How Do We Know What We Know?
How Do We Know What We Know?
Revelation and Reason
7 minute read
The Statement of Faith
We believe that God has revealed Himself both through creation (general revelation) and through Scripture and Christ (special revelation). Human reason, though affected by the fall, remains a gift from God that enables us to receive and understand His revelation. Faith and reason are not enemies but partners—faith seeks understanding, and reason finds its fulfillment in the knowledge of God.
How Did We Get Here?
Walk into any university philosophy department and you'll likely encounter a divide: faith over here, reason over there. Religion is for Sundays; rationality is for the laboratory. Many assume you must choose.
But this divide is relatively recent—and deeply misleading.
For most of church history, Christians understood faith and reason as allies. Augustine spoke of "faith seeking understanding." Anselm wanted to understand what he already believed. The medieval universities—founded by the church—pursued theology as the "queen of the sciences" precisely because they believed all truth was God's truth.
The Enlightenment changed the conversation. Reason was elevated as the sole arbiter of truth, and anything that couldn't be proven by logic or observation was dismissed as superstition. Faith was pushed to the margins—a private comfort, perhaps, but not genuine knowledge.
Many Christians responded by retreating. Some embraced anti-intellectualism: "Just have faith." Others tried to prove Christianity through reason alone, as if the Holy Spirit were unnecessary. Both responses concede too much.
The biblical view is richer: God reveals, and we receive that revelation through minds He created. The Spirit illuminates what reason alone cannot discover. Faith isn't the absence of thinking—it's thinking rightly about a God who has made Himself known.
What the Bible Says
General Revelation: God Speaks Through Creation
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge."
— Psalm 19:1-2
David looks up at the night sky and hears a sermon. Creation isn't silent—it speaks. Not in words, but in witness. The vastness, the order, the beauty all point beyond themselves to their Maker.
"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."
— Romans 1:20
Paul makes a bold claim: creation reveals enough about God that no one can claim ignorance. His power. His divine nature. The evidence is there for anyone with eyes to see. This is why atheism isn't merely an intellectual mistake—it's a suppression of available evidence.
General revelation tells us that God exists and something of what He's like. But it has limits. It doesn't tell us His name. It doesn't reveal His saving purposes. It doesn't introduce us to Jesus. For that, we need more.
Special Revelation: God Speaks Directly
"In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son."
— Hebrews 1:1-2
General revelation is like seeing someone's house from the outside—you can tell something about them, but you don't really know them. Special revelation is being invited inside. God spoke through prophets, through mighty acts, through Scripture. And then He spoke definitively through Jesus—the Word made flesh.
"No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known."
— John 1:18
Jesus doesn't just tell us about God; He shows us God. If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. Special revelation reaches its climax in a Person.
The Role of the Spirit in Knowing
"The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit."
— 1 Corinthians 2:14
Here's where the biblical view departs from pure rationalism. Spiritual truth requires spiritual discernment. The problem isn't that the evidence is insufficient—it's that sin has darkened human understanding. We need the Spirit to illuminate what's already there.
"But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth."
— John 16:13
Jesus promised that the Spirit would guide His followers into truth. This doesn't bypass our minds—it enables them to function properly. The Spirit doesn't make us irrational; He makes us truly rational by removing the distortions sin has introduced.
The Call to Love God with Our Minds
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."
— Matthew 22:37
Jesus didn't say faith requires checking your brain at the door. He commanded us to love God with our minds. Thinking carefully, studying diligently, asking hard questions—these are acts of worship when directed toward knowing God.
"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."
— 1 Peter 3:15
Peter calls us to be ready with reasons. Faith isn't blind. It can give an account of itself. We believe because there are grounds for belief—and we should be able to articulate them.
How It Fits the Full Narrative
Created to know. God made humans in His image, and part of that image is rationality. We're not just feeling creatures; we're thinking creatures. God gave Adam the task of naming the animals—an act of observation, categorization, understanding. From the beginning, using our minds was part of bearing God's image.
Fallen in our knowing. Sin didn't destroy our rational capacity, but it corrupted it. Paul describes fallen humanity as having "futile thinking" and "darkened hearts" (Romans 1:21). We still reason, but we reason badly—especially about God. We suppress truth. We exchange it for lies. Our problem isn't lack of intelligence; it's moral rebellion affecting our intellect.
Restored to know rightly. Salvation includes the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2). The Spirit gives us "the mind of Christ" (1 Corinthians 2:16). We begin to see clearly what sin had obscured. This is why new believers often describe it as scales falling from their eyes—they suddenly see what was always there.
Knowing fully in the end. Now we see dimly; then we'll see face to face. Now we know in part; then we'll know fully (1 Corinthians 13:12). Our present knowledge is real but incomplete. The day is coming when we'll know God without the distortions of sin or the limitations of finitude.
Why This Matters
It frees us from false choices. You don't have to choose between being a thinking person and a believing person. Christianity isn't anti-intellectual. The greatest minds in history have been Christians—Augustine, Aquinas, Newton, Pascal, Dostoevsky. Faith and reason belong together.
It grounds our confidence. Christian faith isn't wishful thinking or emotional comfort. It rests on revelation that can be examined, tested, and defended. When doubts come—and they will—we don't have to abandon our minds to keep our faith.
It enables genuine witness. Peter says to give reasons with gentleness and respect. We're not called to bully people into belief or manipulate their emotions. We present truth and trust the Spirit to illuminate it. Good apologetics serves evangelism.
It shapes how we approach Scripture. We read the Bible prayerfully, asking the Spirit for illumination—but we also read it carefully, using our minds to understand what it actually says. Devotion without study becomes sentimentalism. Study without devotion becomes dead orthodoxy. We need both.
It keeps us humble. If we depend on the Spirit for understanding, we can't boast in our own intellect. The PhD and the new believer both need the same illumination. This levels the playing field and keeps us dependent on God.
How to Communicate This
Avoid the extremes. Don't present Christianity as purely rational (just follow the arguments) or purely experiential (just feel it). Present both: there are good reasons to believe, and the Spirit confirms truth to the heart. Head and heart together.
Meet people where they are. Some people are blocked by intellectual objections—they need reasons addressed. Others have plenty of information but hard hearts—they need prayer and the Spirit's work. Discern which you're dealing with.
Model thoughtful faith. When you don't know an answer, say so. When a question is hard, acknowledge it. When you've wrestled with something, share that journey. People respect honesty more than pretended certainty.
Point to Jesus, not just arguments. Arguments can remove obstacles, but they can't create faith. Always move from reasons to the Person. The goal isn't winning a debate; it's introducing people to Christ.
Pray for illumination—for yourself and others. Since understanding requires the Spirit, prayer isn't optional. Before you open Scripture, ask for help. When you're sharing with someone, pray for their eyes to be opened. Depend on God, not just your apologetic skills.
Defending Against Critics
Objection: "Faith is believing without evidence—the opposite of reason."
Response: That's a modern caricature, not the biblical definition. Biblical faith is trust based on evidence. Abraham believed God because God had proven Himself trustworthy. The disciples believed in the resurrection because they saw the risen Christ. Hebrews 11:1 says faith is "confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see"—not belief without grounds, but confidence extending beyond what we can currently verify, based on what God has already shown us.
Objection: "If God existed, He would give clearer evidence."
Response: How much clearer could it get? The universe exists. Moral law is written on human hearts. God entered history in Jesus Christ, publicly crucified and risen. The problem isn't insufficient evidence—it's that we want evidence on our terms. God's hiddenness isn't total; it's purposeful. He reveals enough to be found by those who seek, while preserving the freedom of those who don't want Him.
Objection: "Science has replaced religion as the way to know truth."
Response: Science is wonderful for answering certain questions—how the physical world works. But it can't answer other questions: Why is there something rather than nothing? What is good? What is the meaning of life? Does God exist? These aren't scientific questions; they're philosophical and theological. Science and faith address different domains. They conflict only when one overreaches into the other's territory.
Objection: "Religious experience is just brain chemistry—not real knowledge."
Response: Every experience involves brain chemistry—including the experience of doing science or falling in love. The presence of a physical mechanism doesn't prove the experience is illusory. When you see a tree, there's brain chemistry involved—but that doesn't mean the tree isn't real. The question is whether religious experience corresponds to reality. Christians believe it does, because the God who made our brains also reveals Himself through them.
Objection: "You only believe because you were raised Christian."
Response: And you only believe what you believe because of your upbringing and influences. This objection applies to everyone equally—including atheists. The origin of a belief doesn't determine its truth. Many people raised Christian reject it; many raised atheist embrace it. The real question isn't where a belief came from, but whether it's true. That requires examining the evidence, not the biography.
Going Deeper
Key passages to study:
- Psalm 19:1-6 – Creation reveals God
- Romans 1:18-32 – General revelation and its suppression
- Romans 12:1-2 – The renewal of the mind
- 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16 – Wisdom of God vs. wisdom of the world
- Colossians 2:2-3 – All treasures of wisdom hidden in Christ
- Hebrews 1:1-4 – God's progressive revelation
- Hebrews 11:1-6 – The nature of faith
- 1 Peter 3:15 – Always be ready with reasons
Questions for reflection:
- Have I assumed faith and reason are opposed? How does the biblical view challenge that assumption?
- When I read Scripture, do I engage my mind fully? Do I also depend on the Spirit?
- Am I prepared to give thoughtful reasons for my faith, or do I rely only on personal testimony?