AFTER FORTY YEARS OF
RESEARCHING YOUNG PEOPLE , GEORGE BARNA
HAS NOW CONCLUDED
THAT THE WORLDVIEW OR
CORE SET OF BELIEFS A CHILD HAS DEVELOPED
BY THE AGE OF THIRTEEN IS
STATISTICALLY
THE WORLDVIEW THEY WILL DIE WITH .
I ’ ll never forget the phone call I received from a hysterical mother whose seventeen-yearold son had just walked into their Christian home and announced he was going to become a woman . They hadn ’ t seen any signs of this happening . He made this decision seemingly out of nowhere . As they resisted his desire , he told the school and hospital that he was going to kill himself because his parents ’ Christian beliefs would not allow them to endorse his decision . After his father endured hours of threatening discussion with a hospital employee , the state took this young man away from his parents and placed him in the home of two lesbians who allowed him to live however he desired . That ’ s pure insanity and a parent ’ s worst nightmare . Lest you think this is an outlier , several states have so-called “ gender-affirming care ,” and the state of California just passed a law that gives the state the authority to take children away from parents who do not allow them to transition . 1
Our children are addicted to screens , porn , and video games in record numbers , and they are anxious , depressed , and suicidal like never before . In the fog of the battle , it can be very difficult to understand where the attacks are coming from and how to combat them . We often get lost in the smoke and don ’ t know what to do . I want to begin by helping you understand from a worldview perspective what we are up against and why you must see the big picture in order to win this fight for the souls of your children .
CLASH OF BELIEF SYSTEMS At the root of the struggle for the souls of our children is an underlying clash of belief systems or what we call worldviews . A worldview is simply the core set of beliefs a person has accepted as true that guides his or her thoughts and actions in life . Several times each year , I have the privilege of speaking at conferences where George Barna is also a speaker . In one of his speeches , Barna states that after forty years of researching young people , he has now concluded that the worldview or core set of beliefs a child has developed by the age of thirteen is statistically the worldview they will die with . 2 Each time I hear Barna make this statement , I am reminded of the importance of investing in the worldview development of our children from the earliest days of their lives .
Senior saints often approach me and ask , “ How in the world could these kids believe what they believe today ?” I tell them it ’ s pretty simple . They were taught certain presuppositions that led them to carry out unthinkable actions in their daily lives . What may seem crazy to Judeo-Christian thinkers seems perfectly normal to them .
For example , on September 11 , 2001 , nineteen young men flew airplanes into buildings and killed thousands of Americans . We ’ d like to believe these young men had a mental illness or some other reason to do something so evil that would exclude them from guilt . However , as I have studied their actions over the years , I have concluded they did exactly what they wanted to do for one simple reason . Their minds were molded into believing a completely false worldview from the time they were small children . Adults instilled in these children the belief that if they killed infidels , God would be pleased with them and reward them greatly . They lived out their worldview to the fullest degree possible .
Every child represented by those of you reading this book is in the process of developing his or her worldview ( core set of beliefs ). The question is not , “ Will my child develop a worldview ?” The question is simply , “ Which worldview will my child develop ?” Foundational beliefs are being developed right now that will determine the decisions your children will make and how they will live . If we fail to teach our children the truth , the devil will make sure someone is there to tell them his lies , and they will end up living destructive lives and falling short of the meaningful life God has intended for them .
All worldviews are simply attempts to answer the greatest questions of life . Questions like : Who has ultimate authority in this world ? Where did we come from ? What is our purpose in life ? Who makes the rules , and what rules should all humans live by ? What does it mean to be human ? What makes up a family ? Why is there so much evil ? Is there any way to fix what is broken in this world ? Life ’ s questions go on and on .
We define a worldview by how it answers these questions . Again , all worldviews , including atheism , have some kind of answer to the major questions of life . The devil and the people he controls in this world are determined to shape your children ’ s worldview or belief system in a way that will forever lead them away from God and His truth . This is a life-and-death battle that we must not take lightly .
A biblical worldview understands reality within the context of God ’ s good design , as discovered in God ’ s Word , the Holy Bible . An unbiblical worldview rejects God ’ s truth , and a hybrid worldview adopts some of God ’ s truth along with unbiblical ideas . Many of us have a hybrid worldview , meaning we implement God ’ s truth into our daily lives in certain areas but embrace unbiblical ideas in other areas because of secularized
22 THE RENEWANATION REVIEW