Posted: 02/14/08

Who Told You

by Israel Wayne

Rene Descartes (1596-1650) was a French philosopher who thought so hard one day that he created a dilemma. He thought, as many of us have, about the odd fact that dreams seem to be very real when one is in the process of dreaming. It is only when one awakens that it becomes clear that the previous state of mind was a dream and not the real world.

So Descartes began to wonder if we could ever really be certain that we are awake. I mean, maybe we "wake up" from a dream (we think), but in reality we haven't wakened at all, we have merely awoken in another dream.

Then he began to wonder if we could be sure that we really exist, in a real world, or if everything is just an illusion. Maybe we only exist in dreams (God's dreams for example). In his struggle to determine whether or not he existed, he finally made this famous dictum, "cogito ergo sum": "I think, therefore I am."

Like Descartes, I think too deeply myself at times. For example, I've often wondered this: "If a philosopher is all alone in the woods, clapping one hand, with no one to hear him, would he still be impossible to understand?"

How Do We Know What We Know?

The discipline of philosophy the Descartes was exploring (one that lays a foundation for all others) is called Epistemology. This topic attempts to answer the question, "How do we know what we know?" or "What is the basis of knowledge?"

How do we know what is true? Is truth merely what I believe? Is it relative and different for all people, or is it objective and possible for all people to arrive at the same universal standard for truth?

There are many different approaches to epistemological questions and many different conclusions. Some of the books on the topic will make your head swim with their complexity. However, the topic can be simplified dramatically by considering that there are really only two voices in the universe making truth claims. One is always right (God), and the other (satan) is always wrong (although he incorporates an element of truth which he twists and distorts) in his lies to make his arguments sound plausible.

The Beginning of Deception

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had only one voice of information about the universe. It was the voice of pure, unadulterated truth. They heard from the very God who made all things, and therefore understood intimately how everything worked. They know was true, good and beautiful.

When they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they didn't gain a knowledge of good and evil. They already knew good, they only gained a knowledge of evil. They were deceived by the words, "Did God really say…?"

Prior to their sin, man and woman were completely honest and open before God and each other. There was no deception and no reason to fear or to hide. After sin entered the world, all of life took on a corrupting influence. Things that were previously good, now had the potential for evil as well.

     "And he said, 'I heard the sound of Thee in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.' And He said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?'" (Genesis 3:10-11, NASB).

God wanted Adam to be honest with himself. He wanted Adam to understand that his reaction was based on information that he obtained from a corrupt (and corrupting) source. Since that event, all throughout history, people have been faced with the choice of listening to these two voices that represent good and evil. Instead of becoming more like God, as the serpent promised, humans became more like Satan.

Today there are many philosophies that purport themselves to be avenues to higher knowledge and enlightenment. New Age, Secular Humanism, Postmodernism, Eastern Religions, Islamic Fascism, Atheism, Naturalism and other worldviews and philosophies surround us. All of these voices are just subsidiaries of the kingdom of this world. Satan has many paths and belief systems to choose from. He doesn't really care what you choose from the religious smörgåsbord, as long as it isn't the truth. There is only one source of truth in the entire universe. Jesus said in John 14:6 that He was the Way, the Truth and Life. There is no way to come to the Father except through Him. The source of your information about life is crucial. Are you listening to the voice of good, or the voice of evil? When you examine your beliefs about life and reality, ask yourself this question, "Who told you?"

Copyright 2007, by Israel Wayne. All Rights Reserved.

Israel Wayne was home educated and currently serves as Marketing Director for the national publication Home School Digest, and the site editor for www.ChristianWorldview.net. He is the author of the book, Homeschooling From A Biblical Worldview, published by Wisdom's Gate. Israel and his wife Brook (also a homeschool graduate) have five young children. Write to: Wisdom's Gate, P.O. Box 374, Covert, MI 49043. 1-800-343-1943 or www.WisdomsGate.org

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