Common Ground, Part 4

In their textbook entitled Introductory Logic, Douglas Wilson and James Nance (two devout presuppositionalists) state that “God created man with the ability to reason…. Without the ability to reason, we would be unable to talk, preach, read, or follow God’s commands…. Logic is not devised by man, but neither is it created by God, like trees and stars are. Rather, it is an attribute of God which is reflected in creation” (1). If this statement is true, then it is also true that when an unbeliever uses logic validly, he necessarily enters the realm of theism. Again, this does not mean that he admits this fact, but it does mean that he has abandoned neutrality. As John Frame aptly points out, “If the subjectivist stops at red lights and seeks to avoid eating poisonous materials, we may conclude that he is really and objectivist at heart” (DKG, 120).

R.C. Sproul, John Gerstner and Arthur Lindsley (three devout classical apologists) make a similar point with regard to epistemology in their book, Classical Apologetics. They argue that there are three basic assumptions held by theists and nontheists alike: 1) the validity of the law of noncontradiction, 2) the validity of the law of causality, and 3) the basic reliability of sense perception. “These assumptions are necessary for science in its broadest sense. They are not only prerequisites for knowledge, but are necessary assumptions for life itself” (72).