Mr. Platt,
I believe a great many things.
Like you, and every other human being, I have an entire worldview which is shaped by my knowledge of God, the world, and personal experience. I will attempt to give you a general overview of what I believe concerning the basic branches of philosophy and you may seize on whichever aspect you like and we can further discuss that topic.
As you read the following, please bear in mind the nature of rationality and presuppositions: in order to reason at all, one must hold presuppositions. Because no person can know everything (no matter how many PHDs she/he may have) one must hold certain presuppositions in order to reason at all (for a fuller - and superior - explanation of this idea, see Van Til's works). I certainly do not claim to have all the answers but here is a rough sketch of how I view the world:
Metaphysics (nature of reality):
· The Trinitarian God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is the source of all truth and is ultimate reality. He is eternal, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, immutable, personal, loving, merciful, just, and good. He always has been and always will be. Everything that exists, other than God himself, is ontologically dependent on him. Truth, therefore, is not a construct of the mind or relative, but is an external reality which is unchangeable.
· When God created the world he made it good. The created world originally had no sin, suffering, or death. The first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve, were created in the image of God for the purpose of glorifying him by enjoying him.
· When God created Adam and Eve, he had a “works based” relationship with them. This means that their perfect life in the garden and the intimate and unbroken relationship they had with God was
contingent on their obedience to him. God placed two trees in the garden: “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”, and “the tree of life.” God forbade Adam from eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
· Yet Adam and Eve chose to believe the lie of the serpent – namely, that they could become like God if they ate from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
· The result of Adam and Eve’s sin was the entrance of sin into creation and the loss of perfect relationship with God. Because God is perfect and cannot abide (or live with) sin, he expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden.
· Yet God had a plan to send a Savior into the world to redeem humanity and pay the price of their disobedience with the blood of his own Son, Jesus Christ. All of the Old Testament scriptures tell the story of redemption through types and shadows (hence the sacrificial systems, Israel’s’ typological theocratic monarchy, the prophets, etc.) heralding the coming of Christ.
Epistemology (how one can know reality):
· I believe truth to be knowable in part – because God is Truth, the world he created is governed by laws (the laws of science, reason, logic, etc.) which make the pursuit of truth possible – if it weren’t for the laws of nature, scientific discovery would be futile; if it weren’t for the laws of reason and logic, or dialogue here would be futile. If there were no such thing as truth (or if it were entirely unknowable) there would be no grounds for rational discourse on any level.
· The senses – the senses alone are not sufficient in coming to a knowledge of the Truth, but they play a significant role. Through means of the senses, one can observe the physical world and gather data.
· The Mind – Obviously, mere acquisition of data does little to aid one in coming to an accurate understanding of the world. It is through logical reasoning (mental processes) that one must interpret empirical findings. Through formation and syntheses of hypotheses, theories, and scientific “laws,” one can slowly come to a more accurate understanding of the physical world.
· Special Revelation – Yet truth is not limited to the physical world alone: there are also Spiritual realities. Of course, these realities are not physical in nature and thus are not able to be observed by means of the senses alone. Again, one must ask: “How can one know that there are spiritual realities?” Because of their sinful hearts, humans do not
want to submit to God or even admit that He exists. But at the same time our conscience bears witness to God’s existence. In other words, everyone has a knowledge of God, yet they obscure this truth that is written on their consciences. The main reason people do not believe in the true God is volitional, not intellectual. This is where the Scriptures and the work of the Holy Spirit come in. Not only has God chosen to reveal himself generally through nature, but also through his inspired Word (the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments) and through the work of his Holy Spirit in opening spiritually blind eyes. The Word and the Spirit work together to reveal to men and women their need for Him, His grace and sufficiency, His beauty, His immense worth, and the work of Christ on the Cross. It is by placing our faith in the person of Jesus Christ that we can come to know God personally. Honestly, there is no way I or anyone else can “make” you believe this. Yet I know this God personally and talk with Him every day. He is my hope. He is my joy. He loves me with the perfect love that my heart has always yearned for. Life in a sinful, fallen world is extremely painful. No-one can escape the wounds of broken relationships, the death of loved ones, or physical suffering. Yet Christ offers the hope of a perfectly restored relationship with God eternal life with Him – a life which will be devoid of all tears, suffering & pain.
