by Douglas Jones
Originally posted on Credenda Agenda
Statement on offsite articles

Most non-Christians simply assume that Christianity is false. They brush it off without a thought like a rich person with a pestering beggar. Why is this? One reason may be that Christians themselves have done a poor job of presenting their case. Much of contemporary Christianity is infected with emotionalism and mysticism, and these do not provide a basis for a serious critique of the non-Christian worldview. Nevertheless, biblical Christianity does in fact challenge the very foundation of non-Christian worldviews.

Worldviews

First of all, what is a worldview? In short, a worldview is the set of all our beliefs about the world that determine the way we understand every aspect of life (reality, knowledge, ethics, etc.). We each have a worldview, whether or not we understand or acknowledge it. Each worldview operates according to its own standards. For example, something that is "rational," "convincing," or "good" in one worldview may be understood as just the opposite in another. For example, a "miracle" as interpreted in one view may be seen, in another view, as an "oddity of nature that will one day be explained." Each view has its own guiding and controlling assumptions about the world, and so no one can truly be "neutral" or "open-minded." Nevertheless, though differing worldviews appeal to different standards, we are not left with a relativism in which all views are of equal merit. As we will see, we have means by which to reject certain worldviews.

Some philosophers have noted that board games, such as chess and checkers, give us a picture of the workings of worldviews. Each game has its own rules for determining what the possible and impossible moves are; each game has its own standards for good and bad strategies. It would be absurd for a chess player to criticize a game of checkers for violating the rules of chess; the rules and "facts" in one game are understood in an entirely different way than in another. Similarly, a Christian or non-Christian cannot hope to "prove" something to the other by simply appealing to "facts" or standards that are interpreted differently by the other.

Disputes about worldviews must therefore be handled indirectly. For example, one can show that some of the claims of a worldview rule out some of its other claims, or one can show that some beliefs cannot be justified or supported within the view itself.

Similarly, some worldviews cannot justify our most obvious commonsensical beliefs. Internal problems of this sort are inherent in all non-Christian worldviews.

The Challenge

When pressed, the non-Christian may offer many "reasons" for ignoring or rejecting Christianity. However, the chief reason that non-Christians dismiss the Christian worldview goes deeper than the failings of some Christians. Biblical Christianity is a probing light, which exposes all the blind assumptions and pitiful justifications used to defend all non-Christian worldviews. Hence, non-Christians must dismiss Christianity in order to avoid embarrassment at the foundation of their reasoning. Given the utter bankruptcy of their position, they must ignore whatever exposes it. The Apostle Paul made this same sort of indictment in the New Testament era: "Where is the wise? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" (1 Cor. 1:20) Paul scoffs at any claim to knowledge that ignores the Christian God. But Paul is not condemning scholarly work, wisdom or the rational justification of beliefs. He is attacking the view that one can have or do any of these activities without Christ (Col. 2:8).

The challenge of the Christian worldview is simply this: there can be no knowledge, reason, science, or warranted thinking of any kind if the Christian God does not exist. The biblical worldview provides the inescapable preconditions of all knowledge. Claims of knowledge in mathematics, physics, economics, biology, politics, psychology, logic, linguistics, etc. are only justifiable within the Christian worldview.

All worldviews that do not acknowledge the Christian God must therefore ultimately fail; they cannot justify a single word of their system let alone logic, ethics, and science. But why are these subjects important? We use them (self-consciously or not) in every aspect of our day-to-day lives. The implication is that activities that so many people take for granted driving, writing a check, gardening are impossible without the Christian God.

All this will strike the non-Christian as totally absurd: "It's ridiculous to say that I can't do or know anything if I'm not a Christian; non-Christians have been leaders in all these areas." This is quite true, but it's only true because non-Christians are radically inconsistent with their own premises.

The crux of the matter is this: if the world were really as the non-Christian imagines without the Christian God then logic, science, ethics, etc. would not be possible. Non-Christian philosophy ultimately destroys the ground of all rational thought. Let me explain.

Logic

How can the non-Christian who holds that the world is the product of chance consistently use logic? If the laws of logic are not objective, or are not universal (applicable everywhere), or are changing, then logical thinking makes no sense. But universal, unchanging principles cannot be justified in a non-Christian worldview. If everything is changing and evolving then so must the laws of logic; if everything is material then the non-material principles of logic are ruled out.

Some non-Christian have conceded this point and have argued that the laws of logic are merely the product of our mind or reflect the way we talk. But if this is the case, then reasoning with others is futile; there are no rules of reasoning binding upon everyone, and any rules that appear to hold would change or evolve as our minds and language do.

In the Christian worldview this sort of radical inconsistency on the part of the unbeliever is understandable. The Bible describes humans as in rebellion against God. They would rather believe anything, no matter how inconsistent, than acknowledge the Christian God. Non-Christians can use reason only because the world is made and ordered the way the Bible describes and not the way the non-Christian imagines.

In the Christian worldview, the laws of logic are universal and unchanging because they reflect the nature and decree of the living God. God is unchanging and perfectly controls every aspect of creation.

Ethics

The non-Christian worldview also fails with regard to moral standards or ethics. As with logic, non-Christians use and argue about ethics all the time, but given their view of the world, they cannot justify their conclusions. On the one hand, they will argue that there are no standards of right and wrong behavior, yet on the other hand, they vehemently protest violations of rights and denounce "unjust" government policies. But why is any act objectively good or bad on non-Christian grounds?

If we and the world are products of impersonal natural forces, as many believe, then there are no values or rights for anything. Given the non-Christian view, humans have as many "rights" as a block of granite. There is no way for the non-Christian to justify an ethical distinction between racial prejudice and brotherly love or genocide and a family picnic.

Ironically, non-Christians have often pointed to all the evil in the world in order to argue that there is no God. However, the real problem of evil rests with non-Christians. How, according to their worldview, can they justifiably distinguish good from evil? They can only do so by being inconsistent with their basic beliefs. They must borrow ideas about right and wrong from the Christian worldview even to state their objection.

In the non-Christian worldview, all standards, rights, and values are ultimately arbitrary and unjustifiable. So, if the world were really as the non-Christian imagines, then it would be nonsense to speak of any absolute right and wrong. The Christian is not in this quandary. God's unchanging, holy nature determines whether something is good or has value. Humans have value because they are created in the image of their Creator. God has revealed His absolute standards for personal and social ethics. These norms are objective, universal, and applicable. Hence, the Christian has the philosophical basis to reason about morals, politics, and economics, but the non-Christian does not.

Science

We have been taught since our early school years that there is this great conflict between science and Christianity. This is false. In fact, scientific practice is only possible within the Christian worldview.

Science requires certain conditions. For example, the way the world operates must remain generally the same (uniformity of nature) or else scientific prediction is futile. If the conditions being tested in a particular experiment were constantly changing, then the scientific method would be inane. Moreover, our minds must be able to perceive accurately and analyze the data in question.

The non-Christian cannot justify these two basic concerns. If everything is the product of chance, then the non-Christian cannot know that the world will operate uniformly from moment to moment. How does the non-Christian justify the claim that the future will even probably resemble the past? Or how does he know that any unexamined cases will resemble those which have been examined? One cannot logically deduce that nature is uniform on the basis of past experience, since one would be assuming uniformity in order to prove it begging the question. Other attempts to solve this problem have failed just as badly.

Non-Christians cannot rationally account for the uniformity of nature though it is an essential aspect of science (and everyday life). Hence, non-Christian scientists must blindly assume that the universe is predictable. If they consistently followed their worldview, they would have to give up their scientific endeavors.

Secondly, on the non-Christian view, why should we expect that the mind accurately analyzes the world? They believe all conclusions are only the results of electro-chemical processes. In a non-Christian universe, why are these results more "rational" or "true" than the results of the physical processes that occur when two marbles strike each other?

The Christian worldview provides the necessary basis for science. The God of biblical Christianity explicitly promises to maintain the uniformity of nature so that He can accomplish His purposes. Secondly, humans are made to reflect their Creator, which is the foundation of our rational capacities and moral responsibility.

Conclusion

We've looked at just three examples of how the non-Christian worldview fails. The non-Christian worldview destroys logic, ethics, and science. The examples could be multiplied. Much more detail could be added, and secondary objections could be addressed, if space permitted.

Note that the conclusion is not that non-Christians do not use logic, argue that there are right and wrong actions, or carry out scientific experiments. They do all these things, but they cannot justify doing them on the basis of their worldview. They carry out these activities by "borrowing" from the Christian worldview.

Moreover, the argument is not that the God of the Christian worldview is only some sort of practical necessity or a being that may "probably" exist. He is inescapable. In every place we look, and in every thing we do, we are confronted with the God of the Bible. We cannot do anything without presupposing the Christian God.

If we were to try to live consistently in terms of a non-Christian worldview, then we couldn't reason or even talk about the attempt without presupposing God. If we were to go further in our resolution to deny the Christian God then we must deny imputing value to anything including the value of our endeavor to deny Him. Even then our continued existence would show that we inconsistently impute value to our own life.

The non-Christian who attempts to adhere to his or her principles will ultimately need to give up all knowledge, language, and value. God's indictment rings clear: "all they that hate me love death" (Prov. 8:36). It is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3). All of the above arguments can be summarized with Christ's declaration: "without me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

The Bible describes the human condition in the following way. God continually pours out His mercy and blessings on us. Yet as ungrateful creatures we rebel against Him. We all inescapably know God, but because of our willful rebellion (Rom. 3:10-18) we suppress that knowledge deceitfully (Rom. 1:20-21). Therefore, God's righteous judgment awaits every human.

However, God in great mercy has established a covenant or bond between Himself and those who trust Him, as His people (Deut. 7:7-9). God loved those who deserved only His wrath. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to live a perfect life and to die as a sacrificial substitute for His people, taking their condemnation on Himself (Rom. 5:8).

Those who would be saved are commanded by God's Word to turn from sin and entrust themselves to Christ. This means that we need to accept His claims and promises, and rest on His work (not our own) for forgiveness, cleansing, and eternal life with God. In Christ, the believer is a "new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17) who is "being renewed to a true knowledge" (Col. 3:10). We can only escape intellectual futility through Christ; only through Him can we make sense of the world around us. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and discipline" (Prov. 1:7).