The Danger of Deceptive Philosophy

A common objection to the claims of Jesus and the teachings of the Bible is "there can not be only one way to God" or "there is no absolute truth; all truth is relative". The problem with these points of view is that two competing "truths" can not both be true.

This is not a new view of the world or the nature of truth, however. In the Bible, there is a letter written by a man named Paul that called followers of Jesus to be alert to the danger of deceptive philosophy. In Colossians 2:8, Paul reveals how deceptive philosophy can be so dangerous:

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.


In this single verse, Paul makes us aware of four reasons why deceptive philosophy is so dangerous. First, deceptive philosophy desires to take us captive; faulty philosophical systems desire to carry us into a captivity that enslaves us to its view of the world. Second, deceptive philosophy is empty of any truth. While deceptive philosophy claims to contain truth, at the end of the day it is empty. For example, the person who states that they do not believe in absolute truth actually does believe in absolute truth; they absolutely believe that there is no absolute truth.

Third, deceptive philosophy tries to return us to the past. Many deceptive philosophical systems that exist today are not new; they are simply repackaged lies from previous periods in history. These systems either attempt to return us to one of two faulty philosophical streams from the past. Some systems try to return us under the control of previously flawed and failed religious systems that were created by man in an attempt to become God. Other systems try to return us under the control of systems that are influenced by spiritual forces that set themselves up in opposition to God and His kingdom.

Another danger of deceptive philosophy is that they deny the person and work of Jesus Christ. Tomorrow, we will look at exactly how deceptive philosophies deny who Jesus is and what He accomplished for us through His life, death, and resurrection.

Are you critically evaluating the framework that you use to navigate life with? Or are you opening yourself up to be deceived by philosophy that has no basis in truth?