CHRISTIAN WORLD VIEW 2
research examples of people in law enforcement who have demonstrated or expressed their integration
of a Christian Worldview into the field of criminal justice. You will then use this example to write a 1�2-
page essay including 2 sources on bringing a Christian Worldview to any role in law enforcement. Your
essay must be written in current APA format.
Christian Worldview
A perfect example of a law enforcement officer with a Christian Worldview of the criminal
justice system is Jim Warner Wallace (Outreach Speakers). Wallace, a church planter and a
mission leader, has been working as cold case homicide detective for more than 25 years.
Despite the fact that Jim was not born and raised in a Christian family, and that he grew up with
a strong belief that he was an atheist, Wallace eventually experienced a turning point in his life at
the age of 35 years. After a long time of believing that truth and evidence were directly tied to
each other, Wallace ultimately took a more expansive and serious approach on the issue of the
Christian Worldview and came to settle on the belief that Christianity was real. When he
converted to Christianity in 1996, he deepened his understanding of the connection between truth
and evidence through the examination of the Christian Worldview. He ended up earning a
Master’s Degree in Theology and later serving as a Youth Pastor, after which he established a
church in 2006. Wallace has written a book called Cold-Case Christianity, which is aimed at
enlightening readers on the 10 principles of investigations in cold case homicides and how to
utilize these principles in examining the reliability of accounts of gospel witnesses. Wallace’s
work as a detective has received national acknowledgement, with his cases repeatedly featuring
on NBC’s Dateline. He also won the Police and Fire Medal of Valor of “Sustained Superiority
Award.
As reflected in the perspective of Wallace, it can be drawn from his life that a law enforcement
officer’s worldview considerably affects the manner in which he carries out his policing duties.
A Christian Worldview is reflected in people who desire to be like Christ (Pehrson, nd). By
CHRISTIAN WORLD VIEW 3
having a Christian Worldview, a police officer is capable of preventing ethical struggles. The
profession of law enforcement presents many challenges to police officers. For instance, when
they charge suspects, the have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the suspect committed the
charge presented before the court. There are so many ethical dilemmas that a police officer faces
in his daily work. Research indicates that police officers who have upheld their Christian faith do
not face too much difficulty when faced with ethical dilemmas. In fact, it is easier for a police
officer with Christian worldview, who is a believer in Christ to keep his actions in line with his
claims. As it can be seen with Detective Wallace, he has been able to maintain his action of
providing adequate evidence to back up his charges, which goes in line with his claim that truth
and evidence are closely interconnected.
Christian police officers with the desire to fulfill the will of God in their lives indicate sheer
motivation to reflect godliness in their actions for the sake of pleasing Him (Pehrson, nd). These
are the kinds of professionals who can deliver the best results when serving in the criminal
justice system. The Bible, in Romans 13:1-5, provides that all people should respecting their
governing authorities. To Christians, God is the supreme authority that should be obeyed at all
costs. Such Biblical principles help Christian law enforcement officers to uphold high standards
of respect for life and to avoid evil practices such as corruption and alcoholism. They hold their
position as a God-given responsibility and they believe that they are accountable to God for all
their actions.
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References
Outreach Speakers. J. Warner Wallace: Los Angeles County homicide detective and author of
Cold-Case Christianity.
