Philosophy is often sidelined and left for the educated. Such were my convictions before
attending this course. I had not fully considered the significance of subjugating philosophy to the
authority of Scripture. If we define faith as the “acceptance of something as true, told to us by an
authority,” it follows that every human being does have faith, whether a believer or an
unbeliever. The difference is that the Christian has Yahweh as the prime authority and the rest of
the world has anything but God as the supreme authority. This course clarified how these
worldviews and their background conditions came about. It demonstrated that secular philosophy
was used as a defence mechanism against the Holy Spirit.
The course challenged me to see how secular philosophy influences my theology, my
ministry and the movies I watch. All human beings are designed to reason. We come up with
ideas and embed them in our actions. Therefore, Christians must be alert to recognise these ideas
and their allegiance. The world is not hiding it any more. Modern ideological agendas are pushed
down our throats in the name of progress, and Christians cannot afford to ignore them any
longer. Kenya consumes the products of the West almost blindly, weakening our convictions.
Studying the Enlightenment philosophers helped to expose the evil roots of modern ideologies.
The course demands that we critically think about what we consume culturally and intellectually.
What is considered ‘progress’ is nothing new (Ecc 1:9). It is the same old ideas packaged in new
skins. I remember leaving one of the lectures on ‘Time’, as examined by St. Augustine, feeling
disillusioned by the physicist’s explanation of origins. The modern Big Bang cosmology
packages Epicurean and Lucretian philosophies as ‘scientific’ and at times ‘factual’. Another case
is Charles Darwin’s evolution theories, which are simply Lucretian/Epicurean ideas postulated
1800 years before the publication of ‘The Origin of Species’.
Of particular interest was the nature of man. It is often difficult to break down who we
are. The course demonstrated the biblical claim that we are temporal beings who rebel against
God. Colonialism was the focus of study, and it was clear to me that it began in the garden (Gen
3), and many philosophies try to justify such evils. Men devise evil and call it good (Isa 5:20-21).
Interestingly, some secular philosophers (through general revelation) would realise the necessity
for some great power/being from which all things derive purpose, meaning or form; many
Enlightenment philosophers would strongly disagree. It only goes to vindicate Paul’s declaration
in Romans 1:18-20.
I completed the course with a strengthened faith in the God of the Bible. I recognised that
my understanding is finite and fallible; thus, I require the infallible word from the infinite God to
know. Secular philosophies were used against Jesus and Paul, but they displayed that God’s word
triumphs every single time. We may not understand every philosophy there is, but we must learn
what God’s word says if we are to “…walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him:
bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…” (Col 1:10 ESV).
This is a task for all believers.
Finally, the course trains us in humility and patience. If we think it hard, it will be hard,
but if we approach it with our God-given capacity to reason, imagine and understand, we will
learn and grow. Scripture warns us to “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and
empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and
not according to Christ” (Col 2:8 ESV). I cannot recommend this course enough for anyone in
ministry or those desiring to see the metaphysics behind worldviews. We must submit to the
authority of Scripture to know and understand the things of God (1 Cor 2:14-16).
In summary, I do not seek to understand so that I may believe; but I believe so that I may understand. For I
believe this also, that ‘unless I believe, I shall not understand’ (Anselm, Proslogion), is the
foundation of the course.