Reformation thinkers in law, science and theology rejected Rationalism. They were rational in that they took reason seriously, but they were not rationalists because instead of starting with only man’s reason, they started with the God revealed in the bible.
They saw that the human mind is not infinite and does not have access to all knowledge. They realised their need for an authoritative source of presuppositions on which to base their reasoning and they trusted that the Infinite Personal God had communicated these things in the bible.
Tapping into the spiritual knowledge of the bible proved to be a far more reliable basis for developing scientific knowledge than rationalism. By trusting the Word of the Creator, the conclusions of Reformation thinkers closely matched the created reality and they became the founders of modern science.
Of course, they also made the bible their final authority for relationships with God, for knowing the meaning of life and for discerning right from wrong. Having taken Him at His Word they had found that God is real and has spoken through the bible in ways that can be understood.
The diagram below illustrates the idea of their Christian epistemology (their way of knowing things with confidence). It shows two kinds of knowledge
- sense knowledge: knowledge gained from what we see, touch, hear, taste, or smell. Rationalist philosophers limited themselves to sense knowledge until they realized they could not find meaning that way; and
- spiritual knowledge: knowledge gained from the Creator’s handbook – the bible. Reformation thinkers built science by starting their reasoning from biblical presuppositions.
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