This is for You, Philosophers
…and for anyone curious as to how to explain the ‘why’ behind a belief system using philosophy as a Christian. David Geisler would tell me that his dad, Norm Geisler, would often say that Christians needed to learn good philosophy, especially to counter the bad philosophy that undermines biblical foundations. C.S. Lewis also said, “Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.”
While I was in the process of my dissertation, this understanding was required. I found it to be a very valuable exercise in understanding how my own belief system came about by analyzing how I came to know and understand, through the Holy Spirit, anything about Truth (big T, as in God’s Truth).
So for those who are curious, I outlined three philosophical assumptions: ontological, epistemological, and axiological. I note my personal reflections about my beliefs concerning the nature of reality, how knowledge is acquired, and the values that inform my Christian worldview. To this day, this is the lens through which I have come to understand the human mind and its abilities to observe, understand, process, and apply the truth of God’s Word.
Why this matters for you and your mental health
Simply this: how we see the world shapes how we see ourselves, our struggles, and our hope for healing. A biblical worldview reminds us that our identity is rooted in Christ, that truth is both knowable and trustworthy, and that every person has immeasurable worth because they are made in God’s image. When applied to mental health, this perspective helps us approach challenges with both faith and wisdom. In short, these assumptions aren’t just abstract ideas; they guide how we live, how we think, and how we find hope.
Ontological Assumption
Ontological assumptions relate to the nature of reality.
My ontological assumptions come from being a Christian with a biblical worldview. A biblical worldview is the belief that God is the Creator of all things. In Genesis 1:1, it states, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The belief in God as Creator is the lens through which I view and understand the nature of reality. This perspective comes from philosophy and a classical empiricism. Classical empiricism assumes that an objective reality exists independently of our perceptions. This framework is a foundational position that knowledge is built as we observe reality and then extract true principles about reality as we think about it.
The Bible teaches classic empiricism; in Romans 1:20 it states, “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” These texts reinforce my belief that reality is both created and observable and can be understood through God's revelation and human reasoning. My ontological position that comes from the ontological assumption is that I could use both observation and reason to understand reality. I believe that truth is knowable (known as objective truth) and can be observed and experienced through our senses.
Epistemological Assumption
Epistemology is the study of knowledge and how we come to know what we know.
What counted as knowledge is at the core of epistemological assumptions. I believe that truth can be known through observations using our senses. The epistemological assumptions that I hold come from the framework of a biblical worldview and classical empiricism as the proper epistemological system. There are four laws of logic in epistemology to define how we define truth and think about truth. The four laws of logic are:
1. Law of non-contradiction: something cannot be both X and not X at the same time and in the same sense. It would be impossible to say that I was Keri Mankos and, at the same time, not be Keri Mankos.
2. Law of Identity: if you have an object or a concept, it is always equal to itself and not something else. A book is a book and not a dog at another point in time.
3. Law of the excluded middle: for any given statement, there are only two possibilities: the statement is true, or it is not true (false). Christianity is true, or it is not true.
4. Law of rational inference: if we accept a premise as true, we can make reasoned conclusions based on that premise. All birds have feathers. A bluejay is a bird; therefore, it has feathers.
These epistemological assumptions, which contained the laws of logic, shaped my epistemological positions that truth came from God and that it could be discovered. Truth was that which corresponded to reality or to its object. These assumptions and positions influenced the way I approached research because I believed that truth could be known, even when topics were complex.
Axiological Assumption
Axiological assumptions communicate the values and ethics that characterize one’s research.
My axiological assumptions are based in my Christian beliefs. I believe that every human being has value because they are made in the image of God. In Genesis 1:26 it says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’” This scripture supports that human beings are created in the image of God and highlights the inherent value of human life.
A Christian worldview also states that sin entered the world through human disobedience. The story of sin is told throughout Genesis 3 and impacts all aspects of this world and the human experience. Redemption and restoration are the focus of the New Testament, with Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection providing the means for reconciliation with God. John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life,” and Romans 5:8 states, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” A Christian worldview uses the 7 C’s to understand and make sense of the world. These referred to the events that have affected (or would affect) the world (and universe): creation, corruption, catastrophe, confusion, Christ, cross, and consummation.
Remove the fancy philosophy, and what all this simply means is that my worldview rests on the belief that reality is created and knowable, truth can be discovered through God’s revelation and reason, and every person has immeasurable value because they are made in the image of God. I encourage you, if you haven’t already, to spend some time in philosophy to deepen your faith and understanding of how we were created by our Creator.
References
Answers in Genesis. (n.d.). The Seven C’s of History. https://answersingenesis.org/store/product/the-seven-cs-of-history/
Creswell, J. W. & Poth, C. N. (2025). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (5th ed.). (pp.25-43). Sage.
Lewis, C. S. (2001). The weight of glory. HarperOne. (Original work published 1949)
New International Bible. (2011) Zondervan. (Original work published 1978).
NGIM (2024). Grounded Series. Thinkific https://ngim.thinkific.com
