A presupposition is an underlying assumption that influences a particular set of beliefs. Webster’s defines a presupposition as something that is supposed beforehand or that is required beforehand as a condition. Therefore, a presupposition is an assumption that is required before anything can be concluded. You’re probably asking, “what does this have to do with apologetics and Christianity?” Well, I’m glad you asked that! It has everything to do with it.
We all have presuppositions. They are starting points for everything we believe about the nature of God, the nature of reality, how we know what we know, and how we are to live our lives. You may not believe that you have such presuppositions – that you don’t “assume” anything, and that everything you believe can be carefully explained by something else. On the contrary, I challenge you to explain something you believe that does not first rely on a set of assumptions. For example, no scientific experiment can be done without a pre-existing set of conditions. Moreover, the scientific method, which governs the entire experiment, must be assumed beforehand to be true. What tests have been done to prove the scientific method? One must also assume the cause and effect nature of the universe to be true. Otherwise no experiment could be repeatable. One must also presuppose that the human senses are reliable in recording the experiment, and that the human mind is capable of using logic and reason to come to a conclusion based on the results. You see where I’m going with this…
Christians, atheists, and everyone else has fundamental presuppositions regarding the nature of God, nature of reality, how we know what we know, and how we are to live our lives. As Christians we must be aware of our presuppositions. First and foremost, we assert that God exists, and the record of His personal revelation of Himself to mankind is found in the Bible. The Bible, which is the Word of Christ, is self-validating and is the basis for knowledge, morality, and reality. We believe that knowledge begins with Jesus Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossian 2:3). Any knowledge that does not presuppose the Word of Christ will ultimately end in confusion (Proverbs 1:7). For example, only Christianity can give solid grounding for trusting our senses, and for the use of reason and logic to evaluate propositions.
In terms of morality, only Christianity can account for the presence of universal and objective moral standards that all men know to be true in their heart of hearts. Therefore, the commandments of God, both explicit and implicit, are the absolute standards for human morality. Without this objectivity, morality crumbles under the shifting sand of relativism (who says, for example, that murder is wrong?). And finally, in terms of reality, Christianity affirms both the material and immaterial, the physical and non-physical. Therefore, Christianity accounts for the human conscience and for the innate questions about life after death. Christianity also accounts for the physical nature of the universe – its fine tuning to harbor life, the uniformity of nature (which is what allows for the repeatability of experiments), and the presence of fixed physical laws.
When one’s presuppositions do not begin with Jesus Christ and His Word, however, his own set of presuppositions will eventually contradict each other and be shown to be arbitrary in their grounding (an example of this is in my blog “Bad Religion?”). Only when he repents of his rebellion and turns to Jesus Christ for forgiveness will he be able then to coherently explain such things as reality, morality, and knowledge. How about you? Have you asked Jesus Christ to be your Lord? If not, I encourage you to do so. Please, accept God’s offer of peace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Otherwise, you will have to pay the penalty for sin yourself.
