When I was a sophomore at Lancaster Bible College, I had the privilege of taking a philosophy class from the school’s most gifted and popular professor at the time. For reasons I won’t go into here, I’ll just call him Bob. Bob had a gift for making difficult subjects like epistemology (the study of how we know stuff) clear and exciting. To be sure, I owe him a debt and I’ll never forget the provocative question he asked one spring day in 1985 to help us understand the relevance of epistemology:

Why do you believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life?

For my classmates and me, this was an important question. He did not ask if we believed: most of us had grown up in Christian homes and reflexively believed John 14:6: “Jesus told him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.’” John 14:6 is a bold claim, an exclusive claim. The implication is that all religions are not equally true. It implies that a belief system that doesn’t see Jesus as THE way to God will not lead to God. Again, all of us claimed to believe this but Bob wanted to know why? Further, he wanted to know how we knew we weren’t self-deluded.

Bob went on that day to lay out six ways we can know stuff:

1. Reason—This is the Mr. Spock of Star Trek lens: “I believe it because it is logical.” For example, if harsh words stir up anger or can crush ones spirit, then I should speak with kindness.
2. Nature—This means I see evidence in the physical world that something’s true. For example, Psalm 19:1 is an epistemological argument from nature regarding God’s existence: “The heavens declare the glory of God and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” (ESV)
3. First-Hand Witness—This means I know it because I was there. For example, I know with certainty that the birthdays of my three biological kids are accurate because I was there when they were born. Along with my wife, Pam, I had been a first-hand witness to these events.
4. Second-Hand Witness—This means I know it because someone I trust was there or experienced it. This is the big reason why we believe most of what we believe: 9-11, JFK or Lincoln’s assassination, the fall of Rome, etc. Looking at things through the second-hand witness lens, for example, many political conservatives might have interest in a tell-all book by Mike Pence about Donald Trump’s presidency. The thinking would be, “Pence was there. He experienced those four years as a first-hand witness. I now trust him as a reliable second-hand witness for me.”
5. Authority—This is closely related to the above and means that an authority I respect said it’s true. It could be our parents, the Bible, the Koran, a famous person from the past or a celebrity, “Science,” CNN, or Fox news. Anything like that.
6. Intuition—This means I believe it because it feels right, resonates with or rings true for me. For example, there’s an old Easter hymn called “He Arose.” A final line in the chorus asks, “You ask me how I know he lives” and then answers, “He lives within my heart.” That would be an intuitive answer to Bob’s “Why do you believe…” question.

Over the next two weeks, I’ll share with you my answer to Bob’s question (both then and now), but for reflection:

• How would you answer Bob’s question? Let me know what you think and/or consider processing your thoughts with a close family member or friend.
• It’s interesting to look up the following references and see how each applies to Bob’s question. Additionally, try to match each reference with one or more of the six ways of knowing: 1 John 1:1-3; John 20:25; 20:30,31; Psa. 19:1; Rom. 8:16; 1 Cor. 15:3-8; 15:30-32. [Hint: You already have the answer to one of them above. 🙂 ]