The Greatest Sensation February 21, 2009
Posted by danielmorgan17 in Christianity.Tags: Ayn Rand, Christianity, Philosophy
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“It was the greatest sensation of existence: not to trust, but to know.” –Ayn Rand
Trust: reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence.
Know: to perceive or understand as fact or truth; to apprehend clearly and with certainty.
The difference between the two may be subtle, but the gap between them is colossal.
Trust vs. know…confidence vs. certainty…
Do I trust that this chair will hold me, or do I know that this chair will hold me?
Do I trust God, or do I know God?
Do I trust that through God I can appropriate, or do I know that through God I can appropriate?
How does one bridge the gap? Is it even bridgeable for a sinful human, or is the other side simply an ideal to which we aspire futilely?
Lord, be my bridge…
I wonder if your understanding of the word “know” is a bit simplified, I mean, it’s definition has plagued philosophers for a long time and there is still no common acceptance of what it means to “know” but your description of know is still a bit like faith, because it has no aspect of reality in it. It doesn’t contain something that can be relied on. I can know that I am typing on my computer, but I can’t know that I didn’t leave the kitchen tap on, even though I might be really sure and have total faith I did and no doubts.
For your chair example. You can trust it will hold you, but if you sit on it and it does, only then you can know. And you can really only know that it is holding you currently, not that it always will.
I believe that we can “know” very few things truly.
And when it comes to knowing God – I don’t believe it’s possible. That’s why Jesus talks of faith in him, not knowledge of him
Your first three paragraphs are, I think, essentially in agreement with the implications made in the post. As for your last statement, I believe it is possible to know God…the apostle Paul talks of the knowledge of God (see link below) over and over again. I also believe, however, that truly knowing Him is a very high spiritual plateau and is a level not attained by any but the most mature of believers.
http://www.biblegateway.com/keyword/?search=knowledge%20of%20God&version1=31&searchtype=all&limit=none&wholewordsonly=no