Presuppositionalism and Circularity…Again?

Recently Dr. Paul Copan of Palm Beach Atlantic University was asked to contribute a short piece on his objections to presuppositionism as an apologetic methodology on the website of The Gospel Coalition. Dr. Copan is surely a leading light in an evidential approach to defending the faith, and when he writes I stand up and take notice. He helpfully summarizes his objections under 4 headings, as follows:

• First, it engages in question-begging—assuming what one wants to prove.
• Second, Christians share common ground with unbelievers, who are likewise made in God’s image, which is not erased by the fall.
• Third, some (not all) presuppostionalists seem inconsistent about natural theology.
• Fourth, it is important to distinguish between the confident ground of our knowledge of God and the highly probable public case for the Christian faith.

I’ve taken the time to respond to these objections because, as a Van Tillian presuppositionalist, I recognize that they have taken a sort of “canonical” status among non-presuppositional apologists. In fact, they are so common that many such responses already exist. I just want to provide a help, and relatively short correction to what I think Dr. Copan is missing in his concerns. I’m not going to respond to Copan’s fourth claim, as I understand his claim and largely agree with him. Their is a difference between “knowing” and “showing.” The objective evidence for Christianity is to my mind, as it was for Van Til, absolutely certain, and yet our reformulations and representations of that evidence into specific arguments is always limited to the fallibility and/or oversight of the apologist.

“First, it engages in question-begging—assuming what one wants to prove.” Regarding the first objection (circularity and question-begging), a bit of time is needed to clear the air, though ironically this is the primary objection to presuppositionalism. I’ve written a (non-published) article on this objection (along with its corollary, the charge that presuppositionalism is inherently fideistic) that replies to this at several levels (both philosophical and theological), so I’ll repeat a bit of what I’ve previously written:

Now, why is circular reasoning fallacious? Begging the question is marked by two traits. First, a viciously circular argument assumes its stance rather than providing support for it. In doing this it avoids the burden of proof. According to Douglas N. Walton, author of the only full length monograph entirely devoted to this topic[1], “The requirement here is one of evidential priority. Arguing in a circle becomes a fallacy by basing it on prior acceptance of the conclusion to be proved. So the fallacy of begging the question is a systematic tactic to evade fulfillment of a legitimate burden of proof.”[2] Second, viciously circular arguments merely restate the conclusion in one of the premises. According to S. Morris Engel, “…if the supporting premises merely repeat or rephrase what is stated in the conclusion, as in all cases of begging the question, the argument contains no premises and is therefore fallacious.”[3]

Van Til and his followers rejected fallacious question-begging and never approved of arguments such as “God exists, therefore God exists.” Even when John Frame speaks of the previous statement approvingly does so only to point out that it’s a true statement, not that it’s a good or persuasive argument. In fact, in a number of places Frame speaks of the “God exists, therefore God exists” argument as a poor one that presuppositionalists should stay away from. Richard Pratt has rejected fallacious question-begging as follows:

Van Til never suggested that anyone should commit the logical fallacy of begging the question (e.g. “A is true because A is true.”). That would be strange indeed. In reality, he frequently called attention to the failure of such arguments. It is true that Van Til spoke positively of “circular reasoning,” but he had something other than begging the question in mind. He was not talking so much about argumentation, setting down a convincing case that leads to a conclusion. In argumentation, reasoning should be linear. Instead, Van Til spoke of circularity in terms of the inescapable process by which finite minds attain knowledge to be used in arguments…This is the kind of circularity or spiraling that Van Til pointed out in all human reasoning. It has nothing to do with begging the question.[4]

Likewise, the late Greg Bahnsen, a leading voice in the presuppositional school of thought clarifies:

The “circularity” of a transcendental argument is not at all the same as the fallacious “circularity” of an argument in which the conclusion is a restatement (in one form or another) of one of the premises. Rather, it is the circularity involved in a coherent theory (where all the parts are consistent with or assume each other) and which is required when one reasons about a precondition for reasoning.[5]

I could multiply quotes from both Van Til himself and his disciples (many of which are provided by Pratt in the link below) that demonstrate that Van Tillian presuppositionalists eschew fallacious and vicious circularity just as strong as do non-presuppositionalists.

“Second, Christians share common ground with unbelievers, who are likewise made in God’s image, which is not erased by the fall.”

This is perhaps the most frustrating of Copan’s objections. Why? Because whether he intends to or not (and I think not) he has grossly misrepresented the presuppositional approach and the underlying Reformed theology out of which it grows. Van Til not only never claimed that the fall erased the imago Dei (functionally or otherwise), but he was one-hundred percent clear that the imago was the point of contact with unbelievers. On need only read his chapter on the Point of Contact in his introductory Christian Apologetics. Van Til, in his usual pedagogical style of clarifying his position by contrasting it with others, distanced himself from the Lutheran position that limited the image of God to original righteousness. Again, Van Til clarifies what he rejects:

It is commonness ‘without qualification,’ that is, the idea of neutral territory of interpretation between believers and non-believers that I reject. [6]

Third, according to Copan, “some (not all) presuppositionalists seem inconsistent about natural theology.“

Perhaps some presuppositionalist have been too negative on natural theology. But this is not the standard or even “official” position. In the words of Van Til himself:

Accordingly I do not reject ‘the theistic proofs’ but merely insist on formulating them in such a way as not to compromise the doctrines of Scripture. That is to say, if the theistic proof is constructed as it ought to be constructed, it is objectively valid, whatever the attitude of those to whom it comes may be.” (Defense of the Faith, 3rd ed. 197)

Regarding “natural theology” and its arguments, presuppositionalists are mostly concerned with formulating these arguments in a way that doesn’t compromise their (Reformed) doctrine of God, or imply epistemological neutrality.

Unfortunately, as I noted earlier, Copan’s objections are all-to-common, and have be responded to and refuted on many occasions. In the spirit of Christian charity and academic integrity, the charge of circularity should be dropped. Further responses have been provided by K. Scott Oliphint and James Anderson. Anderson has complied an uber-helpful document addressing most of these misconceptions and a few others that can be found here.

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[1] Douglas N. Walton, Begging the Question: Circular Reasoning as a Tactic of Argumentation (New York: Greenwood Press, 1991)

[2] Douglas N. Walton, “Informal Fallacies,” Blackwell Compansion to Epistemology, (Cambridge, MA: Blackwell Reference, 1992), Jonathan Dancy and Ernest Sosa, eds. Emphasis added.

[3] With Good Reason: An Introduction to Informal Fallacies, 5^th edition (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994), 147. Emphasis added. J. P. Moreland provides an example of what it means to merely repeat or rephrase what is stated in the conclusion, “Capital punishment is wrong because it is an example of something we have no business doing, namely, taking a person’s life.” Love Your God with All Your Mind (Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1997), 123-124. “Wrong” and “something we have no business doing” are synonymous, a mere repetition of the same thought in different words.

[4] Richard L. Pratt, Common Misunderstandings of Van Til’s Apologetics, Part 2. http://www.thirdmill.org/newfiles/ric_pratt/TH.Pratt.VanTil.2.html. Emphasis added. Accessed 9/19/09.

[5] Greg L. Bahnsen, Van Til’s Apologetic: Readings and Analysis, 518, n. 122. Emphasis added

[6] Cornelius Van Til, Common Grace and the Gospel, p. 152, emphasis original)

Presuppositionalism in a Nutsell

Greg Bahnsen (September 17, 1948 – December 11, 1995) was one of Cornelius Van Til’s greatest expositors. Van Til himself wasn’t the most reader-friendly writer (I’ve provided an overview of Van Til’s key concepts here, here, and here) and Bahnsen did us all a great favor by taking the time in his ministry to explain and defend Van Til’s distinctive approach to Christian apologetics. The following is a snippet from Bahnsen’s book Van Til’s Apologetic: Readings and Analysis. Here Bahnsen sums up Van Til’s approach, often called a presuppositional apologetic, in a nutshell.

In order to press this epistemologically oriented apologetic argument for the truth of Christianity successfully, the apologist was clearly grasp the principial conflict in philosophical positions, think and reason in terms of it, and constantly layout for the unbeliever this fundamental clash of perspectives as the defining and determinative context for the argument with each other. The Christian should intellectually defend his faith in terms of, and with a clear conceptualization of, the ideological and personal antithesis between believers and unbelievers.

The presuppositional apologist, or Van Tillian, is keenly aware of the radical worldview clash between Christians and all forms of unbelief (from rabid athiests to peaceful Buddhist monks). In principal, our disagreement isn’t merely over one or two points of religious dogma. Our disagreement is over how we interpret everything, the entire world around us, our place in it,  how we attain knowledge, what is true, beautiful, and good. As a Christian who in increasingly self-aware of their worldview, the defender of the faith should ask themselves what type of approach in apologetics is coherent with their deepest Christian commitments (such as the absolute Lordship of Jesus) and think, witness,and argue in light of those commitments. Lastly, Bahnsen is clear to note that we shouldn’t think that the non-Christian is religiously neutral. No, there always remains an “ideological and personal” antithesis between the way the Christian strives to think, live, and act to the glory of God, and the unbeliever who thinks, lives, and acts to the glory of God’s rivals.

From these basic starting points the presuppositional approach can get pretty complicated and philosophical. But Van Til and Bahnsen’s concerns were always simply and biblical: If you build your life on anything other than the sure-standing rock of Christ it will come down in a great crash.

For more, see:

God and the Bible Go Together…Even in Apologetics

In the following quote Cornelius Van Til makes the important (and often overlooked or downright denied) point that a truly Christian argument (and by Christian here, I mean an argument that is faithful to the entirety of Scripture) for the Christian God is likewise, at the same time, an argument for the truth of the Christian Scriptures and our concept of revelation. If you lose one, you lose the other. If you establish the one you’ve established the other:

Incidentally we remark that our acceptance of the Scriptures does not depend upon our argument for the absolute God and our argument for the absolute God does not depend upon our acceptance of the Scriptures. We say that one does not depend upon the other because they are mutually involved in one another and quite inseparable. Our concept of God as absolute is a matter of fact taught nowhere but in Scripture. That is as we should expect, since Scripture itself is necessary because of man’s departure from the knowledge of God. Scripture is nothing but God’s self – testimony to the sinner as once God’s self – testimony came to man through man’s own consciousness and through God’s thought communication in paradise. Hence too it is only by his internal testimony in our hearts, that is, through the regeneration wrought by the Holy Spirit that we believe his own external testimony as it lies before us in scripture. (Cornelius Van Til, Psychology of Religion)

Take note of Van Til ties the personal revelation of God to Adam in the garden of Eden (“God’s thought communication in paradise”) with God’s revelation in the Bible. In both cases we find God’s personal address to humanity that conveys solid content (as opposed to merely “a relationship” or “encounter”). But he goes further to note that this disclosure of a) relationship and b) information was successful. It moved from being “out there” to “man’s consciousness.” This is precisely Paul’s point in Romans 1. Every person already has a “personal relationship” with God. The question is whether that relationship consists of knowing God as enemy or knowing him as Lord and friend.

Apologetics and the Witness of Scripture (Part 9)

CONCLUSION
The unbeliever is double minded, unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). Within the noetic structure of the non-Christian a dynamic tension exists. In one sense, they do know God, but in a very important sense, they do not. They do not know God, in the intimate, saving fashion commended in Scripture. In this series, I have focused on the unbeliever’s surpressed knowledge of God. While they profess that the biblical God does not, indeed cannot, exist, their unguarded everyday actions betray their profession. How can they get on with their everyday lives, without living in a dream world?

God has written His Law on the heart of the unbeliever. They have an immediate, non-derivative, knowledge of God’s existence and lordship. As Paul speaks of in Romans chapter 1, God has made Himself known to His creation so that they are without excuse. Unbelieving scientists argue against Christianity because supposedly Christianity, with its miracles, violates the laws of science. But, how could “laws” of science exist apart from the infinite-personal God of Scripture? They desire to refute Christianity by decrying that Christianity violates the laws of logic (The deductive problem of evil, the Trinity, etc.). Yet, logic presupposes the mind of God impressing itself upon His creation. Ultimately, we argue for the truth of the Christian worldview from the impossibility of the contrary. Thus, all non-Christian worldviews fail in their attempt to muffle God’s voice. God will not be shut out from His creation.

The Christian apologist must press God’s claims upon the unregenerate, thus demonstrating that person’s rebellion to the God who is there. Our ultimate desire is to show the unbeliever that they have no recourse but to turn to God in Jesus Christ for salvation, both intellectually and eternally. Piety, and humble boldness must mark the apologist’s approach. But, most importantly our presentation is to be characterized by the loving manner in which we speak to those who oppose the truth.
We ought not to be deterred by the rejection of our apologetic by the unbeliever. Only God is the One who can soften the heart of the would-be autonomous sinner.

May it please the Lord to glorify Himself in the faithful presentation of His truth claims.

Apologetics and the Witness of Scripture (Part 8)

A FEW MORE POINTERS
As I near the end of this series a few last pointers are necessary. First, I would like to present the ultimate goal of apologetics, and then note a few cautions that the apologist must be made aware of.

Our Goal. As we dialogue with unbelievers in apologetic encounters, we must remember our goal. While we cannot change the heart of the lost soul, we desire to be a tool of the Holy Spirit in granting repentance and faith in Christ. The purpose of apologetics is not simply to add additional facts to an unbeliever’s noetic structure. Indeed, many who study and “do” apologetics know this, yet often in practice this is exactly what occurs. We shouldn’t forget that repentance, both moral and intellectual, is our goal. The non-Christian has, whether consciously or not, developed a shelter, a “roof” above them in order to protect them from the objective reality of God’s lordship. Our aim is to demonstrate the epistemological futility of unbelieving thought. Another goal in pressing God’s demands upon His creatures is to close their mouths and further render them without a defense (Rom. 3:19, 1:20).

Francis A. Schaeffer spoke of “taking the roof off,” this is what happens when the Christian confronts the unbeliever with TAG. The unbeliever, now having been stripped of the argumentative weapons, is left to feel the weight of their lostness. Schaeffer keenly notes,

The more logical a man holding a non-Christian position is to his own presuppositions, the further he is from the real world; and the nearer he is to the real world, the more illogical he is to his presuppositions. (The God who is There. Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1998. Pg 152. Emphasis in original)

Also, in presenting our case for the absolute truth of the Christian worldview we must avoid what Cornelius Van Til called the “block-house method.” This is a method in which we argue for general theism, then for the possibility of miracles, then for the general reliability of the gospels, then to the historicity of the resurrection, etc. Block by block, building up to a fully biblical worldview. Of course, this does not mean that each aspect of Christianity can be covered all at once. But, we must present our case in such a fashion that at each aspect of our argument every “part” of the Christian worldview presupposes other parts of the worldview. Greg L. Bahnsen states this point beautifully:

The Christian faith should not be defended one isolated belief after another isolated belief-as though a block house were being built up, one block at a time. Instead, the whole system should be presented and defended as a unit. Its epistemology should be defined in terms of its metaphysics and ethics (including anthropology and soteriology), and it’s metaphysics and ethics (including anthropology and soteriology) should be defended in terms of its epistemology. (Van Til’s Apologetic: Readings and Analysis)

The living God, as revealed in Scripture, is the only foundation for interpreting human experience must cause His children to maintain a humble attitude. After all, all that we have we have received as a gift. Yet, it should also be a great source of boldness in apologetics. Thus, the Christian apologist must be one characterized by humble boldness. Had not the Lord in His sovereign mercy opened our hearts and minds to His truth we would remain trapped in epistemic futility.

Caution. And now a word of caution. This boldness should never make us arrogant. If we’re consistent in our approach, we’ll confess and treat the unbeliever as one created in the image of God. The moment we come off sounding intellectually arrogant, we have compromised our position. Not only should our method of argument be explicitly Christian, but the manner in which we present it must display our piety as well.

Being that Man is created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27) what they do and who they are is of great significance. They are of great significance even in their rebellion against God. In the eternal punishment of the wicked, God demonstrates the true worth of his creature’s moral actions, both in deeds and in thought. If the presentation of our transcendental argument must be marked by piety, then our approach to the unbeliever must be marked by love.

Apologetics and the Witness of Scripture (Part 7)

The non-believer’s assumptions about the nature of reality must be challenged. Any epistemology that does not presuppose the truth of God’s word in Scripture will render any form of true knowledge nonsense, and unintelligible. This does not mean that the unbeliever can know nothing, rather is means that they cannot give a sound account of what they believe. The non-Christian is not only spiritually lost, but epistemologically hopeless as well.

Biblical support. On the other hand, the God revealed in the Bible provides the necessary conditions for making sense of human experience. Without this particular God, there would be no such things as “facts” “laws” at all. God is the final reference point for all things, His nature and plan for the universe is what give structure and provides rationale for our lives. Scripture teaches that God is self-existent (Ex.3:14, Jn. 5:26, Gal. 4:8-9), eternal (Ps.90:2), unchangeable (Mal. 3:6), omnipresent (Ps. 139:7-10), created all things out of nothing (Col. 1:16-17, Heb.11:3), designed the world in wisdom (Ps. 104:24, Isa. 40:28), determines all things (Eph.1:11), preserves all things (Neh. 9:6), governs all things (Ps.103:19), predetermines the nature and course of all things, thus being able to work miracles (Ps. 72:18), and ordains historical events (Isa. 46:10, Acts 2:3, Eph. 3:9-11).

This Christian view of reality (metaphysic) accounts for all of life. The Christian is not left to figure out reality apart from God’s revelation in Scripture. Any attempt to argue against Christianity’s concept of God already presupposes something (whether it be laws of thought, science, morals) that could not be made sense of apart from the very God they desire to argue against! And if this is true, then no conflicting “evidence” can be offered to rebut the Christian worldview.

No other non-Christian worldview can consistently make sense of the above-mentioned conditions for rationality. No other worldview or theory of knowledge can provide us will the necessary preconditions of intelligibility. Many, if not all, objections to the Christian metaphysic will involve question-begging, double standards, arbitrariness, and inconsistencies in argumentation. And, depending of one’s worldview we would have to apply TAG a bit differently.

Apologetics and the Witness of Scripture (Part 6)

Picking up where we left off, I’ll now touch on the major points a transcendental approach seeks to get across. The main point is that without a biblical conception of God, and for that matter, an entire Christian worldview, life, at the deepest level, makes no sense.

Logic. The infinite personal God of Scripture is the only logical and coherent ground for laws of thought. How so? They reflect His thinking and character. The Biblical God’s character is that of truth, therefore to violate the law of non-contradiction (“Something cannot be both A and non-A at the same time, in the same respect”) would effect be to lie.

Science. The uniformity of nature, which is the very heart and soul of the scientific method, needs God to stabilize the world in order for science to make reliable inductive hypotheses. Strict empiricism cannot account for the law of cause and effect (as argued by philosopher David Hume), and if the world really is left to chance then to say that we can expect tomorrow to be like today would be to make a groundless statement. We cannot experience casual connections between 2 events. Thus, a nonbeliever has no reason to believe that cause and effect actually exists. The uniformity of nature must be assumed in order for any rational inquiry to proceed.

Human dignity. We are created in the image of God (imago dei), thus the worth of humanity is directly related to the worth of the One whose image we reflect.

Ethics. According to Francis Schaeffer:

With the Christian answer it is now possible to understand that there are true moral absolutes. There is no law behind God, because God is the furthest thing back. The moral absolutes rest upon God’s character. The creation as he originally made it conformed to his character. The moral commandments he has given are an expression of his character. Men created in his image are created to live by choice on the basis of what God is. The standards of morality are determined by what conforms to his character, while those things which do not conform are immoral.- Francis A. Schaeffer, The God who is There (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1998) 133.

This is the gist of the transcendental message, next we’ll look further at how Christianity provides answers for these crucial issues…

Apologetics and the Witness of Scripture (Part 5)

In response to the problems I find in the standard apologetic strategy, I propose another approach. The strategy I propose is a transcendental approach to demonstrating the existence of God (hereafter TAG). This is by no means a new solution, nor original to myself. I am greatly indebted to those in the presuppositional camp of apologetics, such as Cornelius Van Til, John M. Frame, Greg L. Bahnsen, and many others. Transcendental argumentation was first introduced to philosophical discussion by Immanuel Kant. Briefly stated, “[a] transcendental argument, as Kant used the term, is an argument for a reality based on that reality’s being the very conditions even of the denial of that reality.” (William Lane Craig, Five Views on Apologetics. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000. Pg. 233.) For instance, transcendental reasoning asking, “what are the necessary conditions for an event to occur?”

A simple illustration is provided for clarity: When I throw my brother a pair of keys that he’s misplaced and that I’ve just recently found, what am I assuming when I perform this action? The philosophical way of stating this is, “what are the preconditions of my assumption?” Well, for one I was assuming that my Brother is able to catch the keys! More importantly I am assuming (even if, and usually so [!], I do not consciously acknowledge my assumption.) that gravity works and that when the pair of keys is at the apex of it’s upward thrust that suddenly it will not remain frozen, in mid-air. When we inquire into something, what are we assuming regarding the nature of reality, acts of knowing, and morals?

TAG argues in this manner: We as creatures of God have a built-in knowledge of our Creator. Yet, we stuff back this truth in an attempt to rid ourselves of our inborn knowledge of God (Rom. 1:18). Though many people profess a disbelief in God, their unguarded everyday actions actually prove that they do know the God of the Bible. In my next post, I’ll discuss how the existence of the Triune God and the truth of the Christian worldview is needed to rationally explain the world we live in.

For more on Presuppositional Apologetics, see

 

Apologetics and the Witness of Scripture (Part 4)

God is not known simply at the end of a syllogism. If the Bible is the word of God, then every fact of the universe points to Him. Cornelius Van Til speaks of reality in this fashion:

Created reality may be compared to a great estate. The owner has his name plainly and indelibly written at unavoidable places. How then would it be possible for some stranger to enter the estate, make researches in it, and then fairly say that in these researches he need not and cannot be confronted with the question of ownership? To change the figure, compare the facts of nature and history, the facts with which the sciences are concerned, to a linoleum that has its figure indelibly imprinted. The pattern of such a linoleum cannot be effaced till the linoleum itself is worn away. Thus inescapably does the scientist meet the pattern of Christian theism in each fact with which he deals. (Cornelius Van Til, Christian Apologetics. Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 200. Pg 125.)

Typically people envision the difference between the Christian and the Non-Christian worldviews as one where one (i.e. the Christian worldview) believes more things. For instance, both believers and non-believers subscribe to the laws of logic, the scientific method (hypothesis by repeated observation) and the fact that certain behavior is truly wrong. The situation could be liken to a circle in which both believer and non-believer have beliefs A, B and C, but the believer hold to a few more D, E, and F (the unique deity of Jesus Christ, and the Trinity, and the existence of the spirit realm for example).

The aim of apologetics, or so it has been thought, is to argue over this disputed points and demonstrate that Christianity is rationally justified in believing such things. As mentioned earlier though, unfortunately the method by which a non-believer judges the validity of those disagreed upon beliefs is determined by the worldview that person holds. What is necessary is to discuss the seeming agreements shared between the two parties. Can a non-Christian worldview make sense of concepts such as moral absolutes, immaterial realities such as the laws of logic, and the laws of science? Normally, the traditional strategy of apologetics overlooks such crucial questions in dialoguing with unbelievers.

Next we’ll look at what I have found to be “a better way” of doing apologetics in light of Scripture…

Apologetics and the Witness of Scripture (Part 3)

HOW DO WE APPROACH THE UNBELIEVER?
As Christians we are called to know what we believe and be prepared to speak about it with others. Unfortunately many Christians feel this is an impractical task, one better off left to the “scholars.” But we must note that this is a command of Scripture (1 Pet. 3:15), not a suggestion. This may make others feel a bit uneasy, but the truth is that to disobey this clear command from the word of God is in the same broad category as lying, cheating, and murder. And that broad category is simply this: sin. Just as we long to obey God by praying, reading the Scriptures, and faithfully attending a local body of believers, so should we seek to sharpen our intellect in order to provide a defense of our faith to everyone who asks it of us.

The aim of most methods in apologetics is to bring the unbeliever to a true knowledge of God by reasoning from common experience to saving faith in Jesus. Of course, this is a Biblical and noble goal. But I have a difficulty with techniques in apologetics that only present “evidence” (as good as evidence is) without raising the question of how the non-Christian is interpreting the evidence. The chief objection that I have with this approach is that Scripture is quite clear that the unbeliever already has a knowledge of God (Rom. 1:21). For sure, it may not be a saving knowledge of God, but nonetheless it is a true knowledge. Because of this knowledge, the unbeliever really does know that God does exist, and that He makes certain moral demands upon His creatures (Rom. 1:32).

As we saw in Romans 1, mankind, through general revelation in nature and conscience, knows of God’s eternal power and divine nature (Rom. 1:20), and knows of the righteous demands of God for them (v. 32). Approaches to apologetics that do not deal adequately deal with these verses, or in practice ignore them, subvert the scriptural fact that the unbeliever’s refusal to believe in God is not a strictly intellectual issue. It stems from moral hostility toward God.

Biblically speaking, the whole world is divided into two camps, those who love God, and those who do not. Neutral ground does not exist. To seek it would be a vain, sinful attempt. Once a sinner has been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, their ultimate heart allegiance is to God. Those in union with the risen Lord know that in Christ are found all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col.2:3). Christ Himself is both the power of God, and the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24).

As one continues to grow in the grace of our Lord they confirm their conviction that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning [not the end] of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov. 1:7, emphasis added.). To those who are in spiritual opposition to God, the principle of human autonomy is what guides their every thought. God, if their autonomy is to remain, must never be thought of as Lord over every area of life, especially over the thought life! Natural theology, for the most part, does not properly take into account the nature of ultimate presuppositions. John M. Frame states:

A presupposition is a belief that takes precedence over another and therefore serves as a criterion for another. An ultimate presupposition is a belief over which no other takes precedence. For a Christian, the content of Scripture must serve as his ultimate presupposition. This doctrine is merely the outworking of the lordship of God in the area of human thought. It merely applies the doctrine of scriptural infallibility to the realm of knowing. (Apologetics to the Glory of God: An Introduction. Phillipsburg: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1994. Pg. 75)

Likewise Frame states:

The lordship of Christ is not only ultimate and unquestionable, not only above and beyond all other authorities, but also over all areas of human life. In 1 Corinthians 10:31 we read, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (cf. Rom.14:23; 2 Cor. 10:5; Col. 3:17,23; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). Our Lord’s demand upon us is comprehensive. In all that we do, we must seek to please him no area of human life is neutral. (Ibid., pg 7)

An ultimate presupposition is not something that can be tested like other beliefs; they establish the very criterion by which all other beliefs are to be tested. The unbeliever’s presupposition of human autonomy is the lens through which all theistic arguments will be evaluated. Unless this issue is addressed at some point, we are neglecting the central issue, the human heart.

Apologetics and the Witness of Scripture (Part 2)

Now we take a closer look at sin.

There’s only one hope for the spiritually dead sinner, that being the liberation of their will from its corrupted nature by union with Jesus Christ. Scripture states that mankind is evil from it’s youth (Gen.8:21), has a heart that is deceitful above all things (Jer.17:9), and loves darkness rather than light (John 3:19). We also find that their minds and consciences are corrupted (Titus 1:15), that they are by nature children of wrath (Eph. 2:3), of their father the devil (1 John 3:10), and sons of disobedience (Eph.2:1).

Here we see the clarity of Jesus’ words in John 3, “That which is born of flesh is flesh” (v. 6). The natural, unregenerate, rebellious sinner absolutely cannot, nor wills to become a regenerate, spiritual, servant of a holy God. True, those words are harsh indeed. But, we shouldn’t shy away from proclaiming the revealed truth in God’s word. All Christians have a divine mandate to uphold the truth. The instrumental reason that any person has ever had saving faith in, and love for, Christ is because of the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of God’s people. To state it in biblical terms, God’s removes the unrepentant sinner’s heart of stone and replaces it with a heart of flesh (Ezek. 36:26).

Though we could go through the many, many biblical texts that are brought forward to substantiate the doctrine of total depravity (such as Gen. 6:5, 8:21, Job. 14:4, Ps. 51:5, 58:3, Ecc. 9:3, Is. 53:6, 65:6, Jer. 13:23, 17:9, Mt. 7:16-18, Mk. 7:21-23, Jn 3:19, 6:44, 65, 8:34, 44, Rom. 8:7-8, 1 Cor. 2:14, Eph. 2:1-3, 4:17-19, Col. 2:13, 2 Tim. 2:25-26, Titus 1:15, click here to read all these passages together.), I will provide my reader with two more passages from Holy Scripture.

In Romans 1:18-20 Paul writes:

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (NASB)

Man knows enough about God to be held accountable. Why? God has done the revealing, and it is flawless and effectual. Verse 21 states, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Due to man’s utter rejection of God’s truth, his very thoughts become futile, worthless, and groundless. But man’s knowledge of God should never be reduced to mere facts about God. In this passage, we find that unbelievers actually know God personally, though as an enemy.

After two chapters explaining why the righteousness of God must be revealed apart from the Law of God (do to man’s moral inabilities), the nail in the coffin is driven in Romans chapter 3. Paul cites various passages from the Old Testament, primarily from the Psalms, with the intention of demonstrating that his anthropological pessimism was justified in light of the Cld Covenant Scriptures. His diagnosis was plainly foreshadowed in the Old Testament. Starting with verse 9 Paul teaches:

What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, They have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.”" The poison of vipers is on their lips.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Rom. 3:9-18, emphasis added)

These are tough words to accept, even for most Christians. Paul lays out briefly, though not exhaustively, on what it is that sin does to its prey, namely, humankind. First, Paul speaks of throats being open graves, with tongues practicing deceit. He then moves on to speak of lips, mouths, and feet. He tops off his denunciation of the sinful heart by claiming that, apart from redemption in Christ, we understand God’s truth. Though it would seem to be a hopeless endeavor (speaking to those who are in rank rebellion against their Creator), nonetheless, Scripture commands that followers of Christ make disciples from all nations (Matt. 28:19-20).

How should we go about this task? More on this as this series progresses…

Apologetics and the Witness of Scripture (Part 1)

One thing every Christian is commanded to do is to “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks [them] to give the reason for the hope that [they] have” (1 Pet. 3:15). The field of Christian studies that deals with presenting a reasoned defense of the faith is known as apologetics. The problem that this series seeks to address is how one should approach apologetics when those to whom we speak are what the Bible calls “spiritually dead,” or totally depraved. I intend to quickly cover what I see are the problems with the some approaches to apologetics and propose some pointers in dealing with apologetics in a Biblical manner.

Before I seek to lead my reader through a harmonization of these two issues, I must carefully define exactly what I speak of when I talk of “Total depravity.” According to the Westminster Confession of Faith, in the chapter “On free will,” it states:

Man fell into a state of sin by his disobedience and so completely lost his ability to will any spiritual good involving salvation. Consequently fallen man is by nature completely opposed to spiritual good, is dead in sin, and is unable to by his own strength either to convert himself or to prepare himself to conversion.

This is the intended definition of total depravity that I seek to defend here. It’s also the definition that I hope to harmonize with a biblical defense of the faith. According to the above definition of total depravity, due to his sinful nature man is spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1) and hostile to God in all aspects of life (Rom. 8:7-8).

A BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF TOTAL DEPRAVITY
When I use the word “total” in total depravity, I don’t mean that the unbeliever is as bad as he could possibly be. Instead, the term is used to mean that all (“total”) aspects of man have been tainted by sin. Not only are his actions tainted by sin, but also his will, and his thoughts . But why delve into definitions regarding what the Bible has to say about man? My conviction is that unless we have a biblical understanding of non-Christians we will ultimately develop a strategy for defending the faith that is not pleasing to our Lord.

Another reason that we should carefully examine the biblical teaching of sin’s effects on humankind is that we need to know what it is exactly that we’re trying to defend. More on the biblical teaching regarding sin in our next post…