By: Jeremy Rein

3 Feb. 2003 What has Jerusalem to do with Athens?

What has Jerusalem to do with Athens?

This question, which Tertullion asked centuries ago, is one that is still very pertinent to Christians, for much of the modern church displays the epistemological ignorance characteristic to our age. As Christians, we have forsaken the commission from Christ to be set apart in our minds. Our philosophy is no different from that of the world. Thus our thinking is not Christian, we do not understand knowledge in a Christian context, and the efficacy of our Christian witness is severely hampered. To take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ means that we need to have a distinctly Christian philosophy. This will enable us, in an age where Christians are largely no different from the world in their philosophy and approach to life, to reclaim a distinctive mindset. We are commanded as Christians to strive for this way of thinking, and it is this thinking that is the true fulfillment of philosophy. Wisdom and the love of wisdom can only be established and recognized in Christ.

The etymological root of the word philosophy is from the Greek word meaning "love of wisdom." In our modern culture, however, the idea of wisdom and truth is no longer seen as essential, and the very idea of truth is scorned and mocked. Philosophy has been divorced from it initial purpose and is used in the service of self-gratification by much of humanity. No longer do we hear questions of what is right or wrong. Instead, we hear questions such as, "what is in my best interest?" or "how can this help me?" Society no longer searches for the solid ground of truth but instead prefers to drift about on a sea of relativity, narcissism, and nihilism. In the self-serving philosophy that currently pervades our culture we have seen philosophy used to call for the death of those who are inferior, the legitimization of pedophilia, and the constant defense of abortion. All of these aberrations are characteristic of the unbelieving mind described by Paul in Rom. 1:18-32. The mind of the unbeliever is at enmity with Christ and is foolish and deceived. Unbelievers have become "futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts darkened" (Rom. 1:21). Paul similarly describes the unregenerate, irreconciled spiritual condition of unbelievers in Colossians 1:21, when he says "they are alienated and enemies in their mind" against God. The "enmity" is specifically one which is worked out "in the mind," i.e., in the thinking, of the unbeliever. The unbeliever is unable to be subject to the law's greatest command, which is to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all of your soul and with all of your mind" (Matt. 22:36-37). Instead, the unbeliever "hates the wisdom and instruction" of God, as Proverbs 1:7 puts it. Although the fear of the Lord is the beginning - the very starting point - of wisdom, there is no fear of God before the unbeliever's eyes (Rom. 3:18). As such, he is kept from realizing any of the "treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3) that are found in Christ.

The philosophy of this world is hopeless and deceptive. The Bible refers the worldly wisdom as knowledge "falsely so called"(1 Tim 6:20). Eph 4:18 is very clear when it states that unbelievers have "had their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their hearts." The unbeliever's intellectual enmity against God is simultaneously his epistemological undoing. The carnage and hopelessness of the present age are the outworking of this vain and darkened understanding. Men have turned to themselves to find knowledge and meaning and the results have been truly abominable: Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, Jeffrey Dalhmer, Abortion, Euthanasia, pedophilia, etc. In our attempts as a culture to "become as gods," we have truly reaped the fruit of our philosophical folly.

Many Christians look at the consequences of modern philosophy and abandon all attempts to form a philosophical outlook because they fear that all philosophy is evil. A passage often cited in defense of this idea is Colossians 2 where Paul writes: "Beware lest there be anyone who robs you by means of his philosophy and vain deceit after the tradition of men, after the elementary principles of the world, and not after Christ" (v. 8) - robs you, that is, of "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" which are deposited in Christ (v. 3). Many see this passage as condemning philosophy. However, in reality, this passage is instructing Christians to pursue philosophy. This passage is warning Christians against the "philosophy after the tradition of men." In this passage, Paul is explaining the antithesis between a Christian philosophy and the philosophy of the unbeliever. In order to discern what this vain philosophy is, we need to study philosophy and discern what is wrong with worldly philosophy. Philosophy can be used for ill or in the service of a Christian worldview. There are distinct differences between a Christian philosophy and the philosophy of the unbeliever, namely, the foundation for epistemology. We, as Christians, are called to maintain this distinction and advance a philosophy founded upon the knowledge of Christ.

In order to have a true philosophy we need to recognize that Christ is the only source of truth and knowledge. For it is Christ "in which are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3). Christ is "the way the truth and the light" (John 14:6). Christ is thus the inescapable starting point for knowledge of the world and all things in it. Thus the true basis for philosophy is the standard of Christ. As Christians, we are called "to be transformed by the renewing of our minds" (Rom. 12:2). Christ is the ultimate authority for the Christian. Note that the charter verse of Christian apologetics, 1 Peter 3:15, which reads "always being ready to set forth a defense to every one who asks you for a reasoned account concerning the hope in you," begins by laying the foundation for such an effort in saying "Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts!" Jesus Christ must be given the pre-eminence in our reasoning if we are to have an adequate and faithful apologetic and witness. Christ must be Lord over our thinking; every thought must be made captive to Him.

The Christian witness cannot simply be a naive criticism of the unbeliever, but must be a critique based on a clear and comprehensive understanding of their worldview. In critiquing the thought of unbelievers, we cannot be ignorant. We must be schooled in a wide variety of systems of thought and understand these systems and how they interact with one another. In order to have a truly effective witness, it is essential for us to have knowledge of different philosophies, understand their importance, and be able to refute them, and give an answer for our faith. We study philosophy in order to see what kind of thinking we should reject in this, our pluralistic, syncretic culture. In short, we study philosophy to discern and comprehend misguided thinking and to commit ourselves to true thinking about man and the world. This is to say that we should "Be in the world but not of the world" in terms of our thinking. We are warned" "Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou be like unto him and he be wise in his own conceit" (Pr. 26:4). For the Christian saved by the grace of God, scripture is logically primitive. We are encouraged to appreciate worldly knowledge, but always understand that any truth is founded on Christ. Thus we are called to maintain the epistemological antithesis between the darkened mind of the unbeliever and the mind of the Christian renewed by the Lord. It is only by maintaining this antithesis that we can have an effective witness. When we reason with the unbeliever from the foundation of Christian knowledge, we are working from the solid rock of God rather than the vain meanderings of worldly philosophy. We can thus give hope to the unbeliever with the idea that we are called to a firm standard of epistemology that gives us courage and stability in a constantly changing world of relativistic philosophy and depravity, for it is only the Christian basis of knowledge that can provide truth.

We thus see that Jerusalem, the Christian foundation of knowledge, is the only way we can make sense of Athens, the pursuit of philosophy. The thinking of the unbeliever is futile and his mind is darkened because he does not recognize Christ as the source of wisdom and truth. Consequently, man's attempts to find knowledge by himself, apart from God, have begotten disastrous results particularly notable in this previous century, with rampant narcissism, nihilism, and pessimism. As Christians, we are called to posses a uniquely Christian theory of knowledge holding that Christ alone is the way, the truth, and the life, in all areas, and especially in the pursuit of a philosophical outlook on life. Thus the Christian philosophy cannot be synthesized with unbelieving philosophies; it is unique in its claim to the truth. It is only the Christian that can present a consistent and optimistic philosophy, since Christ is the foundation for all knowledge. Thus it is only Jerusalem that can truly fulfill the ambition and purpose of Athens.