Theology
• Worldview and Covenant
• Conclusion