Judgment and Decision Models within the Christian Presuppositional System

Abstract

Only after a system of moral and ethical values has been established can viable models of judgment and decision making be designed. Such models may then be used to either prescribe how a decision should be made or describe the behavior of decision makers. This article suggests ways in which the Christian presuppositional system may affect a decision model's parameters and mathematical form in terms of (a) the utility of objects and events, (b) the relative importance of information, (c) the way in which uncertainty is resolved, and (d) the goal of the decision maker as indicated by the particular dimension selected for optimization. In each case, Christian presuppositions define the criteria used to validate the model in terms of God's absolute laws and precepts. Other presuppositional systems rely on relative criteria based on biological, psychological, or sociological dimensions. Without the absolutes of God the Father, the work of Jesus the Son, and guidance through the Holy Spirit, models of judgment and decision are arbitrary at best and incomplete or inconsistent in the main. The Christian faith reconciles our own finite value system with the ultimate criterion system — God's laws.

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