Epistemology

Epistemology is the branch of of philosophy that concerns "how we know what we know." It's a fancy shmancy word that on the surface, seems to have little to do with everyday life. But it shapes our worldview. And this is terribly important.

I'm working on something with the boys. We are reading through The Chronicles of Narnia again, this time with the purpose of understanding C.S. Lewis' worldview and his message as a result of that. I'm going to quote an author here (Douglas Wilson). It's a little long, and I hope you'll bear with me. Its about "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," specifically where Edmund betrays his siblings.

"With this basic problem driving him, Edmund is the one who raises all the basic epistemological questions. How do we know, Edmund asks, if the robin is really a good kind of bird, one to be trusted? How do we know that the Witch is wicked and the fauns are good? Maybe it is the other way around. Maybe the Witch has been slandered, and she is a very nice lady indeed. How do we know that Mr. Tumnus really saved Lucy? Edmund's responses show that he is devoid of the common morality that we mentioned in 'The Magician's Nephew.' He cannot see what should be obvious from the stories that he has heard, or should have heard. Witches are evil. In other words, the one whose heart is filled with treachery is very concerned with the issues of treachery. His loyalty, which ought to be to his brother and sisters, has been twisted, and he goes over to the Witch. He does this, claiming that he does not know that the Witch is wicked at all - this is just a story he has heard. But he does know that Peter, Susan and Lucy are his brother and sisters, and he does know that he owes them his love and allegiance. He departs from this, telling himself a very complicated story in order to justify it in his own mind, when all the time, the truth is as easy as any decent nursery rhyme. He betrays his family memebers (that he knows very well to be decent people) for the sake of a very dubious Witch."

(How many times have we told ourselves a similar "complicated story in order to justify" something?)

Douglas goes on to say:

"Many Christians today do not know how they are supposed to behave because they have not read the right stories, or they have not read enough of them. This means that they cannot see the story they are currently in, and this means they do not know what to do."

Of course, the "stories" are found first and foremost in Scripture. Throughout the centuries, writers have been using them for their inspiration, and these stories have continued to guide generations of readers.

But what happens if we fail to pass these stories along? What happens when we cease to make Biblical literacy a priority in our children's education? We not only short change them by robbing them of rich and amazing creative works, but we also fail to give them the foundation they need to build their lives upon.

If they don't know the stories, they will be more apt to be swayed by any dubious teaching, whether it comes from a Witch or something seemingly less frightening.

Let's stop throwing away what we know to be true (as Edmund did as he betrayed his brother and sisters)in exchange for a probable lie. And let's be careful about which worldview we're giving our children for their foundation.