Worldview Differences

Imagine you're a Western tourist driving along an African road. On the side of the road you pass by a white cross with perhaps a flowery wreath hanging around it and a large pile of rocks nearby. You may have a passing thought of, "Oh, there must have been an accident here. I wonder who died." But you're busy on your way so you fly past and continue on toward your destination.

Shortly thereafter, a black cow steps out in the middle of the road in front of you. You quickly hit the brakes and swerve to avoid hitting the intruder. Then, a bit annoyed and your heart beating a little faster, you probably think, "Wow, TIA! They should really put some fences along this road to keep the cows away. I could've hit that thing!" Perhaps when you get back home you tell stories of your adventure and the novel antiquity of these African roads where you must beware of livestock wandering out in front of you.

Now reimagine this scenario from a Herero perspective. A traditional Herero man is driving along the road and passes by a white cross with a large pile of rocks nearby. Further down the road a black cow steps out into the road in front of his vehicle. He slams on the brakes and his car squeals to a stop. He thinks, "Wow, that was a close one," and quickly turns the car around. Returning to the white cross, he pulls his car off to the side. He jumps out, finds a nice stone and adds it to the top of the pile, then breaths a sigh of relief and continues on his way.

What just happened?! What happened was a difference in worldview. One of the classes I'm teaching this semester is called "Worldview and Intercultural Studies." I have five different culture groups represented in this class which provides a fascinating collection of cultural perspectives and anecdotes. It also provides me an excellent opportunity to learn about worldview and culture differences here in Namibia. Let's briefly unpack these two very different responses to the same situation.

A common Western worldview has largely separated the natural world from the supernatural world. Perhaps God interacts with this world via natural means and the exceptional miracle, but generally my day to day life exists in the realm of natural processes. The grave on the side of the road is in remembrance of someone who died, but all that's left of them now is bones and dust. The cow stepped into the road because perhaps it saw some nice grass on the other side that it wanted to eat. There's nothing mystical going on here. So I may thank God for giving me the eyesight and awareness to observe and avoid the cow, but largely think nothing of it.

A traditional Herero worldview is generally more animistic. They recognize that we live and exist in the realm of the supernatural. Everything is supernatural. The grave on the side of the road represents a person whose body has died, but whose spirit lives on, very real and present in our world. Driving past this grave at high speed reveals my irreverence and disrespect for the deceased. The cow stepping out into the road is a warning from the spirit of that ancestor that something bad might happen to me. Therefore, I should quickly turn around and place a stone on the grave to show my respect for this ancestor, lest something worse should happen to me.

Same scenario, very different responses, because our cultural behaviors, customs, and practices are an overflow of our worldview. Our worldview is the foundation upon which our beliefs, values, and behaviors are built. It's why we do what we do and think how we think. This is why understanding worldview is so important for cross-cultural ministry and why we have a specific class covering it at NETS. Because you must understand how someone views the world, the ultimate reality of the universe, in order to effectively confront them with the gospel. Whether for the Westerner or the Animist, conversion happens at the worldview level.