Christian Worldview in Italy & Greece
It was an epic trip for me and my husband at least. It was epic because we don't often travel for more than two weeks in another country. We were celebrating 25 years of marriage, and we spent those two weeks in Italy and Greece.
One thing traveling to another culture teaches you is something about your own. It has a way of exposing the similarities, the differences, and even the assumptions you didn't realize you had. It also reminds you that people don't just see the world differently; they interpret it differently.
God's footprints were all over the cathedrals, architecture, and monuments. History seemed to scream of generations who elevated God. Now, I live in the Bible Belt, where it is pretty common to talk about God and live an integrated life with a biblical worldview. Traveling to other cultures reminds you that not everyone you interact with has the same worldview. I knew this before going abroad, but I was still surprised by just how differently some of the "experts" interpreted what we were seeing.
I don't want to give the impression that Europe isn't full of believers. Clearly, Christians can be found anywhere. My point isn't about Europe. It's about worldview. Several of our guides clearly approached history from a secular, relativistic, if not agnostic perspective, and they often presented those interpretations as though they were simply facts.
That's the subtle trap. Experts are experts in history, archaeology, or art, but everyone interprets facts through a worldview. As Christians, we must know what God says so we can recognize when a worldview is shaping the interpretation.
For example, in Pompeii, our guide referenced the snake painted outside a brothel as a protector of women. As a Christian, that immediately caught my attention because throughout Scripture the serpent consistently represents deception and rebellion against God. It reminded me how Satan loves to imitate God, elevate himself, and call evil good while twisting what God has declared good.
Another example came in Rome when we visited the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel. Standing beneath that ceiling was breathtaking. The Sistine Chapel ceiling is not one painting but an enormous fresco program. Along the center of the ceiling are nine narrative panels from Genesis:
God Dividing Light from Darkness
The Creation of the Sun, Moon, and Plants
The Separation of Land and Water
The Creation of Adam
The Creation of Eve
The Temptation and Expulsion from Eden
The Sacrifice of Noah
The Great Flood
The Drunkenness of Noah
The Creation of Adam is the fourth of these nine central Genesis panels and the centerpiece of the ceiling's creation narrative. Michelangelo was clearly someone who knew his Bible. He was indeed a Catholic.
One of the remarkable things about The Creation of Adam is how it portrays God, the Creator, as the source of all life. God is powerful, active, and moving decisively toward Adam. God is personal and not a distant force. He is a God who intentionally creates and relates to humanity. God is the Life-Giver, and Adam has no life apart from Him.
While the painting is about creation rather than salvation, it is hard not to see God's gracious initiative toward humanity. Adam contributes nothing to his own existence. God reaches toward him, giving life to one who cannot give life to himself. That is a beautiful picture of grace.
However, our guide focused almost entirely on Adam. She described him as the central human figure who was beautiful, intelligent, and physically ideal. She explained the almost-touching hands as a symbol of human consciousness, creativity, and reason that distinguish humans from other animals. Now, those observations aren't necessarily wrong. Adam is portrayed with incredible dignity because human beings are made in God's image. But there is a significant difference between saying man is important because he bears God's image and saying the painting is primarily about the greatness of man. One worldview begins with God. The other begins with humanity.
Here is another contrast. In Athens, Greece, we visited both the Parthenon and the Areopagus. My husband was especially excited to visit the Areopagus. For Christians, it is significant because it is where Paul preached to the people of Athens.
In Acts 17:16–34, Paul was brought to the Areopagus after speaking in the marketplace. There he confronted the Athenians' many idols, including an altar "to an unknown god," and proclaimed the one true Creator who made heaven and earth. The Greek word "Areopagus" means "Hill of Ares." It is also known as Mars Hill because Mars is the Roman name for Ares, the Greek god of war. Greek gods were woven into nearly every part of Greek culture, and their footprint is still visible throughout Athens.
What struck me most, however, was not what I saw but what I didn't. The Parthenon dominates the skyline and draws crowds of tourists. We were among them. People packed the site to admire this magnificent temple dedicated to Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and war. Yet only a short walk away sits Mars Hill. No towering columns. No elaborate statues. No architectural grandeur. Just a rocky hillside where Paul proclaimed the gospel. It wasn't crowded. There was nothing flashy about it. It was almost easy to miss.
The contrast couldn't have been greater. One hill celebrated the glory of human religion and the gods people created. The other pointed people to the one true God who created them. One still captures the world's attention because of its beauty and achievement. The other quietly reminds us that the power of Christianity has never been found in impressive buildings but in the simple truth of the gospel.
Perhaps there is something to be learned from that. The gospel has never needed marble columns, golden statues, or magnificent temples to change lives. It only needs the truth faithfully proclaimed. Travel reminded me that every tour guide, historian, and expert (including myself) interprets the world through a worldview. The question isn't whether someone has a worldview. The question is whether that worldview is true.
