FOUNDATIONS PART 1: Presuppositions

Alas, I have decided to begin a blog. There are a number of reasons why … 1) I want to archive my thoughts, 2) improve my thinking and articulation, 3) provide an avenue for distributing my reflections, and 4) just write. I have journaled for over a decade and though I do not intend to extinguish this habit, I think a blog will ameliorate my writing and thinking skills … plus I hope to meet other contemplative bloggers.

Most of my reflections will be based on Biblical passages or theological points (this is what I honestly think about most often), though I will not limit my locus to the Holy Scritpures, I believe that God’s creation is another book into which I want to probe and ponder. There will also be moments where I will address issues arising from other sacred texts and their relationship to the Bible. Since the reader may not espouse to my faith tradition I think it only proper to air my presuppositions, keeping in mind that this is merely a snippet of my beliefs. After all, this blog is intended to be a perpetual unpacking of my philosophical and theological reflections.

Disclaimer: These thoughts are not petrified. I will continue to develope my beliefs for the rest of my life. This is just the beginning.

Presuppositions
- I believe in the existence of the Judeo-Christian God as revealed in the Protestant Bible.
- I believe in the historicity, inerrancy, and authority of the Bible as the primary source for understanding truth and salvation (all revelation as it pertains to salvation must be tested by the Bible)

Based on these presuppositions I come to the following conclusions …

How do we know truth? (Epistemology)
I believe in two forms of truth 1) absolute immutable truth, and 2) relative temporal truth. Truth is more than an abstract concept, it is a person, the God-man (1 Timothy 2:5) Jesus of Nazareth (John 1:45). All truth is derived from the Truth (John 14:6), therefore to reflect upon truth is to reflect upon some aspect of Jesus Christ. This is an audacious claim, I know, but I am not the one who made it. Scripture reveals that he is the measure and Judge of all that is true (John 5:30; 8:16; 12:48; Acts 17:31), thus no truth exists outside of him “for by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him” (Col 1:16).

"I am not your teacher"
How then do we know Truth (Jesus)? On the first day of class, I often give an illustration to my students. “I am not your teacher,” I say. At that point the students look at me with cocked heads. “wha?” “I am not your teacher,” I repeat. “I will not be teaching you anything this year. Rather it the environment will be your teacher. I will simply be your guide and facilitator on this journey of learning.” The kids are now totally confused. “Let me explain.” I hold out my fist and ask, “What is in my hands?” A few misfits shout out some absurd item, but most have a dumbfounded look on their face. “How are we supposed to know with you hand closed,” one girl comments from the front row, echoing the sentiments of the class. “Right you are,” I respond, “And no matter how hard you look you will never know unless the environment reveals itself to you.” I then have everyone close their eyes and ask with an open hand, “What do I have in my hand now?” Again I receive the usual murmurings and chuckles until someone shouts the obvious, “We can’t see, so how are we to know?” “Right you are again,” I say, “and though the environment could reveal itself all day, if you have closed yourself off to it, then you will never know. So, two things must be active in order for us to learn: 1) the environment must reveal itself to us and 2) we must open our eyes to that revelation.”

I use this illustration here because I think that it applies to how we know Truth (Jesus). First, we could “search” for him all we want, but if He does not reveal himself to us, we will never know him. And second, He could reveal himself to us in the flesh at this very moment, but if we have closed our eyes, we will never see him and believe. This is one reason why Jesus came into the world. To give sight to the blind that they may see him and believe in him, the way, the truth, and the life (John 9:39). Those who hear his voice are of the truth (John 18:35-37), thus if a man does not listen to his voice he does not know truth. I placed “search” in quotations because in reality, non of us initiate a search for God and Truth apart from divine inititive. Jesus came into the world as light, the revelation of truth, yet we did not receive him. But all who do receive him, who believe in his name, he gives the right to become children of God, who are born, not of blood nor of the will (this contradicts free will) of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:11-13).

So I repeat, how do we know Truth? Jesus must 1) reveal himself to us and Jesus must 2) open our eyes that we may see him. Therefore I believe in revelatory epistemology, that is, I believe that I can only know truth that has been revealed to me by the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:10).

I hope to touch on these next questions in the proceeding days ...

Where do I come from?

Where am I going?

What is my purpose in life?

To end is all of life building?

What is the purpose of suffering?