Romans 1:18–23 (KJV)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Summarized Philosophical View
The fall of man is first an epistemological tragedy: the suppression of known truth. When humanity denies what reason and revelation clearly display—the existence and moral authority of God—it descends into irrationality and idolatry. Romans 1 reveals that unbelief is not due to a lack of evidence but a rebellion of the will.
“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” — Psalm 14:1 (KJV)
Apologetic Devotional
Paul opens this section of Romans with a moral diagnosis of the human mind. The problem is not intellectual ignorance but willful suppression: men “hold the truth in unrighteousness.” The Greek term katechō means to restrain or suppress—a deliberate act of resistance. God has made His existence “clearly seen” through creation, yet fallen humanity twists the light of reason into the darkness of self-deception.
J. P. Moreland and William Lane Craig call this “the irrationality of naturalism,” noting that “if our cognitive faculties are the product of blind processes aimed at survival rather than truth, then we have no reason to trust the very reason we use to deny God.”. This is Paul’s logic: once the Creator is denied, reason collapses into incoherence. A universe without divine Logos cannot sustain human logic.
Norman Geisler exposes this moral-epistemic inversion: “Atheism is not merely a conclusion; it is a choice to exclude God from one’s worldview.”. Sin darkens not only behavior but also belief; the heart and the intellect fall together. The postmodern mind, proud of its skepticism, repeats the ancient folly: “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” (Rom. 1:22).
Alister McGrath reminds us that Christianity “does not fear reason; it redeems it.”. In the gospel, truth is not abolished but illuminated. The natural world declares God’s glory (Psalm 19:1), yet the fallen heart suppresses the witness of creation. Only revelation—truth spoken anew by the Word made flesh—can restore the mind’s clarity and the soul’s worship.
C. S. Lewis saw this moral blindness as the defining mark of modern idolatry: “We direct our worship toward what will not satisfy, and then wonder why we are empty.”. When humanity dethrones God, it enthrones the self—becoming both priest and idol of its own false religion. The result is existential despair masked as enlightenment.
Michael Wilkins, reflecting on Jesus’ own apologetic method, writes: “Christ reveals that unbelief is not cured by more evidence, but by a changed heart that loves the truth.”. Jesus often showed that the skeptic’s problem was not data but desire: they “seeing, see not; and hearing, hear not” (Matt. 13:13). So too, Paul’s diagnosis pierces the conscience of modern culture: our crisis is not a lack of truth, but our rebellion against it.
Romans 1 thus unmasks the intellectual pride of the age. Behind every denial of God lies an act of worship misdirected. Humanity does not live in a neutral state; it either glorifies the Creator or glorifies creation. The mind that refuses to bow before the truth inevitably bows before an idol—whether materialism, pleasure, or self. True wisdom begins where worship is restored: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 1:7).
Let us therefore reject the vanity of self-made truth and return to the light that shines in creation and in Christ. For in acknowledging God as Creator, Redeemer, and Lord, the intellect finds coherence and the heart finds peace.
Supporting Scriptures:
Psalm 19:1–4 | Proverbs 1:7 | John 3:19–21 | Ephesians 4:17–18
Reflection & Response
- Do I recognize areas in my life where I “suppress the truth” by rationalizing sin or self-will?
- How can I demonstrate to others that the Christian worldview restores reason, rather than rejects it?
Sources
- Moreland & Craig, p. 141: “If our cognitive faculties are the product of blind processes aimed at survival rather than truth, then we have no reason to trust the very reason we use to deny God.”
- Geisler, p. 44: “Atheism is not merely a conclusion; it is a choice to exclude God from one’s worldview.”
- McGrath, p. 102: “Christianity does not fear reason; it redeems it.”
- Lewis, Mere Christianity, Book II, ch. 1: “We direct our worship toward what will not satisfy, and then wonder why we are empty.”
- Wilkins, p. 112: “Christ reveals that unbelief is not cured by more evidence, but by a changed heart that loves the truth.”