It would help to read through essays [1] and [2] again, because unless you grasp the core issues of the first principle, it will be impossible to evaluate any worldview. So, I repeat it again that it would be worth reading those essays before you read this essay.
Now, I prefer to use the term “Biblical” worldview over “Christian” worldview because the former is more specific as to the content, when the latter is more likely to arouse feelings of the cultural ambience that goes along with Christianity. Moreover, in the present-day religious climate, there are so many things done under the name of “Christianity,” such as Catholicism, and other cults which borrow Christian terminology, when in fact, they are diametrically opposed to Christianity. For this reason, when the term “Biblical worldview” is used, it would point to a very specific source of content – the Bible.
The First Principle – Biblical Infallibility
The first principle of the Biblical worldview is “the Bible alone is the Word of God.” A first principle should be the starting point, should be self-authenticating, make knowledge possible, and the rest of the propositions in the worldview should be deduced from it.
Now, no first principle can be “proved,” in the sense that it cannot be argued for on the basis of some other proposition. If that is so, then it is no longer the “first” principle. If you want proof for everything you can have proof for nothing, since, to prove A you will need B, and to prove B you will need C, and you will land up in an infinite regress. If that is so, the worldview cannot even begin! So, the idea that we should have “proof” for everything is nonsense. What “proof” do you have for the very idea that you should have proof for everything?
But just because one does not have “proof” for the first principle does not mean that it cannot be logically defended. In the following essay, this is what I intend to do regarding the Biblical worldview.
The Starting Point
The first principle should be the starting point of the worldview. There can be no proposition higher than this from which it is derived. This is the ultimate proposition in the entire worldview, and this means there can be no other proposition greater than this. The first principle of the Biblical worldview is Biblical infallibility. This means that the Bible is cannot make a mistake when it talks about something.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16).
“Prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21)
This means that all the propositions in the Bible are true. This is so because God revealed all the propositions in the Bible. All of Scripture – ALL of it – carries God authority, and this means you cannot selectively take some propositions from Scripture and reject others. When you come to the Bible, you accept it as a whole. If you take some propositions and reject others, by what epistemological standard are you doing so? If you affirm the first principle of the Biblical worldview, then you are committed to affirming all that the Bible states.
There is another term – inerrancy – which means that the Bible does not make an error when it talks about anything. Though these two terms are somewhat similar in meaning, the term infallibility is more specific since it denotes the actual potential (the Bible cannot make a mistake) than the actual state of affairs (the Bible does not make a mistake).
Now, every worldview has its first principle. No one can deny us taking our first principle as Biblical infallibility. Every worldview begins somewhere or the other, and we begin with the proposition that God has revealed all the propositions in the Bible. This is called presuppositionalism.
The critics will say that we first assume the existence of God, and then we come to the Bible to prove it. But if you notice, I am not concerned with proving the “existence” of God at all. Merely proving that God “exists” means nothing. Which God (? god)? The God of the Bible, or the Koran, or some New Age idea of Cosmic Consciousness? I am not assuming the existence of God independent of the Bible, and then coming to the Bible to prove it. Rather I first come to the Bible, and then know that God exists, and that He has revealed Himself in the words contained therein.
Self-authentication
Next, a first principle should be self-authenticating. That is, it should satisfy the very demands it is making. In case of the Biblical worldview, the first principle is self-authenticating. How do we know the Bible is the word of God? The very Bible tells us so!
“Thy word is truth.” (John 17:17)
“Every word of God is flawless.” (Proverbs 30:5)
Now, there are those who will say that this amounts to circular reasoning – using the conclusion as a part of the premise. But you should note that we are dealing with the first principle. You cannot have a higher authority to validate the first principle. Since the first principle is the ultimate proposition in the worldview, it should not depend on any other proposition for its justification. So, how do I know the Bible is the word of God? The Bible tells me so.
Just take a look at the first principles of other worldviews. In agnosticism, the first principle is that one cannot know anything about reality. But this first principle cuts itself because one has to know something about reality in order to state that nothing can be known about reality. One assumes some knowledge of reality in order to deny it in the first place. Thus, agnosticism cannot stand logical scrutiny at the level of the first principle.
Next, in empiricism, the first principle is that “all knowledge comes through sensations.” Does this first principle justify itself? Did the very idea that all knowledge comes from sensations, come from sensations itself? No. Then, where did it come from? You see, the first principle of empiricism does not validate itself. Moreover, how do you know the senses are reliable? The reliability of sensations has to be established prior to that, which has not been done, and one cannot proceed to do so, on the basis of this first principle which collapses right at the start.
Next, in the scientific worldview – scientism – the first principle is that something is true only when “proved” by science. Ignoring the logical fallacies in the scientific method for now, was that very proposition – that everything should be proved by science – proved by science itself? If everything should be proved by science, then you also have to prove that very proposition by science – which cannot be done. The first principle of the scientific worldview digs its own grave.
In contrast with these irrational worldviews, the first principle of the Biblical worldview states that God has revealed Himself in the words of the Bible. And how do I know that? From the Bible itself! So, the Biblical worldview is self-justifying.
But, just because any worldview claims infallibility does not mean that it is, indeed infallible. For example, the Koran also claims infallibility. But when we examine the Koran and look at the other propositions in it, we will find that it contradicts itself and thus self-destructs. I will write about this in a separate post in the near future.
The Possibility of Knowledge
Next, the first principle of the worldview should make knowledge possible. For example, if I choose a first principle such as, “a guitar has six strings,” such a proposition may be true but does not tell me about the nature of the universe, or why murder is wrong. So, a first principle must be broad enough to make knowledge possible.
Any worldview has components such as epistemology, metaphysics, anthropology, ethics, soteriology, and eschatology. The first principle should be epistemological. If the first principle is metaphysical or ethical, it cannot be self-authenticating and cannot proceed. For example the proposition, “God exists,” does not make knowledge possible. How does one know about the existence of God in the first place? So, the first principle should be the epistemological foundation of the entire worldview.
In the Biblical worldview, the first principle is that “the Bible alone is the word of God.” So, on this basis the rest of the categories can be derived from taking the propositions from Scripture and validly deducing other propositions from them.
Network of Propositions Deduced From the First Principle
Finally, it is important to remember that a worldview is a network of propositions. That is, all the propositions will be related to each other. If they are not related and end up contradicting each other, then the worldview will self-destruct. Also, all the propositions in the worldview should be derived and deduced from the first principle. If a proposition is not derived from the first principle, then it means its rejects the first principle, and depends upon some other worldview’s first principle. This reeks of inconsistency and contradiction, and such a worldview should be rejected straight away.
I have shown you earlier that the other worldviews cannot even begin on the basis of the first principle, let alone validly deduce other propositions from it. In contrast with this irrationality, in the Biblical worldview, we start of with the first principle of Biblical infallibility and deduce the rest of the propositions from it. This is called systematic theology, and to this we will now turn.
Components of the Biblical Worldview – Systematic Theology
To know the components of the Biblical worldview one needs to study systematic theology. In systematic theology, we gather all the verses regarding a particular topic and validly deduce conclusions from them. The topical arrangement that is followed in most systematic theologies corresponds to the philosophical outline which I had outlined earlier.
The doctrine of the Word of God (Bibliology) is the theological equivalent of epistemology, which is the theory of knowledge? How do we know? Because God has told us so in His Word.
Next, moving on to doctrine of God (Theology Proper), we are told about the nature and attributes of God. We learn about creation, providence, and the beings of the spiritual world such angels and demons. This corresponds to metaphysics, which deals with the nature of reality (Greek, meta = beyond; physics = material world).
Next, we move on to anthropology and we learn about the creation, purpose, and nature of man. A subdivision of anthropology is the doctrine of sin, or hamritiology. We are told about what went wrong with man and the state mankind is in.
Next, there is soteriology, or the doctrine of salvation. But prior to this, there is Christology, or the doctrine of Christ, where we learn about the nature and attributes of Christ, and about the work He has accomplished for His people. As a result of this we study about the application of this in soteriology.
Finally, there is eschatology, or the doctrine of the end times, which is the Christian theological equivalent of the doctrine of time. We learn that time is not cyclical, but linear, and that God will bring history to a grand finish at Judgment Day, when He will judge the world through Christ.
This is a succinct summary of the components of the Biblical worldview. In systematic theology textbooks there are other components such as pneumatology, ecclesiology, and missiology, but those are not the core doctrines which accentuate and separate the Biblical worldview from the rest of the worldviews.
What about truth in other worldviews?
Now a question which might arise is, what about truth in other worldviews? What about other religions? Aren’t all religions just the same? Don’t we all reach to the same God? Most of the amicable folks who want to promote “world peace” and “religious harmony” keep harping on such statements again and again. But repeating something again and again does not make it true. Most of those who say that there is truth in all religions, that all religions are basically the same, and that we can learn from all of them, betray their ignorance in wide measure. In fact, if they take the minimal effort to study world religions, the contrast between the worldviews will be glaringly obvious.
To affirm that there is some truth in every worldview means that the person making the claim already has all the truth, so he is able to recognize it in each and every worldview. Unless one has omniscience, one cannot declare one worldview true and the other as false.
In Colossians 2:3, we are told that in Christ are hidden “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” There is no wisdom, knowledge, and revelation elsewhere in any other religion or worldview. In Revelation 19:13, Christ is also called the Word of God. Hence, by deduction we can state that all knowledge and wisdom is found the Word of God – the Bible. Of course, this does not mean that God has revealed exhausted His mind in the Bible, but it means everything He wants us to know is revealed in the Bible. The Bible was given to reveal truth and not to conceal it. God is omniscient, and He has revealed a portion of His mind to us in Scripture. This is not an excuse to shout “mystery” to justify our laziness or unbelief, but to pursue the knowledge of God with all ferocity and vigor since “everything we need for life and godliness” is revealed to us in Scripture (2 Peter 1:3).
The Bible provides us with sufficient information for all intellectual and pragmatic endeavors. To deny this is spiritual treason. Since God has revealed Himself in the Bible, and His knowledge is infallible, it means that everything the Bible speaks about is completely true.
There are some who say that worldviews can be partially true, and partially false. But this is just a subtle attempt to cover up their incompetence. To say that a worldview can be partially true means that there are some propositions which are true and other which are false. However, on what basis will you decide which propositions are true and which are false? This means that you should presuppose another worldview and judge the worldview under question on the basis of that worldview. But how do you know whether the worldview which you use to judge the other worldview is completely true?
Unless you have infallible information revealed to you by an omniscient mind, there is no way for you to authoritatively judge any worldview. This is what God has done in the Bible. He has infallibly revealed His mind to us in the words of Scripture. So, on the basis of Scripture we judge each and every worldview that exists.
The Biblical Worldview vs other worldviews
Strictly speaking, there are only two worldviews – the Biblical worldview and the rest of the worldviews. Right at the dawn of history, God ordained this conflict (Genesis 3:15), maintains it. The contrast between the worldviews is so glaring that the Bible refers to it as the contrast between light and darkness (2 Corinthians 4:4-6). This is why conversion from any other worldview to the Biblical worldview entails a complete revamping of one’s thought life wherein he or she is taught to think on the basis of Scripture (Psalm 1:2).
Darkness is not a dim light, but rather the absence of light. That is the intellectual state of all the other worldviews. The Biblical worldview is not “more” rational than the other worldviews. The Biblical worldview is the only rational worldview and the rest are irrational gibberish, no matter from where they come from (Romans 1:22).
So, what does the Bible say about other worldviews? From Psalm 147:19-20, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21, we are told that God revealed His Word only through the prophets of Israel and the apostles in the New Testament. He has not revealed His Word elsewhere. So, on the basis of the Biblical worldview, we affirm that there is no possibility of truth elsewhere. On the basis of the Biblical worldview we affirm that every other worldview is false and will lead to damnation (John 14:6).
Isaiah 8:20 says, “To the Law and to the Testimony! If they do not speak according to this Word, they have no light of dawn!” What is peculiar about the light of dawn? It has very minimal light, since it is just recovering from the night. That is the way it is with anyone who does not speak according to the Bible. They do not even have that minimal light and understanding. They are in intellectual and epistemological darkness. So, how does one get out? Not until God sovereignly grants understanding to their mind. We will now look at this in detail.
