53 ones either. All arguments, then, based on our experiences in the present proceed on the assumption that the future will always be like the past and the present. However, to assume that the future will be like the past and the present is to beg the fundamental question: “How can we rationally know from our finite experiences alone that all of nature and all of the occurrences therein have always been and will always be regular and uniform throughout time?” As it stands, we can only presuppose — but not rationally demonstrate — the uniformity of natural events. Because no human can observe the totality of natural occurrences, the unbeliever’s knowledge of the natural order — the uniform patterns and scientific laws — in the end has no rational basis underlying it because it is severed from a biblical framework of knowledge. Only a special revelation from the One who first created the natural order and then providentially ensures its regularity (Gen. 8:22; Jer. 5:24, 33:20, 25; Prov. 3:19–20, 8:29) can furnish that necessary foundation that gives rational meaning to all the historian’s intellectual encounters with — and within — the natural world. As we can see, apart from Scripture, history is rationally uncertain and incomprehensible to the non-Christian. For in the unbeliever’s worldview, man can be nothing more than a higher order of matter in motion, which means even his thoughts, sentiments, and cherished beliefs are likewise physical/chemical side effects. Thus, his experiences have no inherent value or purpose nor are any of his actions truly free because they are rooted in the unalterable, random interactions of natural forces, which explains Beard’s predicament. The unbeliever is forced to choose between two mutually exclusive perspectives: natural determinism (material causation/no human freedom from natural forces) or cultural relativism (subjective experiences/situational ethics). Yet, in spite of his worldview, the unbeliever lives his life as if there really are universal norms: objective truth, right and wrong, inherent human worth, etc. His commitment to evolution notwithstanding, the unbeliever behaves as if life has value — as if he was specially created in the image of God and not the unintended byproduct of primordial pond scum; like the psalmist, he intuitively understands that he was fearfully and wonderfully made (Ps. 139:14). This is why he seeks peace and justice — not “survival of the fittest.” This is why he still does history: because he cannot avoid knowing God (Rom. 1:21) and the purpose for which God made him due to the image of God in him. Thus, Beard was correct in acknowledging the role of faith in his interpretation of history — faith for him being a blind, irrational leap
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