Cradle Worldview

Ezra Institute's July 11-17 Worldview Youth Academy will provide the spiritual and intellectual firepower to combat and vanquish the competing anti-Christian worldview.

Jun 14, 2025

The simplest definition of worldview is one’s view of the world. Worldviews are like pancreases. Everybody has one, whether he knows it or not. Worldview is the way humans interpret reality. David Hume was wrong in his view that knowledge is the consequence of sense impressions as they bombard our mind. Immanuel Kant was closer to the truth when he observed the mind carries pre-established mental categories which interpret external sense impressions. The mind includes the parking spaces for the vehicles (sense impressions) that enter it. Kant didn’t invent the idea of worldview, though he did popularize it. It's actually a biblical idea, though of course the word doesn't appear in the Bible. As I wrote in “What is Christian Worldview?”:

In Romans 12:1–2, Paul writes that we’re to be renewed by the transformation of our minds, that is, our mind should be molded by Jesus Christ in his word. We also learn from 1 Corinthians 2:14 that “a natural person [unbeliever] does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Those spiritually discerning Christians Paul spoke about have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) — they interpret all of reality, all of creation, as Christ revealed it. Our spiritual condition molds all our knowledge.

Obviously worldview, and certainly a full-fledged worldview, is not something we’re born with; we're born with a capacity for worldview, but not a worldview. We are born sinners, however, and therefore we are skewed from the cradle toward an anti-Christian worldview: an anti-Christian worldview is the default mental construction of unredeemed humanity. Therefore, if there is to be a Christian worldview, it must be instilled, as well as imparted by the Holy Spirit. Instilling worldview is the job of pastors and teachers – and especially the job of parents. Worldview starts in the cradle. Children who grow up as non-Christian adults ordinarily began developing a Christian worldview at their (non-Christian) mother's breast. Analogously, most Christians who embrace a consistently Christian worldview had that worldview inculcated into them by their (Christian) parents. They are the benefactors by grace of a cradle Christian worldview.

The vast majority of faithful adult Christians were born into and reared within a Christian home and church. We’re all born sinners, so nobody is a cradle Christian in an unqualified sense, but we can be born into the Christian covenant. And those born into the Christian covenant are much more inclined to continue in God's covenant ways than those who were not. Cradle worldview is not neutral: it cuts toward either Christianity or non-Christianity, faith or unbelief, obedience or rebellion. If your mission is Christian adults walking with in Christian worldview, start worldview nourishment in the cradle. Bring children up “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). This requires the discipline and instruction of Christian worldview.

Worldview Youth Academy, July 11-17

My friends at the Ezra Institute will be hosting the annual U.S. Worldview Youth Academy (WYA) July 11-17 (the Canadian WYA will be July 20-25). CCL has partnered with Ezra for many years on many events, and this one is no exception: I'll be addressing the attendees several times. My topics include “The Growth and Decline of Western Philosophy” and “Critical Theory and the Sexual Revolution.” If you think these seemingly arcane topics are far removed from instilling a Christian worldview, think again. The WYA is for high school students ages 14–18, and therefore is removed from the cradle – but not too far removed. Young people at this age are at an exceedingly formative phase of their lives, and what they embrace in these crucial years will shape the rest of their lives. Almost everything outside their Christian home and church wars against the Christian worldview: antinomianism, hedonism, Darwinism, Cultural Marxism, materialism, at many other facets of the predominant anti-Christian worldview compete for their attention and loyalty. Christian teenagers won’t simply drift into Christian worldview; it must be inculcated by teachers spiritually and intellectually and theologically qualified to love and care for them and model Christian faith and the Christian worldview. This is what the WVA is all about. We provide the spiritual and intellectual firepower so Christian teens not only can combat but also vanquish the competing anti-Christian worldview surrounding them.

If you care about the future of your teens and about the Christian church and, indeed, our country, plan to send your young people. Churches, why not fund a scholarship? In helping send teens to the WVA, you are investing in the future, in Christian culture. Can you think of many better ways to spend your money?

In addition to the worldview lectures and panel discussions and one-on-one time with us speakers. There will be plenty of time for recreation ion the lovely Smoky Mountains of greater Gatlinburg:

Bonfires and hiking
Great food!
Sand volleyball, basketball, tennis, etc and open fields for group games
Pool and pond with canoes, kayaks, etc.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Family hikes to Laurel Falls, Clingmans Dome, and Cades Cove
Wildlife viewing and scenic drives
Tree canopy walks, ziplines, and a mountain coaster
Botanical gardens and interactive nature exhibits
Firepit areas and scenic overlooks for family relaxation
Wildlife encounter and mini-golf
Gatlinburg Space Needle
There are also countless shops and restaurants in the area.

Please enroll in the WVA today. There are still a handful of places left as I write this.

I’m eager to see many of you there.

Silver Anniversary Celebration

CCL is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Our Silver Anniversary Celebration will be in San Francisco December 6. Because of space limitations, attendance is capped at 175. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime event. Please text Elise Kloster at 214-846-0521 to reserve your place. Interested teenagers are invited. More details later.

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