Circular Reasoning & The Bible

Every philosophy, epistemology, and theology has, at its root, some form of circular reasoning. It's just a matter of recognizing it. By asking "Why...why...why...?" enough times, one can eventually expose the source of nearly all of one's presuppositions. I bring this up, not to expose those who use circular reasoning as if they are at fault for doing so, but rather to help us evaluate the validity of our sources.

Consider the atheist...ask them why they don't believe in God, and you will get a variety of answers. Some cite reasons that sound more like they don't have a reason while others might have had a painful life experience that caused them to not only question God, but to reject their belief in Him altogether. The former assumes that God does not exist based on no other basis of belief except what they think for themselves. This is a faulty presupposition, however, because everyone will admit that they are not perfect and that they have made wrong assumptions and decisions in the past. Why, then, should they, I, or anyone for that matter, trust in themselves as the source of definitive knowledge regarding an issue as important as the existence of God?

In the latter case, on the other hand—not to downplay the extent to which such horrific life experiences can destroy a person's confidence and purpose—they base their rejection of God on the fact that they believe God, if He even exists, should be different than they were expecting. Perhaps they believe God should be more willing to let them keep the job they lost, or keep their legs after an accident, or keep their spouse that passed away. These are crippling life experiences for sure, but are these the things that would make God good? Why would we begin to presume such things based only on our own notions, which we have acknowledged up to this point to be faulty more often than we would really like to admit? Holding to an idea for no other reason than because they simply believe it, is faulty logic, NOT because it is circular reasoning, but instead because they are not always right, so there is no reason to definitively believe that they are right in this case.

On the other hand, for the Bible-believing Christian, when asked why they believe in God, says...
     "Because the Bible says that God exists."
Why should I believe the bible?
     "Because the Bible is true."
How do you know it's true?
     "Because the Bible says the Bible is true."

This is not faulty reasoning even though it does involve circular reasoning. It is only faulty if someone can point out an irreconcilable error in the Bible. By "error," I mean to refer only to blatant contradictions or facts that can be incontrovertibly disproved, and I do not believe there are any (cf., 2 Timothy 3:16). "Mysteries," however, are not uncommon in scripture, but just because we can't explain something does not require us to abandon it—because our knowledge is subject to God, not the other way around. Now, the believer will naturally strive to defend scripture as they are confronted with issues that challenge it, but this is not to lead anyone to conclude that the only way to believe the Bible is true is if they first successfully extinguish every issue ever raised against it. On the other side of the coin, the non-believer will likewise naturally strive to disprove scripture. But the non-believer's presuppositions are faulty for the reasons explained above, whereas those of the believer are not.

Logically, one does not need a reason to believe that something is true, but having a reason why it is not true requires one to abandon that belief. That being said, suffice it to say I still think there are a number of reasons to believe that the Bible can be trusted as true, which include, but are not limited to, the following: it is full of hundreds of prophecies regarding the life and death of Christ that were accurately fulfilled (cf., 2 Peter 1:20-21), and it is extremely accurate both historically and scientifically.

But what about the Bible's authors, one might ask? Aren't they just as fallible and prone to error as every other human? So why can we trust them who wrote the Bible? These are good questions, indeed, but I would contend that we do not trust the writers, but instead we trust God. Scripture tells us not only that it is true, but also that God is sovereignly in control, and if these things are true, then it is reasonable to believe that God, through these writers, preserved His words to us and used these fallible men to do so. "And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe" (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

Relating to God

If you're anything like me—undisciplined, lazy, apathetic—living the "Christian life" is not easy. Scripturally speaking, there are those disciplines that are not only beneficial for believers but also commanded. How much better would my relationship with God be if I were to continually covet God's words written in the Bible; or to "rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18); or to meet daily with other believers like that of the early church (cf., Acts 2:46-47)? A tall order it seems, and yet one that is abundantly rewarding beyond the temporal bounds of life. Why then is it so hard...at least for me?

Galatians 3:1-5:

1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?

In this passage, Paul is rebuking the Galatians for reverting back to a legalistic observance of the law (vv. 2-3). Now, don't get me wrong...obeying God's law is a good thing and is highly correlated in scripture with drawing close to the Lord. He is not trying to say that it is not useful or at all beneficial to live obediently, but rather that it should not be our means of growing with God. Instead, in verse 2, he reminds us that we got to where we are simply by "believing what you heard" (v. 2). In other words, faith is our only hope in relating to God.

For most Christians, it is ingrained in their minds that we become His children through faith alone. We do nothing...God does everything; from opening our eyes to see our sin, to giving us the words to claim the faith that He puts in our hearts. Through faith alone, God transforms our hearts and adopts us as His children. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

But is that where it ends? Now that we have been claimed by God, is it now an exercise of the human will to grow spiritually? I can diligently try to pray and read my Bible in order to draw closer to God, but Paul is refuting the idea that we can do anything in and of ourselves to make this happen. In my experience, actually, one of two things happens: 1 - I begin my efforts, but they quickly begin to dwindle until they are no longer existent; 2 - I begin to think that I am pretty good at these disciplines of obedience and, hence, become prideful.

Read the words of Jonathan Edwards: "But they in a great measure leave off the practice of secret prayer. They come to this pass by degrees. At first they begin to be careless about it…they omit it once: After that they more easily omit it again. Thus it presently becomes a frequent thing with them to omit it and after a while, it comes to pass, that they seldom attend it" (cf., "Hypocrites Deficient in the Duty of Prayer" by Jonathan Edwards). This scarily sounds all-to-familiar. On the other hand, can we go so far as to consider it a blessing that God did not impute everyone with such ease in attending to the spiritual disciplines, if only in order that we might all-the-more rely on Him alone, not only to effectuate our faith, but also to sustain our growth? God continues to conform us to the likeness of Christ simply through our "believing what [we] heard" (v. 2).

In verse three, Paul goes on to ask if we are so foolish that "after beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" If by "goal" Paul is referring to our calling "to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God"—and I believe he is—then it is with undeniable clarity that the way we grow spiritually is by the Spirit alone (Micah 6:8).

Spiritual growth then is nothing more than our hearts being so inclined toward the Lord that, in response to Christ's obedient death on the cross as payment for our sins, we abide by the prompting of the Spirit with continual thankfulness. "The spirit of prayer is a holy spirit, a gracious spirit. Wherever there is a true spirit of supplication, there is the spirit of grace. The true spirit of prayer is no other than God's own Spirit dwelling in the hearts of the saints" (Edwards, emphasis added). The only way we will come to pray with any degree of regularity and—to put it more generally, grow spiritually—is by believing. Faith is our only hope in relating to God.