No 'neutral' assumptions? Either for or against Christian faith

By Joseph Mattera, Op-ed Contributor Tuesday, October 22, 2024

The Bible declares, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7). This profound statement reveals that true understanding and wisdom are rooted in reverence for God. For Christ’s followers, this means that Scripture must serve as the foundation for evaluating all systems of thought, including philosophy, ideologies, and worldviews.

Scripture is not merely one perspective among many — it is the self-attesting revelation of the Triune God. As such, it is the foundation upon which Christians are called to build their entire understanding of the world. Without this divine revelation, human beings are left grasping in the dark, unable to possess true knowledge of God, themselves, or the world around them. This is because, apart from Scripture, all human understanding is fallible, built on incomplete information and finite reasoning.

It is my objective to illustrate that all human reasoning is founded on basic beliefs or presuppositions that are taken on faith. Hence, there are no “neutral” assumptions; one’s presuppositions are either for or against the Christian faith.

At first glance, this may seem like circular reasoning — basing our belief in Scripture on Scripture itself. However, this is unavoidable for any belief system. Every worldview, whether secular or religious, operates from certain presuppositions. The key difference is that the Christian worldview is rooted in the revelation of the only objective and omniscient Being in the universe, the Triune Godhead. In contrast, all other systems are based on finite human reasoning, making them fundamentally incapable of providing the certainty and coherence God’s revelation affords. Therefore, we are called to trust in His Word rather than relying on the limited scope of human reason.

When we turn to Scripture, it becomes evident that there is an inherent antithesis between Christian and non-Christian thought systems. Due to radically different starting points, the Christian and non-Christian approaches life, ethics, and knowledge in fundamentally different ways. While the non-Christian begins with human autonomy, trusting in the authority of human reason, the Christian begins with the fear of the Lord, trusting in the authority of God’s Word.

This is why Christian apologist Cornelius Van Til and others have argued that the existence of the Christian God is the necessary precondition for any coherent understanding of reality, ethics, and knowledge. Without the Triune God, there is no foundation for logic, morality, or science. Only within the Christian worldview can the universe be intelligible because God is the source and sustainer of all things.

The distorting effects of sin

A significant aspect of this contrast lies in the noetic effects of sin. Sin doesn’t just distort human behavior — it corrupts the very way individuals think and reason. In their rebellion against God, non-Christians suppress the truth and distort reality, making them unable to rightly understand the world. This distortion extends to every area of life, including how one perceives morality, knowledge, and ultimate reality.

It is only through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit that this blindness is lifted, enabling individuals to recognize the truth of the Christian message. The Holy Spirit overcomes the noetic effects of sin, transforming minds and hearts to embrace the revelation of God in Scripture.

The impossibility of the contrary

In light of these truths, the ultimate proof of the inspiration and authority of Scripture is found in the impossibility of any alternative system making rational sense of the world. No other worldview can satisfactorily answer the four foundational questions of life:

Where did we come from?
How did evil enter the world?
What is the solution to the problem of sin and evil?
What is the consummation of human history?

Without the revelation of God’s Word, these questions remain unresolved or are answered inconsistently. Only the Bible provides a coherent, consistent, and comprehensive answer to these questions, revealing the truth of our origin, the cause of sin, the means of redemption through Christ, and the future consummation of all things.

Therefore, when analyzing any theological, philosophical, or ideological system, the question is not whether it aligns with human wisdom but whether it conforms to the biblical worldview. As the self-attesting Word of God, Scripture is the ultimate standard against which all claims to truth must be measured. To reject this foundation is to embrace intellectual chaos, for only in Christ do we find the “wisdom and knowledge” necessary to make sense of the world (Colossians 2:3).

Dr. Joseph Mattera is renowned for addressing current events through the lens of Scripture by applying biblical truths and offering cogent defenses to today's postmodern culture. To order his bestselling books or to join the many thousands who subscribe to his acclaimed newsletter, go to www.josephmattera.org.