Clark's Philosophy
Dr. Gordon H. Clark understood Christianity as a system of thought. He treated it much like Euclidian Geometry. The Christian system is comprised of propositions (or theorems) that are deduced from the axiom of scripture. The axiom (first principle, or presupposition) for the Christian is the Bible alone is the Word of God. This axiom is selected among other possible axioms because of God’s illumination (by Christ, the Divine Logos) and the axiom’s consistency and richness, i.e. its ability to provide knowledge. In other words, unlike other possible axioms, God reveals the Christian axiom to be true and it can consistently solve problems in Epistemology, Metaphysics and Ethics.
Dr. Gordon H. Clark understood Christianity as a system of thought. He treated it much like Euclidian Geometry. The Christian system is comprised of propositions (or theorems) that are deduced from the axiom of scripture. The axiom (first principle, or presupposition) for the Christian is the Bible alone is the Word of God. This axiom is selected among other possible axioms because of God’s illumination (by Christ, the Divine Logos) and the axiom’s consistency and richness, i.e. its ability to provide knowledge. In other words, unlike other possible axioms, God reveals the Christian axiom to be true and it can consistently solve problems in Epistemology, Metaphysics and Ethics.
Whereas Rationalism follows Plato, Descartes, Spinoza, and Leibniz whom sought to construct worldviews based on human reason alone (without divine
revelation) as the standard and judge of what is true or false. Likewise Empiricism follows Aristotle, Locke, Hume, and Berkeley whom sought to construct worldviews based on sense perception alone (without divine revelation) as the standard and judge of what is true or false. Dr. Clark’s presuppositionalism repudiates both rationalism and empiricism on multiple grounds. One such reason is that both the laws of logic (i.e. the laws: of
identity, excluded middle, non-contradiction, rational inference) and sense perception taken as axioms lack content. Both taken separately as our sole axiom furnish us with very few theorems,
if any. The laws of logic or sense perception alone is not broad enough as an axiom. But by divine revelation we come to know the axiom of Scripture as the source for knowledge. Knowledge is conveyed exclusively by the propositions deduced explicitly or implicitly by the axiom of Scripture.
Methodology
Dr. Clark was a Philosopher par excellent. So Clark’s main arsenal in apologetics is logical analysis of worldviews. He quite often, and brilliantly if I might add, uses reductio ad absurdum arguments in refuting detractors. Moreover, since Dr. Clark repudiates all forms of Empiricism, he often uses this as an advantage in apologetics.
Methodology
Dr. Clark was a Philosopher par excellent. So Clark’s main arsenal in apologetics is logical analysis of worldviews. He quite often, and brilliantly if I might add, uses reductio ad absurdum arguments in refuting detractors. Moreover, since Dr. Clark repudiates all forms of Empiricism, he often uses this as an advantage in apologetics.
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