When we study the Scripture, we often find ourselves holding to certain truths that seem self-evident, but which also raise more questions that are impossible to answer. In seeking to understand the nature of God’s revelation to us, the chart below is of great value. Here we find two sets of contrasting values that together provide for us a grid inside of which we can better understand the knowledge we possess.
The orange boxes above indicate the two kinds of knowledge which come from and lead to deception; Incomplete False Knowledge and Complete False Knowledge.
Incomplete False Knowledge: Describes any kind of knowledge that is false and for which there are still many unknowns.
EXAMPLE: Memorizing only one passage of Scripture, but not memorizing it correctly.
Complete False Knowledge: Describes any kind of knowledge that is false and holds no degree of uncertainty.
EXAMPLE: Memorizing all of Scripture, but memorizing every verse incorrectly.
The blue boxes above indicate the two kinds of knowledge which come from true Divine revelation: Incomplete True Knowledge and Complete True Knowledge.
Incomplete True Knowledge: Describes any kind of knowledge that is true but may also have certain areas of doubt.
EXAMPLE: Memorizing one verse of Scripture, but not all verses of Scripture.
Complete True Knowledge: Describes any kind of knowledge that is true and holds no degree of uncertainty.
EXAMPLE: Memorizing all verses of Scripture in the entire Bible without exception or error.
My hope is that you will use this chart as you read your Bible and all that you read. As you examine your own personal knowledge it will help you better understand and evaluate the information which presses in and upon your life.
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That is an interesting diagram. However, can we ever have complete knowledge? Even if you and I memorized every word of scripture in the original languages, we would have very different interpretations and different Christian Worldviews. Therefore, what is the basis of complete true knowledge? I do agree with Augustine who said “all truth is God’s truth,” but I do believe that in this age one will never be able to know complete truth. After all, wasn’t that what the serpent promised Adam and Eve if they ate of the fruit?
Another example of completely true knowledge would be memorizing every word in the dictionary without any error. My example has nothing to do with theology or thinking all knowledge is contained in the Bible.
In a recent discussion about interfaith dialogue, Liz (gracerules) asked a question about this post similar to jason’s. Liz wrote, “J.R. – You wrote: “Given our cultural understanding of “truth”, I can understand how any statement of certainty can be perceived as a lack of humility. I think the difference in how we see truth (epistemology) vs. humility might be explained by the links I posted inside Condition #5.”
I read the posts that you linked to. I am probably being dense (either because I have some preconcieved notion that is blocking me from seeing or I am just ill informed) but I am having trouble relating “complete true knowledge” (your example was: Memorizing all verses of Scripture in the entire Bible without exception or error.)with “truth”.
For instance: I have memorized the book of Philippians completely without error but I don’t in any way think that equals me knowing the truth that it presents. I am thinking that I would have to interpret (not memorize) the book of Philippians correctly in order to know the truth that it presents. Help me see where you and I are disconnecting on this?
In addition I should say that I am of the opinion that scriptural truth is more likely to be found in the narrative or story than in propositional truths. Ofcourse for some this is too scary because a story can be interpreted in so many ways – depending on our personal experiences, the culture that influences us, our present circumstances etc. It makes truth much more fluid and therefore very hard to nail down. However, I can’t ignore the fact that Jesus himself thought that teaching truth through story was a good thing and worth the risk.”
I will post my answer in the next post.
Hi Liz (gracerules), I think your question is the same as Jason’s, and so that tells me my example of using the Bible has confused folks. I did not intend the example to have any theological implications. I could just as easily have picked the Dictionary or the book, “Dick and Jane”
The point here is to illustrate that given a specific set of information, there are different kinds of knowledge we can have.
I think I will adapt my original post to help. In the meantime, does that help?