Theory of Knowledge Paper

“The knowledge that we value the most is the knowledge for which we can provide the strongest justifications.” To what extent would you agree with this claim?

There is no knowledge I value more in this world than that which I have gained from my experiences in my faith, Christianity. If the definition of value is to regard or esteem highly, and knowledge is true justified belief, then I should not only believe it, I must also justify it. Say, for example, when someone asks how I know, I need to be able to validate it or explain through language, sense perception, reason, and emotion.

The basis of all religion comes from language: texts and teachings. As a child I memorized scripture and learned the stories that fill each page of the Bible. But at that point, it was only information to me. Tales of old that meant about the same to me as the elephant Babar I watched on television after school. However, I continued to hide all I learned in my heart, and through some sort of process, the information grew into data that I could study and learn from, and then it blossomed into sincere belief. Language brought me to believe. From there originated what I now hold dear. Through texts and teaching that usually communicated emotion or passion for the belief, all which is written in the Word became real for me. Yet I have to question, can language be trusted blindly? Language is second hand knowledge. Often, such knowledge can and should be trusted. Other times, reliability should be questioned. Especially considering I had limited background information, I had absolutely no idea whether or not some Sunday school teacher said something incorrect. If gullibility can only lead to danger therefore, how could I trust the voice of language? I could trust it because over the years that followed, the information I learned then confirmed itself through experiences and other sources.

Time passed, as my mindset changed; my perceived view of the world was artfully painted with the colors of my faith. If the sensation, or stimuli, provided included inhaling the scent of a rose in full bloom, my interpretation brought me back to “in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).” Simple lessons such as obedience and kindness became lessons of what God wants from his children. From the beliefs that language allowed, perception came along and nursed until faith, as in being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1), emerged in the form of believing for miracles, whether big or small. Through prayer and faith, my mother was healed from cancer without one day of the radiation doctors told her was necessary. Through prayer and faith my bothersome skin condition, allergies, and severe asthma were cured. Through prayer and faith, a woman in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan saw a vision three days in a row of a small framed, bearded, colored man holding his stomach and crying out to God. She did not know what to do with this new information given to her in the dream. Then out of the blue she received a call from her sister in Ottawa asking her to pray for a man of that same description who attended her church. In my parallel universe, it had been months of doctors testing my dad, searching for cause of his uncommon illness, when this stranger told my dad his body needed calcium. He took her advice and within twenty-four hours his body was able to hold down food once again. That weekend at the hospital, we requested specifically for him to be tested for his calcium levels. Sure enough, that was what started the domino effect. Because of malabsorption, his levels of every vitamin and mineral were low. They hooked him up to Total Parenteral Nutrition (the practice of feeding a person intravenously, bypassing the usual process of eating and digestion) and my dad lived a healthy life for the next eight years, all because of the vision of one woman. The counter claim could be that any one of these miracles just happened. But I argue that coincedence is not as likely. Really, what are the chances? These such happenings molded my growing up, and cultivated my faith—faith that was on its way to being developed opinions.

Each and every opinion, however, had to make sense. I hit middle school, and for the first time ventured into the world of public school. Now all of a sudden, I wanted to know why I chose to live the way I did. Was it reasonable? First, it needed evidence, and for me, it was miracles that I couldn’t deny. But my evidence all came from my own perception. It had to be more solid. Something others could relate to. So I looked to history, an area of knowledge. That year, sixth grade, we studied Nebuchadnezzar. For the first time, ironically in a public school, I learned about biblical figures outside the settings of the Bible. At that age, that was all the confirmation I needed. Coherence, the second criterion for deciding if my opinion was reasonable, came more easily. Coherence: did it match what I already knew? Yes, it followed everything I had been taught, because that was what I had been taught. Therefore, logically, Christianity was reasonable. Of course Pascal’s wager came into play; I took into consideration that if there was a God, then I might as well take my chances because just in case he is up there, I do not want to end up in hell. Second, the Old Testament foreshadows Jesus’ birth and crucifixion more than Romeo and Juliet foreshadows death. The prophetic passages, written hundreds of years in advanced, speak of the virgin birth, his escape to Egypt, his ministry, his crucifixion – to details such as the casting lots for his clothes, and his resurrection, astound me. Considering the counter argument, it could be how I read into the passages, but look at a specific passage: Psalms 22 written by King David. The first verse is literally the words Jesus says while hanging on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” If you don’t want to call that legitimate evidence because Jesus knew Scripture well, it is understandable. However the psalmist continues by saying “All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: “He trusts in the LORD; let the LORD rescue him. Let him deliver him.” At the actual crucifixion, these are the same words the surrounding spectators and soldiers actually hurled at Jesus, and it is not realistic to say the masses were familiar, to that extent, with Old Testament passages. When they stabbed his side to check if he was still alive, unexpectedly water and blood poured out. This too is mentioned in the Psalm. Lastly, David says, “they divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” With this being only one of the countless examples of confirmation, how could it then all be less than true? It had to be knowledge; it had to be true justified belief.

The last way of knowing is through emotions. Emotions have to do with how it all feels, and to me it just feels right. After all the years of living life following, I cannot imagine living any other way. Many people look at Christianity as a series of rules and regulations. I look at it as freedom. For a believer, this life is the only hell they will ever encounter, for the non believer, this is the only heaven. All that I learned has now become second nature to me; the acquired knowledge has morphed into wisdom. No, I’m not on some pinnacle of religion, nor is my head in the clouds. Each new day is another step. I am climbing day by day and I will never stop pursuing. Deep, deep, down in my heart of hearts, I know that this is right, that this is true, and that this is deeply justified.

My journey to justification took me through all four ways of knowing: language, perception, reason, and emotion. What started out as simple information became data and then belief, shifted in to faith and opinion, developed into knowledge, and matured into wisdom. Now when asked about what I believe, I know exactly what to say, I know how I arrived there, and I know where it originated, and I know that it is justified.

Word Count: 1463