Intelligibility Doctrines [That Are Commonly Borrowed]
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, April 14, 2026 (Donate)
God has all knowledge (omniscience). God is the truth (John
14:6) and God is also the absolute standard of moral goodness. God created and
upholds or sustains the existence of all things.
These are basic Christian concepts that actually shape the
way we think and why man is even in a position to be able to think and reason. We
are made in the image of an all-knowing God of truth, thus we are able to process
knowledge and use logic to seek and understand the truth.
These things are what allow us to be intelligible. This is
why we can have personal abstract communication and understand poetry, songs, record
history, develop stories and be creative. God is the ultimate precondition for intelligibility
to be possible. Let’s consider a few doctrinal concepts that are based in
Scripture.
Intelligibility Doctrines
Truth
Truth is grounded in God’s nature and His Word. Scripture identifies God as the
ultimate standard of truth, not man’s opinion or shifting culture. Jesus
declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6, NKJV), showing
that truth is personal and embodied in Christ. God’s Word is likewise truth:
“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17, NKJV). Since God
cannot lie (Titus 1:2), truth is absolute, consistent, and unchanging. Thus,
all claims to truth must be measured against Scripture, which serves as the
final authority.
Morality (Absolute)
Absolute morality flows from God’s unchanging nature. “For I am the Lord, I do
not change” (Malachi 3:6, NKJV). This is in the context of God’s character. His
moral law reflects His holiness and is revealed in Scripture, such as the Ten
Commandments (Exodus 20). Moral standards are not culturally invented but
divinely established by God Himself in His revealed Word. “Be holy, for I am
holy” (1 Peter 1:16, NKJV).
Without God, morality becomes subjective; with God, right
and wrong are fixed because God is the one who defines what is right and what
is wrong. Sin (whether by omission or commission) is defined as violation of
God’s law (1 John 3:4), confirming morality is absolute, not relative. The sin of
omission is not being or doing what God requires and the sin of commission is
doing what God forbids.
Logic
Logical reasoning reflects the orderly and rational nature of God. “For God is
not the author of confusion but of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33, NKJV). The laws
of logic (non-contradiction, identity) mirror God’s consistency and
faithfulness. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews
13:8, NKJV). Since God’s Word does not contradict itself, logic is grounded in
His nature. Human reasoning is reliable when it aligns with God’s revealed
truth (Isaiah 1:18). But due to sin, man errs and often commits fallacies
(being illogical) and needs to be corrected based on God’s revealed Word.
Knowledge
Knowledge originates with God, who is omniscient. “Known to God from eternity
are all His works” (Acts 15:18, NKJV). True knowledge begins with reverence for
Him: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7, NKJV).
Human understanding is limited and dependent, but God reveals truth through
Scripture and creation. “In Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge” (Colossians 2:3, NKJV). Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His
understanding is infinite (Psalm 147:5, NKJV). Thus, knowledge is possible
because God has made Himself known.
When God made Adam and Eve, they were preprogrammed with perfect
knowledge—not infinite knowledge, but what was sufficient for their
needs as creation of God with tasks given by God. When they sinned, this affect
how we use and learn knowledge.
Honor
Honor is based in recognizing God-given authority and worth. Scripture
commands, “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12, NKJV) and “Honor
all people” (1 Peter 2:17, NKJV). Ultimately, honor is due to God: “You are
worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power” (Revelation 4:11, NKJV).
Honor reflects submission to God’s order and acknowledgment of His image in
others.
Respect
Respect comes from the reality that all people are made in God’s image. “So God
created man in His own image” (Genesis 1:27, NKJV). Because of this,
individuals are to be treated with care and fairness. “Therefore whatever you
want men to do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7:12, NKJV). Respect is not
based on personal merit but on God’s design and command. One can’t helps be remember
the second greatest commandment—to love other as yourself. This is arguably greatest
form of respect in action.
Dignity
Human dignity is predicated on being made in God’s image. Genesis 1:26–27 reveals
that mankind, in spiritual ways, uniquely reflects God’s attributes and nature.
This gives inherent and eternal worth to every person, regardless of status. We
are made in the image of an eternal God after all.
Even after the Fall, this dignity remains (Genesis 9:6).
Scripture affirms God’s care for humanity: “What is man that You are mindful of
him… You have crowned him with glory and honor” (Psalm 8:4–5, NKJV). Dignity is
therefore intrinsic and God-given.
Dignity, honor, and respect all work closely with loving one
another and thinking morally, truthfully ,and logically about them.
Uniformity of Nature
The uniformity of nature depends on God’s faithful sustaining of creation.
“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and
summer… shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22, NKJV).
This promise ensures regularity in the natural world. God
upholds all things: “In Him all things consist” (Colossians 1:17, NKJV).
Because God is consistent, creation operates in predictable ways, making
science and observation possible. Without God’s continual governance,
uniformity would have no foundation.
Because God upholds nature (and the universe as a whole) in particular,
predictable ways, this is what makes science methodology possible. We can
observe and repeat experiments with great precision. And it allows us to make
prediction based on this—not prophetic by any means, but scientific prediction
(i.e., will it rain tomorrow based on our current observable data and repeated
experiments by which we used previous weather data to develop our models).
Borrowed By The World
From a strictly materialistic worldview (atheism,
naturalism, secular humanism), these concepts have no ultimate foundation—they
can only be described, not justified.
If reality is only matter, energy, time, and chance, then truth
reduces to brain states shaped by survival, not correspondence to an objective
standard. There is no reason to assume our thoughts reliably track reality
rather than merely aid survival. Yet materialists still depend on truth as if
it is objective.
Absolute morality cannot exist in a purely material
world. If humans are the result of unguided processes, moral values are
products of evolution or social agreement. What is called “right” or “wrong”
becomes preference or utility, not binding truth. At best, morality becomes
consensus, which could then change at any moment. Relative morality becomes a
decay or a cancels that destroys relationships, institutions, and cultures
quickly.
Logic presents a major difficulty. The laws of logic
are immaterial, universal, and invariant. In a materialistic system, everything
is physical and changing, so there is no clear basis for universal, unchanging
logical laws. Yet reasoning itself depends on them!
Knowledge also becomes uncertain. If the human mind
is the unintended product of survival processes, there is no guarantee it
produces true beliefs (or more precisely justified true beliefs).
Knowledge collapses into probability or usefulness, not certainty.
Honor, respect, and dignity lose any objective
grounding. If humans are simply advanced animals, there is no inherent worth
beyond function or societal assignment. Concepts like “human rights” become
inventions, not realities. They may be useful for temporary social stability,
but they are not binding in any ultimate sense.
Finally, uniformity of nature—the assumption that the
future will resemble the past—cannot be proven in a materialistic framework. It
is an assumption, not a necessity. Science depends on this consistency, yet
materialism cannot explain why nature should behave uniformly rather than
randomly. In simplicity, doing science would be impossible since the laws of
nature could change at any moment.
In practice, secular systems borrow these concepts because
they are necessary for reasoning, ethics, and science. Though not discussed, other
religious systems around the world also borrow these concepts from the Bible—usually
unwittingly. Nevertheless, within a strictly materialistic worldview, they are
ultimately unjustified assumptions. They function, but lack a
sufficient foundation or ultimate basis to explain why they should exist or
be universally binding.
Bodie Hodge, Ken
Ham's son in law, has been an apologist defending 6-day creation and opposing
evolution since 1998. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as
a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers
News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.
Bodie
launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal
website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken
on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and
universities. He is married with four children.
Mr. Hodge earned a
Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois University at
Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of years as a
Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering and
running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic
materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a
grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar,
Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.
His love of science
was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one
year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and
scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over
25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields.
