So In small group last night we had a chat about how we know truth, what is subjectivity, and other such things. We talked about how we can see God and understand truth as humans. Caleb Hugo tossed out the parable of the blind men and the elephant (see the article) and Rob sent out a response today in the form of a link here. I figured I'd post my essay length response here, just for the hecks of it.
I definitely agree with the idea that this parable cannot apply to multiple religions (as a peer of mine asserted in middle school). However, my view is that there are aspects of God which we cannot know for certain 100% of the time, for example, Calvinism and Armenism (sp?). Each side has very strong scriptural and philosophical support and when asked which camp is right, I reply both.
Our God is a god filled with paradoxes to human understanding. There are many things about him that we can understand, but there are also many things that we cannot understand. There are times when it is apparent that the Kingdom is here, that the world is getting better as redemption is spreading. Other times, the world just seems to be getting worse and worse until Christ’s return. Yet somehow, it is both of these.
It is exactly because we don’t know all the hows and whys of God that I think we must approach many conversations with humility, especially with other believers. We can never assume we know everything about our God.
Now, when having conversations with non-believers, this parable holds false. Our God has revealed himself pretty clearly and we can be confident of our knowledge of the truth. However, I find that this confidence can easily lead to blind ignorance and close-mindedness toward others. It can make us hostile to the opinions and beliefs of others and unwilling to listen to the whys of their beliefs and reason. Therefore, in these conversations, while still understanding that I know the God-revealed truth of Scripture, I ask myself, “What if they’re not wrong?” I find that this helps me toward finding the kernels of truth in what they believe and helps me to establish common ground by which I can introduce them to Jesus in a way in which they will understand. This does not, however, persuade me or silence me to the fact that they have not encountered Truth in Jesus.
All this to say that our conversations with non-believers must be filled with gentleness and emotional hospitality, showing them the humility that should come with our belief of an infinite God.
