Faith and Reason - Ronald Nash

Presuppositions

Play an important role:

A. Worldviews and noetic structures contain a number of views that we presuppose or believe without proof.

B. These assumptions are necessary if we are to do any thinking at all.

C. St. Augustine, Christian philosopher-theologian "We must believe something before we can know anything."

D. Even logicians, mathematicians (axioms), scientists and philosophers are forced to make assumptions.

E. Assumptions are important because they determine the method and goal of theoretical thought.

F. Once you commit yourself to a set of presuppositions, they will play a big role in what you believe.  "Your axioms determine your theorems."

Non-Theoretical Foundations of Theoretical Thought

A. Theoretical thought is often strongly determined by non-theoretical thought.

B. Most people show that they are incapable of thinking clearly about their own worldview and giving a fair hearing to someone else's worldview.

C. These non-theoretical factors can be person specific, or culture specific. eg. racial prejudice or religious prejudice (not wanting there to be a God)

D. These non-theoretical factors often play more of a role in determining a person's beliefs than logical or theoretical factors do.

E. Even though these factors play a big role, they can be overridden and people do change their core beliefs. ie. Saul of Tarsis, me.

F. Christians: Do not overlook the massive role the Holy Spirit plays. People are brought to faith not by arguments, but by God.

G. Core changes to a person's conceptual system can often take years, and happen very gradually.

H. Dramatic changes to a person's worldview are usually accompanied by a long period of doubt about key elements of doubt about that worldview.

The above notes were taken from Ronald Nash's book Faith and Reason.  It contains a very nice overview of some interesting apologetics and philosophy concepts.  I recommend you buy it if you want to learn more.