The Christian and Philosophy

8 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. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, . . .

Colossians 2:8-9 (ESV)

Deservedly notorious are university professors who delight in stripping their students of admiration for “the faith once for all delivered to the saints,” luring them instead toward secular “isms,” such as atheistic existentialism, Marxism, naturalism, hedonism, relativism, and pantheism. So it is common for a parent, pastor, or youth leader to implore the departing freshman to keep his Christian wits about him—even using the exact words of Colossians 2:8-9.

In ancient times, all non-scriptural study, including science, went under the name “philosophy.” As mathematical exactness and theoretical testability entered the various fields, “natural philosophy” spawned “physics,” “chemistry,” and “astronomy.” Today, a vestige of that tradition can be found at graduations, where scholars are awarded doctorates of philosophy (Ph.D.s) in biology and geology. So in Paul’s day, “philosophy” could refer to all sorts of speculation about the universe.

When he spoke of “philosophy and empty deceit” (v. 8), Paul may have had in mind materialistic Epicureans and Stoics, such as he encountered at Mars Hill in Acts 17. He may have been thinking of Incarnation-denying Gnostics or latter-day disciples of such Greek cosmologists as Empedocles (who said all was a combination of earth, air, fire, and water) and Pythagoras (whose metaphysics put math and not God at the center of everything). Whatever the error, it was the unfortunate product of naturalistic imagination.

Of course, the word “philosophy” is admirable enough; philosophia simply means “love of wisdom,” and the Bible itself is stocked with “wisdom literature,” such as one finds in Proverbs. The problem arises when the gospel of Christ is excluded from one’s world view, for then the whole picture is skewed. Though some professors teach that abandoning the Bible is a step toward sophistication, it is indeed a plunge into foolishness. Christ is Lord of all (v. 9). Missing that, the mind is capable of boundless confusion.

Fortunately, in the centuries since Paul’s day, Christian philosophers have arisen to glean truth from the writings of their secular counterparts, to treat great themes from a Christian perspective, and to defend the faith from the attacks of skeptics. Names like Augustine, Aquinas, Pascal, Leibniz, Berkeley, Maritain, and Plantinga ring out, along with many others. But the dangers are always there, in every corner of academia.

It is a great blessing to the Church that Christian presses and websites are strong in this day. Pastors have, at their disposal, a wealth of apologetic material and books on the integration of faith and learning. Of course, ministers need to repeat Paul’s warning to the Colossians, but they are also prepared to equip the saints to detect and counter the sub-Christian and anti-Christian thought they encounter—and to build up their own thinking, on every subject, toward Christ.