The Pursuit of Truth and Ultimate Pre-Commitments
It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see (Henry David Thoreau).
It’s easy to come to the conclusion that it is unproductive for fervent Christians and devout atheists to rationally argue with each other. This is the case since we interpret everything differently. In order to have a reasonable debate, there must be neutral ground, so that one of the contestants can say, “If you grant p, then you must concede q!” Ultimately, without conversion, fervent atheists and devout Christians never find p they can agree upon. In reality there is no neutral ground. The reasoned argument can never begin, because each sees everything from his own point of view through the lens of his own tightly held presuppositions.1 It is much more fruitful to contest presuppositions and ultimate commitments than to simply swap facts and concepts.
With this in mind, I propose two simple truths Christians should endeavor to place before the non-Christian:
I. Remember that God is not a probability: He is (Exodus 3:14). And He is the vital truth required for all rational thought. He is not a mere possibility. An ultimate epistemic criterion that has the explanatory power sufficient for general principles, unchanging laws, and universal operational facets of human thinking cannot be overturned merely by appeals to experience. It deals with the required pre-environment to make experience intelligible. Necessary truths as well as universal principles are essential to make experience coherent; yet one cannot appeal to experience to underwrite them, since experience is in constant flux. Nonetheless, intelligible experience presupposes necessary truths and universals principles. What can supply the a priori truth conditions for these truths? The Lord.
II. Placard the terror of the law on the lost, and then offer the grace2 of the gospel to those who fear the judgment due. All of us have sinned and the law reveals our sin and wickedness. Moreover, Christians are not to preach a controllable god, a god who is only there to meet the unbeliever’s needs. Such a god becomes a divine bellhop who must jump at our call. Much of the Christian world seems to be embarrassed by the true God, and they try to change Him into a more user-friendly deity. An almighty sovereign God, full of awe and righteousness, is not what the world wants. The Bible reveals that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). We should press God’s law on the sinner with compassion and patience. We are not to dazzle them with proud grandiloquence or blast them with an uncaring scolding. We must warn them. They are sinners in need of a Savior. We should sincerely care for the state of their souls through the graceful preaching of the law and the gospel.
Sartre claimed that he became an atheist because a man stared at him in public. He felt uncomfortable and dehumanized by becoming an object of the long stare of a stranger. He then reasoned: God is omnipresent; hence God must have His eyes perpetually on Sartre. But he did not like God gazing upon him. Thus he denied God because of his quirky shyness. God is everywhere present and looks upon everyone always. He sees all the iniquity of mankind, and we should remind people of that fact. All their law breaking is observed and recorded. Sinners hate this fact, but their only means of relief is the gospel. They need Jesus Christ and His atoning death and resurrection. Press the law on the hearts of unbelievers and then preach the gospel for peace, forgiveness, and hope.
——————————————————–
1. Presupposition: One’s primary rational principle. A preeminent belief held to be true and taken as a precommitment. It is the belief that is held at the most foundational level of one’s grid or web of beliefs. It is the lens through which one interprets reality; it is taken for granted and assumed in making a statement or a theory. It is one’s rational starting point; primary and fundamental assumption; and metaphysical foundation. Everyone has presuppositions—primary belief patterns that influence one’s thinking and outlook. Reason, logic, mathematics, knowledge, predication, and morality are only consistent with Christian presuppositions (see below for additional explication). Frame observed: “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” (John Frame: Apologetics to the Glory of God). Presuppositions do not nullify one’s position—if it did all positions would be nullified, since all people hold to presuppositions regarding every idea they uphold. But what worldview provides the ontological and epistemic resources to account for intelligibility required to hold to presuppositions and to have a worldview? Strict naturalistic atheism fails. It falls short because strict naturalistic atheism lacks the ontological apparatus and tools to underwrite indispensable features of human experience (knowledge, logic, objective moral norms, etc.). God is the ultimate reference point and He provides all the resources required for intelligibility. Strict naturalistic atheism lacks the ontological machinery to underwrite the rational resources necessary for intelligibility needed to hold presuppositions.
2. Titus 3:4-7 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
————————————
For a more thorough exposition on the importance of presuppositions in defending Christianity see my eBook (also in paperback) Proof for the Existence of God: Many Infallible Truths HERE
