Explaining Epistemology to a 10-Year-Old

Sometimes people ask really good questions that deserve really simple answers. Recently, someone asked this: “Even if we have libertarian free will (LFW), we still hold false beliefs. We don’t know which ones are false. So how can we ever be justified in thinking our beliefs are true?” It was a great question, and I realized it came from someone who had recently been exposed to two of my main arguments: the FreeThinking Argument and the Deity of Deception Argument. Both show that if determinism is true—whether it’s from mindless nature or even God Himself—then we can’t truly know anything about theology or metaphysics. Why? Because if all your beliefs are determined by something untrustworthy, you can’t be justified in holding any of them. The person asking was intrigued but still trying to grasp what I was saying. When he told me he was struggling to follow, I decided to explain it like I was talking to a 10-year-old.

A Thought Experiment and a Math Test

Here’s what I said: Imagine you're taking a math test. You hit a tough question. You’ve got three options:

1. Try to solve it yourself. Think carefully and do your best.

2. Guess randomly.

3. Listen to someone whispering the answer in your ear.

Let’s talk about that third one.

Scenario A: The Smart Friend

The whisperer is your best friend. She’s super smart, loves you, and always tells the truth. You don’t know the answer yourself, but because you trust her, you believe the answer is probably right—even if you didn’t figure it out on your own.

Scenario B: The Trickster Kid

This time the whisperer is smart, but also a known prankster. Sometimes he tells the truth, but sometimes he lies just to mess with people. So even if he gives the right answer now, you can't really trust it. You don't know if he's helping or tricking you. In philosophy, we call that a "defeater"—a reason to doubt a belief, even if it might be true. Now imagine this... The trickster gives you every answer on the test. You never get to think for yourself. He tells you what to believe—right or wrong. And you don’t even get to choose. He

makes

you believe it. That’s what happens under something called

divine determinism

—the idea that God determines everything you believe, even your false beliefs.

So what does this have to do with God?

Christians believe in the God of John 14:6—the God of truth. But some Christians (often called Calvinists) also say that this God determines everything we think and believe—even the wrong stuff. Here’s the problem: If all of us believe at least a few wrong things about God (and we do), and if God is the one who makes us believe those things, then He is the one causing us to believe false things about Him. That turns the God of truth into something more like the trickster kid—a being who sometimes leads people into false beliefs. And if that’s true, we can’t really trust Him. Even if our beliefs happen to be true, we have a good reason to doubt them. Worse? This same God also inspired the Bible. But if He determines people to believe wrong things about Him, then we’d also have reason to doubt the Bible—and our ability to understand it. Now we’re in real trouble.

Enter Libertarian Freedom!

What if you weren’t determined by the trickster? What if the God of truth, who desires all people to know the truth (1 Timothy 2:4), created you to be a free thinker—able to think for yourself? Now YOU get to do the work (2 Timothy 2:15). You get to:

• Be careful.

• Evaluate evidence.

• Check your answers.

• Think hard.

• Consider arguments.

• Change your mind.

You can take your thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5) instead of letting them take you captive (Colossians 2:8). You can reason together with others (Isaiah 1:18) and come to

know

the truth that sets you free (John 8:31–32). That’s the power of libertarian freedom. It gives you the ability to think well, the opportunity to correct false beliefs, and the responsibility to seek truth.

Conclusion

Bottom Line: 

The question isn’t whether we have false beliefs (we all do), but whether we have good reason to trust the beliefs we think are true. And we can—if we’re free to think, investigate, and be careful. But if our beliefs are forced into us by something or someone we can’t trust, then we have reason to doubt all of them. That’s why freedom to think matters—because truth matters. Stay reasonable (Isaiah 1:18), Dr. Tim Stratton