To Error is Human – Part Two

Ezekiel 12:1-2 The word of the Lord came to me: “Son if man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people.”

 Just as people can err in formal reasoning, so mistakes can creep into our thinking by virtue of errors made in collection of hard data; this is factual or inductive errors. We are aware of the limitations of our sense organs, which cannot grant us total knowledge and accuracy. There are sound frequencies that the human ear cannot perceive. Our eyes only see a narrow band of the color spectrum.  Other animals see better and farther and some can see at night. Not to mention the microscopic world. Natural limits of our sense perception will always be involved in the empirical process. As Pasteur proved, we simply cannot assume that things invisible or inaudible to us have no existence. God is Spirit. But not only are we materially vulnerable to the limits of our sensibilities, but we always face the problem of reaching conclusions on the basis of insufficient data. The problem of empirical error is complicated in the realm of negation of existence. It is obviously easier to verify the existence of something empirical than to negate the existence of something empirical. Because of this difference in difficulty of verification, it is virtually impossible to disprove the existence of God by an empirical method in a “universal negative”. To do so would demand a thorough search of the entire universe at the same time, and still, we may not possess the perceptual abilities necessary to find an invisible, transcendent Being.  Of course, the atheist could make the claim, then argue that the assertion of the existence of God has the burden of truth upon the affirmer rather than the denier, saying: “Prove me wrong .” Ever seen that?

Job 38:2-5a “Who is this that darkens My counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!”

The fourth category of “psychological prejudices as causes for errors, looms as a constant threat to accurate conclusions. Sproul states that if a person’s epistemological system is sound, their deductive reasoning impeccable, and their inductive procedure inerrant, then all this would not guarantee proper conclusions. By reason of emotional bias they might still refuse to yield to the obvious conclusions of their research, in following where the evidence leads. There is a tendency to persevere in an opinion against all evidence. A classic aphorism of our culture is:”a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.” Emotional prejudice is exceedingly difficult for the most brilliant of it. Philosophers and theologians are not free from vested interests  and psychological prejudices  that distort thinking.

Isaiah 40:12-14 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, or the breadth of His hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in the balance? Who has understood the mind of the Lord, or instructed Him as his counselor? Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten Him, and who taught Him the right way? Who was it that taught Him knowledge or showed Him the path of understanding?

Though the road to knowledge may be fraught with perils of error, it is a road that must be taken if we are to think at all. To be aware of the possibility of prejudice, or even of its clear existence, is not to cure it, but that awareness is a prerequisite for the cure. The question of the existence of God is a question that provokes deep emotional and psychological prejudice. In the arena of theological-philosophical debate the stands are crowded with vested interests. It is precisely this dimension of psychological vested interest that has been the driving force for much speculation concerning the origin of religious beliefs. Psychological prejudice may distort our reasoning, especially in regard to emotion-packed controversial issues. Perhaps there is no issue more vulnerable to bias than religion. We know that the questions of religion touch virtually every aspect of our existence. Even those who would seem to have no connection whatsoever with religion still are affected by it. Why is this so?  Let’s look next post.

Psalm 103:10-14a “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our inequities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. For He knows how we are formed.”

In Christ, Brian