Cultural Icebergs Can Be Dangerous

Our worldview is like the mental operating system by which we make sense of the world. A  matrix often hidden from our conscious view, it is like a filter that determines what we see, how we interpret our experience, and the means by which we participate in the production of culture.

The iceberg metaphor is a way to visualize the impact of our worldview. Typically what we think of as culture is all stuff that happens above the water line, including our taste in clothing and food, leisure activities or style of housing, what we think is cool or funny, and everything from unspoken assumptions about picking a mate to how we should respond to authority.


Below the water line, just as with any iceberg, lies the majority of the hidden structure imposing its weight and presence as a mental set of assumptions and beliefs that inform and determine our outlook on life, culture and reality itself. The fascinating thing about this worldview is that its deepest parts were formed through the influence of our peers, friends, and family before we even realized what was happening.

Perhaps no part of our worldview is more influential than our understanding of God, for our core belief about the existence or non existence of God ties directly into our understanding of self and human existence. Many people today believe a human being is simply a complex biological unit defined by natural processes. You hear this echoed in casual statements like, “you only have one life” which assumes life is a finite biological reality. If all we have is this one life, then as the saying goes “he who dies with the most toys wins,” a cultural value built upon the assumption of materialism that assumes the only thing that exists is matter.

While the average person may not know the definition of materialism you can determine if a person's worldview is formed in this direction by asking simple questions like:

What happens after you die?
Do you think ghosts exist?
What is the human mind?

If the person responds that death is the end and you simply decay, or that ghosts are only natural phenomena or tricks of the mind not yet understood, and the human brain is simply a very complex computer with no need for a soul, then you are hearing clues that the person has a materialist assumption in their worldview. 

 For many, belief in God is only a private personal reality and has no bearing on life in general, but I would argue the demise in faith leaves a hole in our understanding of what makes a human being, a emptiness where the human soul used to reside. I believe the popularity of zombie movies and the Walking Dead t.v. series is a cultural reflection on the relationship between body and the soul.  Walkers are whats left after the body is reanimated but with the humanness somehow gone. Could it be that without God we risk becoming walkers missing something essential in what makes us human?

Worldview and hope are closely linked. For if there is no God, and people are simply biologically determined units, then perhaps people are essentially disposable. If you happen to be born sick, ugly or weak, or get bitten by some form of homicidal zombie then you have lost in the lottery of life and there is no hope beyond your own ability to deal with the situation. However if there is a God, then whatever the condition of our body we have inherent value.  It’s the difference between owning a one of a kind masterpiece painting by Picasso or mass produced reproduction worth $49.99 bought at Ikea. One is uniquely connected to its creator and one is stamped out in a factory. Which do you believe is better?

In contrast, if God exists then all of life, no matter how flawed, has a purpose and inherent value. Psalm 14:1 warns us, “The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.” Here is the problem: a denial of God is also a denial of our true selves, and it is a belief that will in the end result in the dehumanizing of human life. The hidden iceberg of beliefs and assumptions hiding beneath our culture is just sitting there waiting for the right ship to pass.