Epistemology, or the theory of knowledge, is that branch of
philosophy that is concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge, its
presuppositions and basis, and the general reliability of claims to knowledge.[1] What
is knowledge? What does it mean to know? Are there different types of
knowledge? Is my knowledge of an inanimate object the same as my knowledge of
an abstract concept? What about my knowledge of other human beings? From whence
does knowledge come? What is the origin and source of knowledge? In the
Ptolemaic system, as in the cosmogony of the Bible, man was assigned a central
position in the universe, from which position he was ousted by Copernicus.[2]
Polanyi is only partly correct. Man has never really occupied the central
position of knowledge in the universe. That position has always only been
occupied by God. However, in his original condition, man could have a much
greater degree of confidence in his knowledge of the universe because his
interpretation of the data that he processed was unaffected by sin. As a result
of the fall however, man now finds himself in epistemic pandemonium. Man’s
interpretation of the data and the manner in which he reasons about human
experience is dreadfully prejudiced by a sinful nature that is contrary to God
at its very core. Can human knowledge be salvaged? How can man make account for
the intelligibility of the human experience we call “knowing?” The purpose of
this short article is to provide a very brief overview, a curt introduction if
you will, of the subject of epistemology and to assist you, the busy Christian,
in recognizing the radical difference that exists between the Christian view of
knowledge and the many competing non-Christian views of knowledge. For the sake
of space, I will only address the largest of the large stones in this
particular stream.
There are two basic kinds of knowledge that philosophers
commonly discuss in the literature. Something is said to be known a
posteriori if it is known on the basis of human experience. On the other
hand, to know something apart from experience, for example, the laws of logic,
my knowledge is said to be a priori. For the average person, it seems
uncontroversial to say that human beings experience knowledge. But for the
philosopher, it is anything but uncontroversial. Any Christian interested in
confronting men with the gospel of Jesus Christ will eventually and sooner than
later, have to deal with the question, “How does man account for the
intelligibility of the phenomenon of human knowledge?” This naturally leads to
the challenging question, “How do you know that Christianity is true?” The
Christian response to the question of genuine knowledge is fundamentally
opposed to its many non-Christian options. The purpose of this article is to
provide a constructive summary of a distinctly Christian epistemology. Before
moving into that construction, a word should be said about two of the most
common epistemologies embraced by most people in our culture.
Rationalism is the belief that human knowledge comes
through the mind, or human reason. The underpinning of human knowledge is said
to be the human mind. Take for example the idea of Euclidean triangles. All
Euclidean triangles have interior angles that total 180 degrees. How do we
respond if someone asks us how we know that this is the case? Do we say we know
it by observation, like we know that crows are black? By definition a Euclidean
triangle has interior angles that total 180 degrees or it is not a Euclidean
tringle. Once we understand the nature of the Euclidean triable, our knowledge
of it seems innate, immediate. We feel no need to go looking for a Euclidean
triangle that may NOT meet the criteria. We know intuitively it seems that one
does not exist and we know this with certainty.
On the other hand, empiricism holds that human
knowledge is experiential in nature. All knowledge is the product of sensory
data. That is to say that knowledge has to be empirical in nature, coming
through the senses, in order for it to count as knowledge. For example, I know
that all crows are black birds. If it is a crow, I know that it is a bird, and
I know that it is black. I know a posteriori that all crows are black.
That is to say, I know by observation, the sense of sight, that all crows are
black. Someone might say, well, you only know that the crows that you have
observed are black but have you observed all crows? That is sort of the point. One
theory of non-Christian epistemology is that all knowledge is of this sort;
knowledge arises out of experience. Empiricism is the theory of knowledge that
underlies modern science. Empiricism not only contradicts Christian teaching,
it inevitable collapses when subjected to critical scrutiny. This is not to say
that no knowledge comes through the senses. It is only to say that knowledge is
not limited to sense experience alone. Moreover, sense perceptions are subject
to individual interpretation. It is at the level of worldviews that basic
presuppositions for the building blocks of interpretation come into play.
Contrary to rationalism and empiricism, two very common
theories that attempt to explain how human knowledge is possible apart from
knowledge of God, the Bible informs us that human knowledge is revelational
in nature, and as such, is entirely dependent on God. Empiricism and
rationalism view man as autonomous and therefore, fully capable of properly
interpreting the nature of the world in which he finds himself. The Greek
philosopher Protagoras believed that “man is the measure of all things.” This
is the sine qua non of unbelieving thought. This is the fundamental
difference between a Christian view of knowledge and a non-Christian view of
knowledge. Christians must insist from the very beginning that all human
knowledge is revelational in nature, and is therefore utterly dependent on God.
When God created the world, and placed Adam in the garden, he had to transfer
knowledge to Adam. When we think about how knowledge starts, we are left with
the impossible task of explaining how knowledge can arise from no knowledge. It
is very similar to something extended in space and time arising from nothing.
The human mind cannot comprehend it. The idea that a blank slate could ever
become a rational being organizing complex input from sensory data,
categorizing it correctly is a nonstarter. How could one even know what data
is? Where would the categories come from to begin with? Without knowledge,
knowledge is impossible. Knowledge is not something that is capable of
appearing from nothing. It is impossible for knowledge to have not existed at
some point in time. From no knowledge, no knowledge comes!
According to the Christian worldview, God created the world
and all things in it. Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth.” Not only would such an act require a very powerful being, it
would require a very knowledgeable one as well. We do not have to look past the
metaphysical claims of Genesis 1:1 to understand the source of knowledge. It is
God. God, being a being, or better, a person who possesses knowledge, created
human beings in His image, like him. Human knowledge then has its source in God.
God created human beings with the ability to know, and understand their world
as well as their creator. From this we can conclude that all genuine knowledge
then is at bottom, revelational in nature. And this is true for a priori
and a posteriori knowledge. God has revealed himself and his works of
creation to man from the very beginning according to Romans 1:19-21. Romans
2:14-15 even goes so far as to tell us that God has made it impossible for man
not to know something about morality along with his knowledge of the created
world. This knowledge is referred to in Christian theism as natural revelation,
or natural knowledge of God.
But even natural knowledge is revelational in nature. It is
given to man, written in man innately. Not only that wired into man is his
natural capacities to learn about his environment. Without God, man cannot know
anything about his world or about himself. Not only this, there is another kind
of knowledge. This is a more accurate knowledge that has as its mechanism the
biblical idea of faith. Faith-enabled knowledge is the restoration of man to
his prior ability to know himself, his environment, and his Creator more
accurately. Redemption applies to the whole person. The Christian’s knowledge
is redeemed knowledge. Hebrews 11:3 tells us that our understanding of how the
universe came into existence is by faith. We know and understand that the world
was created by God through the vehicle of faith. Faith produces genuine
knowledge. It is a supernatural gift of God that is, as some might call it, an
epistemological game-changer. Christians do not come to know God through
rational arguments and empirical evidence as a result of autonomous human
inquiries and examination. This is a method of reasoning that is toxic to the
Christian faith. It is a product of enlightenment philosophies, not biblical theology.
Christians come to true knowledge by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit, Who,
in the process, grants to believers the gift of faith. It is a result of God’s
amazing grace!
Evangelism and apologetics done correctly acknowledges that
Christian converts are not made by clever or sophisticated philosophical
arguments using logic and empirical evidence. Christian converts are not made
because your message is fashioned in just the right way so as not to offend
wicked sinners. Christian converts are made by the Holy Spirit through the
power of the Word of Christ preached and proclaimed faithfully by those who
have faith in God’s ability to resurrect the dead sinner. Even the most
reformed among us very often are tempted to tamper with this process, thinking,
in moments of weak faith, that God needs our help. He does not. I close this
article on epistemology, as strangely as it might seem to some, with the words
of Paul: and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom,
but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not
rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. [3]
[1] Edwards, Paul. The Encyclopedia of Philosophy,
Vol. 3 and 4, (MacMillan Publishing Co. Inc. & The Free Press, NY, NY),
8-9.
[2]
Michael
Polanyi, Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy,
corr. ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962), 3.
[3]
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version
(Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016), 1 Co 2:4–5.
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