How do you know?

I recently overheard a conversation. Two older gentlemen (they were at separate tables, so they had likely just met) were discussing politics. They were both Vietnam vets (part of the conversation). One was telling the other about what political views he should have. The other was nodding. "Oh, I didn't know that." And I thought, "Is that it? You just met this guy. Are you simply going to take his word for it?" You might think you'd never do such a thing. You might be able to admit you would. Change "fellow veteran" to "fellow Christian" and you'll likely see my point. If the person to whom you're speaking has identified himself or herself as a fellow believer, you're much more likely to take them at face value despite knowing the vast array of perspectives covered under the umbrella called "Christian."

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines knowledge -- How do we know what we know? There are lots of other places out there that examine what we know. This particular branch asks you to try to understand how you know. It doesn't care if you understand that 2 x 3 = 6. It asks, "How do you know that it is true?" Take a walk through epistemology sometime. You'll find wonderful terms like JTB ("justified true belief") (and using "justified" in a completely different sense than we do), evidentialism, reliabilism, and Deontological Justification. Yeah, it's a completely different language there.

One might think the pursuit is too esoteric (although you likely wouldn't use that word ... or any of the other words they are using), but if you think about it for a moment, you can realize its importance. We have all heard, for instance, "Seeing is believing." We've also heard, "Don't believe everything you hear." These are epistemological statements. And we know that some of what we hear can (even must) be believed and some of what we see cannot (must not) be believed. So the question is asked, "How do you know?" There are some who argue the notion of "fallibility", the belief that nothing can be truly known -- a kind of epistemological fatalism. But we obviously know things. So ... how do you know?

I played a stupid game when I was in junior high school. It didn't matter what anyone said -- I'd respond with "Prove it!" As long as I kept responding with "Prove it!" I made it impossible for them to prove anything. You see, I rejected any argument. I was a junior high fallibility proponent. Of course, it was just a game (My mom made me stop when the girl in the carpool said, "I'm a girl" and I responded, "Prove it!"), but it's not so much a game today. There are more and more voices out there arguing exactly that: "How do you know?" How do you know that Christianity is true? How do you know that Intelligent Design is true? How do you know that homosexuality is a sin? How do you know that abortion is wrong? What makes you think you know anything at all? So we might point to a Bible verse and they respond, "Prove it!"

The problem, of course, is that very few (if any) know how they know what they know. Every single one of us has come to conclusions. Every one of us believe our conclusions. We are convinced that we're right. It is the nature of knowing. Oh, we might be able to be convinced that we're wrong at times, but there is lots of stuff that we know is true without even knowing why. Explaining why may not always be easy. Explaining why to the satisfaction of those who disagree may very well be impossible.

The odd thing in all of this, of course, is that those who are shouting "Prove it!" are somehow exempt from their own rules. They are disagreeing with some position or another and demanding proof. They are not, for some reason, required to provide proof of their own position. If they do offer reasons why they think that way, you aren't allowed to question it. They'll simply tell you, "We've provided all the proof you need." That's good enough for them, but not good enough for you. Why is that? In other words, despite the protests against the reliability of what Christians know, everyone has to live under the same question: "How do you know?"

I think that too many Christians today don't know why they believe what they believe. I think it would be highly beneficial to them to find out. Ask the hard questions. Find the answers. There are lots of good sources. But keep in mind, everyone has the same problem -- we can always question what is believed. And keep in mind that no matter how good your answers, you will always find the skeptic who shouts, "Prove it!" and no answer will suffice. Just be ready.