Realism: The Philosophical Foundation for Objective Truth and Its Essential Role in Biblical Theology

Please Help Us Keep These Thousands of Blog Posts Growing and Free for All

$5.00

Realism, particularly in its classical and moderate forms, holds a foundational role in the framework of a biblical worldview. It affirms the existence of universals—qualities or properties such as “goodness,” “truth,” and “justice”—as real and knowable, either existing independently of the human mind (in the case of classical realism) or as instantiated in individual things (in the case of moderate realism). This stands in contrast to Nominalism, which denies the existence of universals, reducing them to mere linguistic conventions or subjective ideas.

From a biblical and theological standpoint, Realism is indispensable. It provides the metaphysical basis for believing in objective morality, immutable divine attributes, rational intelligibility of the created order, and the meaningfulness of theological language. Realism asserts that our words and concepts correspond to real entities and attributes in the world and, more importantly, in God Himself. It is only through a Realist metaphysical framework that the doctrines of Scripture—rooted in eternal truth—can be rightly understood and confidently defended.

This article examines the historical development of Realism, its philosophical claims, its integration with biblical theology, and how it serves as a necessary bulwark against the relativistic and subjectivist trends of Nominalism and modern thought.

Historical Development of Realism

Realism has its roots in the philosophical traditions of Plato and Aristotle. For Plato, universals (or Forms) existed in a separate, immaterial realm. The Form of “Goodness,” for example, existed eternally and perfectly apart from material reality. Aristotle, while affirming the real existence of universals, grounded them in the actual substances of this world. According to his moderate realism, universals are real but do not exist apart from individual instances; they are instantiated in particular things.

This Aristotelian framework was appropriated and refined by Christian thinkers such as Augustine (354–430 C.E.) and Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274 C.E.). Augustine affirmed that universals existed in the mind of God as divine ideas, eternal and unchanging. Aquinas, deeply influenced by Aristotle, taught that universals exist both in the divine mind and in created substances as essences or forms. This Christianized version of moderate realism became the dominant metaphysical model in classical theology and scholastic philosophy.

By affirming that the world is intelligible and that words and concepts correspond to actual properties and essences in reality, Realism provided the philosophical basis for natural law, objective morality, and coherent theological discourse.

Philosophical Tenets of Realism

Realism posits that universal properties or categories are real features of the world, not merely mental or linguistic inventions. When we say that both an apple and a cherry are “red,” we are not merely applying a word to two distinct phenomena but identifying a common property that exists in both.

This conviction supports several critical philosophical and theological tenets:

1. Objective Truth Exists
Truth is not a construct of the mind or a social convention but the accurate correspondence of thought or language to reality. If “truth” is a real property, then statements can be judged true or false based on whether they align with the actual state of affairs.

2. Universals Are Real
Concepts like “justice,” “goodness,” and “beauty” are not just subjective impressions but refer to actual features either of created entities or of God Himself. This undergirds both natural theology and moral absolutes.

3. Language Is Reliable
If our terms refer to real things in the world, then language is a trustworthy vehicle for conveying truth, including theological truth. This is essential for the interpretation of Scripture, which depends on the belief that words and propositions carry objective meaning.

4. Rational Order in the Universe
Realism assumes that the universe is rationally structured and intelligible, because it reflects the rational mind of its Creator. This belief underlies the historical rise of science, as well as biblical teachings on creation (Genesis 1:1–31; Psalm 19:1–4; Romans 1:20).

Realism and the Attributes of God

Scripture presents the attributes of God—His holiness, justice, love, omniscience, and omnipotence—not as arbitrary designations, but as essential and eternal realities. These attributes are not simply names we apply to God based on our perceptions but reflect actual properties of His being. Realism provides the necessary philosophical framework for affirming this.

For example, Psalm 89:14 states, “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; loyal love and truth go before you.” Such a verse only makes sense if righteousness and justice are objective realities that exist in God’s nature, not merely conceptual labels.

Likewise, when God declares Himself to be holy (Leviticus 11:44) and just (Deuteronomy 32:4), these statements imply the existence of real qualities inherent in His being, not attributes arbitrarily assigned to Him. Realism affirms that God is what He says He is—not merely in name but in actual being.

Realism and Moral Law

Moral realism flows directly from metaphysical realism. If moral qualities like justice and goodness are real, then laws that reflect those qualities are objectively binding. This is the foundation of biblical ethics.

The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1–17) are not mere conventions, nor are they arbitrary decrees from a sovereign will. They reflect the eternal moral character of God Himself. For example, the command “You shall not bear false witness” (Exodus 20:16) is grounded in God’s nature as a God of truth (Titus 1:2; John 17:17). Truth is not a label; it is a divine attribute. Lying is wrong not simply because God commands it so, but because it contradicts His very essence.

Realism alone allows for such grounding. Nominalism, by contrast, reduces moral terms to linguistic conventions, leading inevitably to moral relativism or divine voluntarism, where right and wrong are determined solely by God’s will rather than His nature.

Realism and the Incarnation

The doctrine of the incarnation, that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man, also depends on a Realist metaphysical framework. The affirmation that Christ is one person with two natures (divine and human) presupposes that “humanity” and “divinity” are not just labels but real, knowable essences.

John 1:14 declares, “And the Word became flesh, and lived among us.” This statement asserts the real union of two distinct natures. Philippians 2:6–8 describes Christ as existing in the “form of God” and yet taking on the “likeness of men.” The entire doctrine of the hypostatic union collapses if “form,” “likeness,” or “nature” are only linguistic conveniences rather than actual realities.

Realism and Biblical Interpretation

The historical-grammatical method of interpreting Scripture rests squarely on Realist assumptions. It assumes that the words and sentences in the biblical text correspond to real truths about God, humanity, sin, and salvation. When Paul writes, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16), he presupposes that “righteousness,” “teaching,” and “truth” refer to objective realities.

Jesus affirms in John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” Such a claim is only coherent in a worldview where truth is an objective, knowable property and not a subjective construct.

By contrast, Nominalist approaches to Scripture often result in allegorical, relativistic, or existential readings that dissolve the text’s meaning into mere personal experience or theological preference. Realism maintains the integrity, authority, and reliability of Scripture by affirming that it communicates real, knowable truths about God and His will.

Realism in Theological Language

Theological discourse depends on the belief that terms used to describe God correspond to real attributes. If “omnipotent,” “holy,” or “loving” are just labels without metaphysical reality, then theological claims are vacuous.

The doctrine of divine simplicity—that God is not composed of parts but is wholly unified—is also intelligible only if God’s attributes are real and not conceptually fragmented. Statements like “God is light” (1 John 1:5) or “God is love” (1 John 4:8) are not metaphors in a Realist framework; they are statements about God’s essence.

Thus, Realism upholds the intelligibility and precision of theological language. It ensures that when the Bible says “God is just,” this refers to something real and eternal, not a convenient category of human speech.

Realism and the Created Order

Scripture teaches that the created world reflects the character of its Creator. Genesis 1:31 says, “God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” The goodness of creation is not a subjective impression but an objective reality. Psalm 19:1 declares, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of his hands.”

Romans 1:20 explicitly teaches that God’s “invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made.” This presumes that creation has an intelligible structure corresponding to real divine attributes. Realism is the only metaphysical position that makes sense of this.

Furthermore, God’s laws of nature are not arbitrary or chaotic but reflect the rational, consistent nature of their Author. Scientific inquiry is only possible in a world where universals such as “mass,” “gravity,” and “energy” are real and intelligible. The orderly nature of the cosmos supports the Realist claim that universals exist both in the mind of God and in the structure of reality.

Conclusion

Realism, particularly in its moderate form as adopted by biblical theology, is essential to a sound understanding of God, morality, Scripture, and salvation. It affirms the real existence of universals, the objective correspondence between language and truth, and the rational structure of both creation and divine revelation. Realism upholds the intelligibility of theological doctrines, the objectivity of moral law, and the inerrancy of Scripture by grounding all these in the unchanging nature of God.

Without Realism, theological language loses its meaning, morality becomes arbitrary, and Scripture is rendered a collection of subjective impressions. Therefore, any system of Christian apologetics or biblical interpretation must be built upon the Realist metaphysical framework that undergirds and affirms the eternal truth of God’s Word.

You May Also Enjoy

The Moral Argument for God: A Rational, Biblical, and Philosophical Defense of Objective Morality’s Theistic Foundation

About the Author

EDWARD D. ANDREWS (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. He has authored over 220+ books. In addition, Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).