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Do we, the disciples of Jesus, possess through Scripture and other means a reliable source of knowledge of reality or do we not? We have seen that this is an important question. The possession of knowledge—especially religious and moral knowledge—is essential for a life of flourishing. To answer this question we must, first, answer another question: What exactly is knowledge and what does it mean to say Christian teaching provides it? Let’s begin in earnest and see if we can find an answer to this second query.Knowledge Defined
Here’s a simple definition of knowledge: It is to represent reality in thought or experience the way it really is on the basis of adequate grounds. To know something (the nature of cancer, forgiveness, God) is to think of or experience it as it really is on a solid basis of evidence, experience, intuition, and so forth. Little can be said in general about what counts as “adequate grounds.” The best one can do is to start with specific cases of knowledge and its absence in art, chemistry, memory, scripture, logic, and formulate helpful descriptions of “adequate grounds” accordingly.
Three Important Clarifications about Knowledge
Please note three important things. First, knowledge has nothing to do with certainty or an anxious quest for it. One can know something without being certain about it and in the presence of doubt or the admission that one might be wrong. Recently, I know that God spoke to me about a specific matter but I admit it is possible I am wrong about this (though, so far, I have no good reason to think I am wrong). When Paul says, “This you know with certainty” (Ephesians 5:5), he clearly implies that one can know without certainty; otherwise, the statement would be redundant. Why? If I say, “Give me a burger with pickles on it,” I imply that it is possible to have a burger without pickles. If, contrary to fact, pickles were simply essential ingredients of burgers, it would be redundant to ask for burgers with pickles. The parallel to “knowledge with certainty” should be easy to see. When Christians claim to have knowledge of this or that, for example, that God is real, that Jesus rose from the dead, that the Bible is the word of God, they are not saying that there is no possibility that they could be wrong, that they have no doubts, or that they have answers to every question raised against them. They are simply saying that these and other claims satisfy the definition given above.
This article is shocking. I have great respect for Mr. Moreland, but in this piece I detect strange inconsistencies.
ReplyDeleteAn example, "Recently, I know that God spoke to me about a specific matter but I admit it is possible that I am wrong about this. ..." What? If it is even possible that Mr. Moreland is wrong, then how does he truly "know" that God spoke to him, other than having no present reason to think he is wrong? What if he finds out that he is wrong in the future? Perhaps he should have written, "I'm rather certain," or, "I have a strong feeling," or, "I suspect," and so forth. His wording just shows how incredibility difficult and challenging it can sometimes be when communicating clearly to others. And I stand on this statement, knowing for sure that I can also be unclear.
Another inconsistency is, "Knowledge has nothing to do with certainty or an anxious quest for it." Then he writes that Paul says, "This you know with certainty." So is Paul wrong? Mr. Moreland doesn't comment on what Paul was writing about, but only adds that Paul "clearly implies that one can know without certainty; otherwise the statement would be redundant." What? I suppose if Mr. Moreland wanted to stretch things, he could come to this conclusion. But I think Paul is doing no such thing. He's simply stating in a straightforward and "without a doubt" manner that certainty is certainty. This is his meaning first and foremost, and only a secondary conclusion could be that "certainty" implies uncertainty. Yes? "First things first," as one often hears.
Two more and I will stop. Once again, "Knowledge has nothing to do with certainty, or an anxious quest for it." What? Please refer to what Paul has already said about certainty, and then please add the following: Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Also please note that Paul is writing in the present tense. In other words, faith is a substance "already" acquired; "already" evidence, not something in the future that one is searching for, and hoping to find. In that sense it is absolutely certain, thus making Mr. Moreland's statement nonsense, not to mention what Paul has already said is "certain."
Last one, "When Christians claim to have knowledge ... that God is real, that Jesus rose from the dead, that the Bible is the word of God, they are not saying that there is no possibility that they can be wrong. ..." and so forth. What? Certainty is exactly what they are saying or their faith is not real! In other words, Paul is wrong, faith is not substance and is not evidence! Can any of you imagine evangelizing to someone and saying, "Well, gee, there is a possibility that I'm wrong, and all this could simply be hogwash, so buster, want to take a chance with me?" I'm very sure God and Christ and the Holy Spirit would take a very dim view of such "odd" talk, and I wouldn't want to admit to them that I held such a "wishy-washy" attitude. Would you?
I have the utmost respect for Mr. Moreland, and I think he is a brilliant man, but not this time. I have already been very long, and I will not comment on the rest of the article. Look, Scripture trumps any definition Mr. Moreland can come up with, and Scripture is "far more" than "adequate grounds," in all due respect. To stress this: It is the holy and "true" Word of God.
Would anyone like to inform me where I have misunderstood Mr. Moreland? I would be pleased to confess that I've been wrong and too hard on him.
I keep reading this article trying to figure out how I missed his point - via the long introduction - and I have finally come to the conclusion that he's being "too cute" about it. Such is the life of a philosopher, I guess. For me, the Bible is true and certain knowledge, and I would prefer to just come out and say so. I'm going down with the ship, and up with Jesus. Smile.
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