In a recent conversation, I had a friend argumentatively tell me, “I’ve read the bible all the way through, cover to cover…I know what it says…”
I was a little taken aback at her thought process. Now, I do realize that someone who has “read about” a subject may have a certain level of understanding, but there is almost always a deeper perspective afforded to the person who has “Studied” a subject, as opposed to just reading it through once… that’s not to imply that because I’ve studied more that somehow I know everything…on the contrary, because i’ve studied more, i realize that I DON’T know everything… but I was kind of surprised at how much she assumed to know based upon her limited experience…
For instance, I once read an American history book, cover to cover. However, for me to attempt to discredit the learned history professor teaching the class based upon my “reading” a history book would be a bit delusional considering the obvious fact that, after his spending the multiples of hundreds of hours studying history, my single read would not qualify me to have equal perspective.
God is far more vast than our human minds can remotely fathom. If we as Christians (theologians or new believers) think that we can rationalize God into some sort of form or box then we have already lost the ability to comprehend anything greater about Him… There are certainly “things “that can be learned and understood but those “things” do not equate to “EVERY-thing”.
We know limitedly what God has revealed to us about Himself through the bible and personal experiences… but do not fool yourself into thinking you “know God” because of what has been written in a 66 chapter book. And don’t be so arrogant to assume that because you have read those 66 chapters(once or hundreds of times) that you don’t need to understand any more… My goodness, if God is who the Bible says He is, then eternity could be spent learning to understand the vastness of His complexities and a world full of books written about Him could not articulate that level of understanding…
So, suffice to say, just because your grandmother took you to Sunday school, or you grew up in church, or you attended a bible study, or you have a doctorate in theology does not mean you have “arrived”.
There is a quote from the end of the 19th century (1899) attributed to Charles H. Duell, who at the time was the commissioner of the US Patent office where he reportedly stated, “Everything that can be invented has been invented”…
I think many times Christians have a similar mentality about God where they believe that because they have “read about it” or “heard it before” that there is nothing more to be understood.
I have to say, that to me is a frightening perspective yet an all too common human characteristic, (particularly as it pertains to religious perspectives) because if we believe there is nothing more to know, then there will be nothing more pursued… and so many (especially christians) think they “know” and as a result become stagnate in their personal growth.
Imagine if the Write brothers had stopped pursuing flight in 1899, just 4 years before being the first to fly because “Everything that was going to be invented had been invented”. Imagine all of the 20th century breakthroughs that would have never been had we adopted the philosophy of “aborted pursuit” because we “thought we knew all we needed to know”.
As a parallel thought for the church, I believe there is a place of “flight” just around the corner for those who are willing to pursue more and not be content to “think they already know”… because i just believe that God is big enough to do something more impressive than our previous experience…
The moral of the story here I think is an obvious one as it pertains to God and is quickly summarized with this final thought, “When we assume (ass-u-me) to know all we need to know about God, it makes an ass of u & me…” (Citing the 1611 King James interpretation of the word of course)
