Intellectual Transformation

In one of my classes I talk about the importance of epistemology, which is a branch of philosophy in the study of knowledge. My question before the students is, “How did you come to know what you know, and how do you know what you know is right?”

I contend that most of a person’s personality is determined at birth, i.e. the culture in which we are born with all its implications (race, gender, socio-economics, ethnicity, religion etc.), and therefore accounts for most of how we come to know what we know. Somewhere between eight and ten years of age, at least in my case, we begin to think more about what we were taught and slowly move toward independent thought and eventually our philosophy of life. I maintain that the epistemology of most humans is extremely narrow and what we know is both limited and limiting. It’s an interesting study to think about, how do we come to know what we know.

This morning I listened to the teaching of an old Bible teacher that I have been listening to, off and on, for at least forty years. As a child growing up in Los Angeles my Mom would regularly listen to Dr. J. Vernon McGee and his mid-day Thru The Bible broadcast (www.ttb.org). Dr. McGee has an unusual voice, which he described as a bit like Andy Griffith (an American television personality with a deep southern accent.), which can either be captivating because of his folksy presentation, or hokey and a bit grating to the ears. Perhaps it’s due to my southern roots that I find his tone engaging.

The two main reasons I have listened to McGee all these years is because, first, the program is built on a five-year verse-by-verse study of the Scriptures. Though topical sermons are helpful, they lack the holistic hermeneutics that expository teaching provides. I prefer learning what God has to say about finances, prayer, Divine intervention and prophecy through a holistic approach rather than picking one passage of Scripture in which to build a doctrine.

Secondly, Dr. McGee is a great storyteller. As I remind my students, context gives meaning and presenting real life applications, as illustrations, are the most effective way to teach any subject. Jesus was a great storyteller. J. Vernon’s teaching comes alive with his stories and illustration (granted, some of them are dated and a bit corny, but they are still interesting).

Over the years I have come to disagree with Dr. McGee and his interpretation on some doctrinal issues. He is from a Reformed tradition that makes him more of a determinists than I am. I’m pretty sure he would be less tolerant of a postmodernist that I have become. I confess, however, that Dr. J. Vernon McGee has shaped and influenced a part of my epistemology. I have come to know what I know about God through many influences, but none that has been more consistent than the teachings of a man from Texas who gave his life to teach Thru The Bible.

How do you come to know what you know? Who are the teachers who have guided you? What books have you read that have shaped your present day thinking? Happy is the person who learns from many and finds those few can guide them in consistently in their intellectual growth.