A few months after I dropped out of Bible college I visited my local library with the intent of learning “the truth” about historic Christianity. I wanted to know where the Bible came from, why people believed it was the word of God, and how modern Christianity evolved from it origins (the teachings of Jesus) to its current state.
Later that afternoon, I exited the library deeply dejected. As I became aware of the full scope of the literature on Biblical history, Biblical languages, and epistemology it became evident to me that I did not have enough years left on this earth to consume the available material. Even if I did, how was I to determine the appropriate method of interpretation? Data was not enough. I would have to first confirm this data and then develop the skills necessary to correctly process the data and integrate it with new data as it became available.
In other words, the task before me was impossible. There was no way that I could ever come to an accurate conclusion if my strategy was to first read all of the information available and then process it individually on my own. Many years later, it dawned on me: as confident as my religious mentors were about what they believed, they weren’t able to do this either.
Now that I have lived long enough to glimpse “the wisdom of the ages” it is apparent that most people with strong, unshakable beliefs are overconfident in their knowledge.
The fact is, no matter how strident one is in their proclamations, all knowledge is temporary. As long as we live, we learn new things. Sometimes this new information causes us to change our minds. We may have a philosophical framework that we use to guide our lives but we can never claim to have absolute knowledge of anything. At best, what we can claim is that our knowledge is sufficient for the lives we desire to live.
In William James’ “Pragmatism”, the idea of knowledge as a method of adaptation to our environment is introduced. The things that we believe are important insofar as they allow us to produce the outcomes that we strive for.
In my Christian journey, this idea has become foundational. Does it really matter whether or not Jesus is going to return to earth before “the tribulation” or after? Does the precise manner in which Judas died have any affect on how I live my life? Does it matter whether or not the book of Joshua is an historical fabrication or genuine history?
My contention is that in the context of the life I live, it does not. Further, it is futile to argue about these things because there is no possible way that the participants in such an argument have reviewed all of the available literature on the topic, read the historic documents in their original languages, determined with absolute certainty the cultural context in which the literature was written, and then managed to interpret this enormous mountain of data in a mathematically certain way that leaves no doubt whatsoever as to its accuracy.
The question then arises: how can one know anything?
And that is my point. Beliefs are futile if you are looking for absolute, universal truth.
Knowledge is only useful insofar as it permits the Knower to produce an intended outcome. You know that you know something when you do something and are able to duplicate your outcomes at will.
There is precedent for this in Holy Scripture:
16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will know them by their fruits.
Matthew 7:16-20 (NASB)
The above passage was written in the context of identifying “false prophets”. There is no epistemology presented that would allow the reader to determine the truth or falsehood of somebody’s teaching. There is only an appeal to the outcomes they produce.
Does that mean that what you believe doesn’t matter? No. What it means is that what actually matters is the results one produces in their life. To the degree that they align with the values taught by Jesus, one can be certain that they are a follower of the Way of Jesus.