Does incomplete knowledge mean God is
unknowable?
Posted: Aug 28/2k
This came in a while back:
I have a simple question which seems very
difficult to me. I was discussing with
a friend of mine who is Hindu and often contends that God is beyond rationality
and logic. I disagreed and stated that the reason we posit this quality to God
is because on many occasions we are unable to understand his actions. I contend that God is rational and logical
but he is sometimes difficult to comprehend because he has complete knowledge
on which to base his decisions.
Therefore, our reason for thinking God is irrational at times is because
of our lack of information and not because God has all of a sudden subscribed
to a new brand of logic or reasoning.
But I find myself in a dilemma since, if this is true, and since we never
have complete knowledge (i.e. there could always be something we don't know)
then how can we trust our conclusions.....this becomes self
refuting.....because then the entire discussion above is not true.....etc.....I
have obviously made an error in reasoning...!.and thus require some advice...thank
you so much if you have the time to respond.......may god bless you and your
ministry.
I sent back a short reply:
The short answer
is: there is a difference between TRUE knowledge and COMPLETE knowledge. I know
my children TRULY, but not COMPLETELY...I know how a car works truly, but not
as completely as an auto mechanic...I know that Jesus loves me TRULY, but I
don't know ALL THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT THAT...I can have true knowledge without
it being (a) complete [above examples] or (b) very precise [e.g. how it rains,
how Jesus was God, why my son used to get upset when I tell him to do the
dishes]
[a longer answer I
cannot do right now, but this is the nutshell of it--I hope it gets you
started]
glenn