Faith vs knowledge
We all trust in something. In June
of 2023 a small sub, the Titan,
imploded during its descent to see the Titanic on the ocean floor, killing the
five people on board. Each of those five people may or may not have been able
to do the calculations necessary to indicate whether the vessel could withstand
the elements it would be exposed to. If they were unable to do the calculations
then they were trusting in someone else’s ability to do them—and that they had
been done accurately. If they were able to do them, they were trusting in their
own ability to do them. In either case, it seems that their trust was
misplaced.
The word “know” can mean we have information about
something, but it can also mean we are absolutely certain about something. The
word “fact” means something that is known or proved to be true (definitions
taken from the online Oxford dictionary.) We often think we know things to be
“absolutely certain” and information to be “facts,” that in reality we only
“have information” about and trust to be true. I trust and believe and hope the
sun will come up tomorrow. I have reason to believe that will happen because of
experience over my life and my understanding of how the earth and the universe
work. But I don’t know those things will happen because I don’t know that some
unique cosmic event won’t happen. That may be exceedingly unlikely but I don’t
know it won’t happen. I only believe that it won’t happen and that the sun will
rise as it always has. And I hope that’s true. That may seem an extreme and
even ridiculous example, but we have all experienced changes we never would
have imagined possible.
I believe that our uses of “know” as “absolutely certain”
and “fact” as “proved to be true” are almost universally overstated. Scientists
are always learning new things (e.g. Newtonian physics then quantum physics)
and history (which was historically written by winners/dominating cultures) is
continually being rewritten, which is why scholars in all fields are still
working to discover things. Knowledge and facts are more fluid than we
generally acknowledge—my 9th grade science teacher alerted us to that by
saying, “The only thing we can be sure of in science is that we can’t be sure
of anything—and we can’t be sure of that.” Instead of being “absolutely certain,”
we generally believe or trust that things are true based on our information and
experience.
But saying that knowledge is fluid is not the same as saying
truth is. Again, I believe there is ultimate truth —there’s a unified truth to
physics even if we don’t understand it (scientists must think so or they
wouldn’t be searching for it), just as there was truth about how malaria is
spread in 1900, before it came to be understood that mosquitoes were the
carriers. What is true can change, e.g. a dormant volcano can become an active
volcano, but at any point in time there are things that are true and things
that are not—ultimate truth exists but our knowledge of it is incomplete.
And so we are told, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
God does not require you to understand his will, only to
obey it, even when it seems unreasonable. And yet, our understanding and
intellect are God-given, so it seems like using them is a valuable and expected
as part of our journey.
I have reason to believe in the promises of God and in him
because of my history, relationship, and experiences with him in my life, but
also because of the stories and testimonies of others in the Bible and over the
past 2000 years (some of whom, ranging from Augustine to CS Lewis, to Francis
Collins, are noted above). It is not only my own experience but that fabric of
testimony throughout the Bible and history that gives me reason—and confidence—
to believe and therefore to hope. I know this as well as I know anything—better
actually.
Everyone has to choose
what to believe
And that makes all the difference in
the world—what you choose to hope and believe in. All hope and belief is not
the same. I once heard a pastor say that if you are falling over a cliff and
there are multiple branches to hold on to, it is critical that you grab one
that will support you—holding tightly to one that is not firmly planted won’t
save you, no matter how tightly you hold on.
Like members of a jury or a judge, each of us must decide
which witnesses we believe, which seem most credible based on what we know and
what we feel about/in their presence. What is the outcome of the trial? It
depends on who we choose to believe. In the case of faith, it is our own lives
and souls that hang in the balance.
But even if you have faith, there will certainly be setbacks
and times you will feel lost or adrift. Just as a scientist persists despite
failed experiments, problems they have not yet solved, and apparent anomalies,
because of his or her faith that there is an answer and it all makes sense
(there is ultimate truth), so a person of faith perseveres through difficulties
and challenging and confusing texts and times because of his or her faith that
God is good and it all makes sense to him.
Sections in this chapter:
- The heart of faith
- The core message and goal for your life
- Seeking to trust God and become more like Jesus
- Knowing your role—and God’s
- Fruit of the Spirit
- Managing our priorities and our praise
- Identity, the creeds, and unity
- The struggle of finding and holding faith
- Faith must be our own
- Levels and types of faith
- Faith vs. knowledge
- Faith and the Law and Works
- Free Will and The Fall
- Seeking to understand the Bible and life through discernment
- The challenge of discernment
- Handling different discernments
- "Our own words"
- Exploring challenging passages and ideas
- The importance of prayer
- Personal reflections
- The importance of living the life
- It’s not too late
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