“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one...”  Ephesians 6:16

“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ...”  2 Corinthians 10:3-5

“I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  Romans 12:1-2

A WORLDVIEW is a framework from which we view reality and make sense of life and the world.

1. Truth? (historical or personal preference)

“The symbol is very simple: it is the belief that there is nothing finer, profounder, more attractive, more reasonable, more courageous and more perfect than Christ.. I tell myself with jealous love that there cannot be. Even if someone were to prove to me that the truth lay outside Christ, I should prefer to remain with Christ than with the truth.”  Doris Dostoyevsky, 1821-1881

“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”  The Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:17-19

2. Creation? (design or cacophony-chaotic mixture)

Design:
“Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart...”  Psalm 119:1-2
“Sam (Samwise Gamgee) saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach. … Now, for a moment, his own fate, and even his master’s (Frodo Baggins), ceased to trouble him. He crawled back into the brambles and laid himself by Frodo’s side, and putting away all fear he cast himself into a deep untroubled sleep.”  J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King, pg.901

Cacophony:
“I have said that in one respect my mind has changed during the last twenty or thirty years. Up to the age of thirty, or beyond it, poetry of many kinds… gave me great pleasure… I have also said that formerly pictures gave me considerable, and music very great delight. But now for many years I cannot endure to read a line of poetry:...Music generally sets me thinking too energetically on what I have been at work on, instead of giving me pleasure. I retain some taste for fine scenery, but it does not cause me the exquisite delight which it formerly did.”  Charles Darwin

Mankind (image bearers or the impersonal)
“Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation…The sacredness of human personality is evident in that God created man in His own image, and in that Christ died for man; therefore, every person of every race possesses full dignity and is worthy of respect and Christian love.”  The Baptist Faith and Message 2000, Article 3

Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 143
Q: Which is the ninth commandment?
A: The ninth commandment is, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Westminster Larger Catechism, Question 144
Q: What are the duties required in the ninth commandment?
A: The duties required in the ninth commandment are,
the preserving and promoting of truth between man and man, and the good name of our neighbor, as well as our own; appearing and standing for the truth; and from the heart, sincerely, freely, clearly, and fully, speaking the truth, and only the truth, in matters of judgment and justice, and in all other things whatsoever; a charitable esteem of our neighbors; loving, desiring, and rejoicing in their good name; sorrowing for and covering of their infirmities; freely acknowledging of their gifts and graces, defending their innocency; a ready receiving of a good report, and unwillingness to admit of an evil report, concerning them; discouraging talebearers, flatterers, and slanderers; love and care of our own good name, and defending it when need requireth; keeping of lawful promises; studying and practicing of whatsoever things are true, honest, lovely, and of good report.

Resources:
The Breifing, Albert Mohler
The World and Everything in It
Carl Trueman, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self
Carl Trueman, Strange New World
Truth Rising, 2025
Daily Declaration