Must we have bombproof certainty before we can say that we know something? Is it all or nothing — 100 percent certainty (that is, it is impossible that I am wrong) or hopeless skepticism? I don’t think so, because this dilemma is a false one.
A skeptical approach to knowledge maintains that knowledge itself is impossible or that no beliefs can be justified even if they happen to be true. Not only is this view unlivable; it also seems self-contradictory, because even radical skeptics think they know enough to claim you are mistaken.
Our beliefs come in degrees of confidence, and some beliefs are more central than others; logical certainty is available only in mathematics. I may be very confident that God raised Jesus from the dead and have less confidence as to whether or not Christians ought to take the Lord’s Supper every week, but my differing levels of confidence don’t negate my beliefs. The all-or-nothing standard for knowledge gets us in trouble because it eliminates virtually everything that ultimately matters.
When it comes to God, one of the temptations is to withhold judgment until all the information is in and every possible issue has been investigated. To be honest, this is a pretty tall order. You will never know everything about everything. I sure don’t. If you wait until then, well, you will be waiting a long time! And the question of God is too important.
Just as an employer can’t know if an employee will be reliable until hired, and a person can’t know everything about a would-be spouse before they say “I do,” so too you cannot experience God—really get to know him—until you have entered into a personal relationship.
Pastor John Ortberg offers some good advice:
“There is no way to God that bypasses the call to let go [that is, to choose to trust him]. You may have many intellectual doubts, and it is really important to be honest about those, to talk about them and study. However, thinking and studying alone never remove the need to choose. The question of faith is never just an intellectual decision.”
At the end of the day, we all have to lean in the direction of what we think is true or real.
If you found this post helpful, you would enjoy: How To Break Free From Skepticism With One Simple Question
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