Presuppositions: The Invisible Lenses That Shape How We See God

Everyone has presuppositions. They are the beliefs assumed to be true before one even begins to evaluate evidence or engage in conversation. They are the invisible lenses through which every experience, every encounter, and every piece of information is interpreted. And when it comes to matters of God, faith, and ultimate reality, presuppositions are among the most powerful forces shaping conclusions.

When dealing with any person about God, one must assume that they have presuppositions, and the first task is to discover what those presuppositions are, examine them, and carefully deconstruct them. But here is what most people overlook: unbeknownst to oneself, one also has presuppositions. They can take the form of opinions about God, opinions about life, opinions about other people, opinions about reality itself. It is every person’s responsibility to critically investigate his or her own presuppositions, deconstruct them, and then reconstruct them in accordance with God’s Word.

The Schizophrenia Illustration

Consider this example. Imagine a man named John who suffers from schizophrenia and believes that everyone is out to kill him. He sees every action through the lens of that presupposition. When someone sits down to eat with John and reaches for a fork, he interprets that simple gesture as an attempt to stab him. Every action, every word, every glance is colored by this underlying belief.

To help John, one must first recognize his presupposition for what it is and then work to deconstruct it. One cannot simply argue about whether the gesture was threatening; the argument will go nowhere until the root belief is addressed.

The same principle applies universally. All people carry presuppositions that distort how they perceive reality.

Presuppositions About Life

Sometimes presuppositions are not about God at all; they are about the nature of life itself. A person might believe that life is simply too hard and things will never work out. Or perhaps the assumption runs that all people are mean-spirited or working against them. If someone holds one of these presuppositions, then every action encountered is interpreted as hostile, unkind, or motivated by ill intent.

One might carry the belief that the deck is stacked against oneself. And then, when the job does not come through, it confirms the presupposition. The belief feeds itself. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, not because reality conforms to it, but because perception filters reality through it.

The Scar Study

There is a remarkable study that illustrates this point with startling clarity. A group of women participated in a survey that they believed was about discrimination in the workplace. Each woman was given a realistic fake scar through professional makeup application. They were told to go into a real job interview and then report back on their experience, specifically, whether they felt discriminated against because of their scar.

Here is the twist: just before each woman entered the interview room, the makeup artist touched up her face, but instead of touching up the scar, the artist removed it entirely without telling her. The women walked into their interviews with no scar at all.

When they returned, nine out of ten reported feeling discriminated against. Not only that, but they were able to point out specific words and behaviors from the interviewer that they believed were directed at their scars, scars that did not exist.

Their presupposition, that they had a scar and would be judged for it, made them see discrimination where there was none. The lens through which they viewed the world distorted their entire experience.

Presuppositions and the Knowledge of God

This has profound implications for how one approaches God. If someone carries the presupposition that God is angry, distant, or uncaring, then every experience, even blessings, will be interpreted through that lens. A trial becomes proof that God is punishing them. A blessing becomes a setup for future disappointment. A delay becomes evidence that God has forgotten them.

Conversely, if someone carries the presupposition that God is faithful, good, and sovereign, then trials become refining fires. Blessings become evidence of His grace. And delays become opportunities to trust His timing.

The psalmist understood this when he wrote:

“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” (Psalm 34:8, KJV)

And Paul commanded believers to actively reshape their thinking:

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:2, KJV)

The Call to Examine Ourselves

The Scriptures call believers not merely to believe but to examine what they believe and why they believe it. Paul urges:

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.” (2 Corinthians 13:5, KJV)

This is not an invitation to doubt; it is an invitation to intellectual and spiritual honesty. Are the beliefs one holds about God, about oneself, and about the world actually grounded in Scripture? Or are they the accumulated residue of painful experiences, cultural assumptions, and unexamined traditions?

Every believer must do the hard work of identifying presuppositions, holding them up to the light of God’s Word, and ruthlessly discarding those that do not align with revealed truth. This is what it means to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

The invisible lenses are there. The question is whether one will examine them, or continue seeing the world through distortions never consciously chosen.