Axiom (premise, presupposition, starting point, assumption, prejudice, first principle, first philosophy, etc.): Scripture is the only truth. Or, at minimum Scripture governs thinking in every area of scholarship (McQuilkin, Payne, Plantinga). Thus, natural revelation is governed by special revelation (Van Til—“Nature and Scripture”).

Methodological naturalism does not exist. The person, himself or herself, is involved to a varying extent at every step in the process. (Polayni, Personal Knowledge) It usually presents itself in some form of historical and recognized epistemology or a combination of the same. Ultimately, there are only two epistemologies: (1) that of Biblical revelation and its derived natural revelation and (2) all others.

General revelation is a Bible doctrine. The Bible must be listened to first!

http://drreluctant.wordpress.com/2010/01/27/natural-theology-an-evangelical-faux-pas/

The following are not pure categories. There is great overlap and blurring of disciplines, but such is the nature of a Personal universe. “Here O Israel. The Lord is our God. He is One.”

1. Anthropology. Who am I? What am I? Why am I here? How did I get here? Descartes make the mistake of presupposing his “ego.”
1.1 Four stages of natural and human condition: Pre-Fall, Post-Fall: progressive redemptive (man and nature), Redemptive
1.1.1 Nature and man are abnormal: post-Fall (Romans 8 “groaning”)
1.1.2. Scripture give the norm, in so far as God has revealed it.
1.1.3. Greatest impact: epistemology, anthropology, psychology, ethics, sociology, etc.—the “human” sciences.
1.1.4 Man’s reasoning in distorted (fallen). He is prone to irrationality. Logic remains, but he must have axioms by which to deduce and govern his empiricism. “There is a way that seems right unto man, but the end thereof is death.”
1.1.5. The origin of consciousness and conscience.

2. Cosmology (ontology): “Nature” equals Creation. “Objective” nature was created by a subject (Person). This universe is personal It can speak (Psalm 8, Romans 8).
2.1 Nature, as Creation, answers all “why” questions. Why gravity? Why light is both a wave and a particle? Why does life exist? Why is there something rather than nothing?” (Leibniz)
2.2 (Possible) answer to the Observer Effect in quantum mechanics.
2.3 Answers to some of the old-earth, young-earth debates. Control of Scripture.

3. Epistemology: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The wisdom (sophia) of man is foolishness to God and His ways. “The fool has said in his heart that there is no God.”
3.1 Man’s thinking is affected by the Fall.
3.2 Logic is not affected, but logical mistakes are easily made. Premises must be true.
3.3 Empiricism (scientific method, induction) is a methodological and informal fallacy, but it is the only one that God has given us for investigation of the natural world.
3.4 Satan is a deceiver and “the Father of lies.”
3.5. Empiricism must be governed and controlled by Scripture. See practical application below.

4. Ethics: “We must obey God rather than men,” including all humanistic morality and ethics.
4.1 C. S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength, illustrates methodological naturalism without Biblical controls.
4.2 What is legal is not necessarily moral (Biblical). For example, abortion, anti-spanking, Affordable Care Act, etc.
4.3 Biblical ethics must control all scholarly and practical endeavors.
4.4 Answers the naturalistic fallacy: “There can be no ought (ethics) from an is (ontology).” Alfred Nobel asked, “Was my invention of dynamite good (construction) or evil (killing in warfare)?” Thus, the Nobel Peace Prize.

5. Miracles do happen (but we must be careful about which events are called miracles)

Practical Applications

“There is a way that seems right unto man, but the end thereof is death.” “All those that hate me (God) love death.” All personal, social, and legal norms that are not Biblical cause disease, destruction, and death. The universe was created to function that way by a Person.

1. “You shall not murder.” Abortion is neither a personal choice nor a righteous law. It is not “standard medical practice.”

2. Medicine. The largest killer in the United States is medicine, even apart from abortion. See Death by Medicine (book)
2.1 Health: regenerate and unregenerate
2.2 Psychology and psychiatry: what is normal and how should it be treated. One of the greatest mistakes that the Church has ever made. Medicating ourselves into disease and death.
2.3 Spanking
2.4 Sexually transmitted diseases
2.5 Homosexuality: more disease and death than any other “social” group. Physician licenses threatened for “treating” homosexuals.
2.6 Medical ethics must be Biblically sound.
2.7 Malaria: the biggest medical killer worldwide (after abortion), but DDT not allowed.
2.8. Eugenics and Margaret Sanger
2.9 Health: Exercise is of some benefit (I Timothy. 4:8). Obesity: “all things in moderation.”3. Why is there a rainbow? Genesis 9

4. Global warming. A. Science issues. B. Government control that harms. See www.cornwallalliance.org

5. Study philosophy and philosophers of science, especially Michael Polanyi: personal knowledge.

6. Faith is foundational to every area or study. The person injects himself or herself: childhood background, formal study, and vocation—calling.

7. Study of philosophy and philosophers of science: strong arguments for the Christian-Biblical cause. Are there 30 percent of Christians who are phlosophers on college and university campuses? If so, let us get on with the Reformation of the 21st century.

8. Artificial separation of the arts and science. What is art? What is science?