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Epistemological Justification for God
Epistemological Justification for God
Epistemology is the study of knowledge in relation to justifiable belief. It is a branch of Philosophy dealing primarily with the study of the nature of knowledge. Epistemological knowledge is justified belief rather than practical knowledge, such as knowing how to walk. In order for something to classify as epistemological knowledge, it must be true, otherwise it is not justified and therefore not epistemological knowledge. The existence of God justified through science or even through lack of scientific evidence has become trite. Rather than antagonizing old wounds, we will say that God is justified only through His Word which is the Bible and His Word is justified through man. So in order to argue the epistemological significance of God, we must prove his existence on an individual basis through the Word of God, rather than on the broader level—understanding for all.
John 3:16
John 3:16 calls man to believe in Him. The Ancient Greek word for believe is ‘pist-yoo’o’ (English representation of the Greek). This word does not simply mean “to believe”, but rather “to know to be true,” and there is a product of this knowledge for purposes of justification. This is a place where most misunderstand Christianity. If anyone comes to ‘believe’ in God for some sort of psychological comfort or other benefit, then they are not necessarily even Christians. What the individual needs to look for in order to call themselves a Christian is a product of their knowledge, a practical result of their belief, which proves the existence of God to them. For some this is a supernatural understanding of the nature of God or one or more of a number of spiritual gifts addressed by scriptures, and for others it is far different thing, but none the less practical to the individual. For some it means that they believe so intently that they serve God out of a product of their faith and that is sufficient as their justification. The word faith in Greek is ‘pistis’ (English representation of the Greek), which is the non-conjugated version of the word for “believe” from John 3:16. So by faith is man’s epistemological justification for God, which has no opposing argument on the basis of the individual.
Psalms 106:21 NAS
Relative proof of individual justification can be found in the Old Testament. For example, the Israelites were brought out of Egypt by miracles performed by God through Moses (Plagues, parting of the Red Sea, etc.). Generations later the Israelites, who no doubt know the story of the Exodus from Egypt, relinquish their faith, seeking idolatry (Psalm 106:21). They did not believe in God and certainly were not demonstrating faith because they no longer had the viable proof, the justification for their faith. They went on seeking God, but in the wrong places. Because there is no proof, even on an individual basis, one who does not demonstrate faith and does not have proof of God, does not consider Christianity to be epistemological knowledge.
Based on these two examples from the Word of God, man must have proof to have faith and to be a Christian. In addition, those who do not have proof cannot even conceptualize a reality in Christianity. This is the reason that there is so much debate over the existence of God and over the Bible. The hope for the non-Christian is to seek proof if you wish to understand God. If the heart is not truly seeking, then from a philosophical perspective, you cannot find God. As Christians, all we can do to help is to be a witness and provide a testimony of God so that others who are seeking will be able to find. In contrast, the closed heart is not going to be open to understanding.
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