Plantinga reorients the conversation in philosophy, worldview and life around the reality that we live in God’s universe as described by the Christian worldview story. In Plantinga’s reformed epistemology, God is the starting point, reflecting Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” If we start with God, and we live in God’s universe then it makes sense that certain beliefs are warranted and certain assumptions about the state of things are rational.
Human reason can be valid if people are designed to be able to know the truth given the right conditions. We can know God and many things in our universe in a properly basic way without an appeal to reason, the same way we know other people, and the way we know that the past and the external world is real. Our spiritual and physical senses correspond to the truth God desires us to know regarding him and his creation. The Spirit gives us faith among other gifts to believe and follow Christ and enter fully into the Christian story of creation, fall, redemption and restoration. Using properly basic beliefs that include God in their foundations provides a rational approach to the Christian worldview story.
Alvin Plantinga connected some of the dots for me by helping to clear away some of the weeds and debris due to the secular story impinging on my Christian story, especially around reason and knowledge. In the past, I have been guilty of mixing the secular and Christian stories and often unintentionally. This hindered my confident affirmation and enjoyment of God and his promises, and I think skewed my teaching of Christian worldview.
Since engaging Plantinga, I am more likely to recognize that I live and teach in God’s universe where he is the creator, sustainer and sovereign; and I have a good and powerful Father; a savior in Jesus Christ who is the incarnation of God who died on the cross and rose from the dead, and the Holy Spirit dwells within me and affirms truth, sealing it with conviction in my heart. God is active in his creation, and he hears the prayers of his people. I believe that I can know this to be true, and it is reasonable.
Life is good.
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1 Wright, N. T. (1992). The New Testament and the people of God: Christian origins and the question of God, volume 1, London, Fortress Press e-book.
2 Willard, D. (2009). Knowing Christ Today: Why we can trust spiritual knowledge. New York, NY: Harper One.
3 Plantinga Videos. (2018). Plantinga Videos.
4 Plantinga, A. (2011). Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism. Oxford University Press, USA.
Approved with changes by faculty for the College of Theology on July 26, 2023