Knowledge and certainty ...

I love knowledge ... I always have. I love learning about most things, and some things I want to know as much as possible. But as I have grown older, I have had to come to the realization that life is neither simple nor containable. What I mean is that even in areas like Physics and Math - things I once thought pretty straightfoward and rather obvious - there are "higher" or "deeper" truths that are not so simple. Models are just that, and good models work a majority of the time - but not every time. As new information is found, models have to be readjusted and refined. Once the atom was thought to be the smallest unit of matter - now were down to quarks and strings and whatever the latest, deepest explanation we have is. And these models are amazingly descriptive of how things work. But they're not "simple." And the search for the grand unification theory emphasizes just how "unsimple" such a descriptive "theory of eveything" would be. There are some bits of knowledge that are "knowable" and some that are our best attempt at an explanation. But there are always new data points being added ...

The same thing is true, I think in theology. When we study God, I think we put the available data into groups - even if only in our heads - to try to make sense of it. But, since God is outside of space and time, the best we can do from the inside of the system is get general impressions of him. If he does not reveal himself in terms we can understand, we have no hope of knowing anything beyond these vague impressions. And, once you factor in that our thinking is affected by sin, we need immense humility when we approach God.

Which brings me to a bit of a complaint. There are some people for whom certainty is a virtue. Now, I don't consider myself very postmodern, and I do believe in absolute truths - but it seems as if some people want you to have a firm conviction on everything. And if you don't, that's pretty much a moral failure on your part. There are some things I think we need to have firm convictions on - things of which God has revealed enough for us to know "easily."

But some people want you to have convictions on things that are not only disputable, not only been in question for centuries by sincere christians, but also on areas that have very little direct biblical data. And, in a sense, I guess they are right. We should take the knowledge God gives us and apply it to new areas to arrive at answers our consciences affirm before God. On the other hand, the acknowledgment that some issues are hard and some are genuine matters of dispute seems to give one a humility when discussing with others that is all too lacking in some people. And, of course, by saying that, I realize that this is a point of dispute and that each should be fully convinced in his own mind, graciously submitting to one another in love. I don't talk as an outsider to the human race, and I am not an impartial observer. It's the Heienberg Uncertainty principle in action - by trying to measure a system, I inject myself into that system and both affect and am affected by it.

So, do I want to pursue knowledge? Absolutely - though humbly, so that it does not puff me up.
Do I want to be certain on some things - perhaps many things? Only insofar as there is biblical warrant to arrive at a sound conclusion and as long as I am willing to consider a new perspective or new evidence.

I want to speak truth, but I want to speak it in love.
And I don't want to confuse my opinion or my preference for God's truth.

And I am certain of that :)