18 Christianity, Creation, and the Climate Crisis …
355
or constructed by members of the Christian faith and how conceptions of knowledge and truth inform Christian environmental action or inaction. Unless otherwise
indicated, all scripture will be quoted from the New International Version (NIV) of
the bible. Moreover, references to ‘God’ with the pronoun ‘his’ (as in ‘his creation’)
reflect the customary gender usage in the Pacific Island region.
8
Truth and truth-seeking occupy an eminent place in the bible and in Christianity.
Invariably a quest for the truth cannot be divorced from a quest for knowledge, which
brings the realm of epistemology and the study of knowledge into focus, namely what
is known and what can be known. In Christian literature ‘sources of knowledge’ or
‘ways of knowing’ are presented as multiplex and complementary. According to
Knight (2006), there are five sources of knowledge (the senses, revelation, authority,
reason, intuition), and according to Wesley, there are four sources of knowledge
(experience, tradition, reason, and the bible) (Maddox 1994; Hey 2018). This section
introduces these multiple sources of knowledge and explores how truth-seeking and
knowledge generation can play an important epistemological role in supporting more
environmentally friendly practices among Christian communities of faith.
According to Knight (2006), “[t]here is no one source of knowledge that supplies
people with all knowledge” (p. 25). In Knight’s epistemological conceptualisation
there are rather five sources of knowledge that are “in a complementary relationship
rather than one of antagonism” (p. 25). They are as follows: (1) the senses; (2) revelation; (3) authority; (4) reason; and (5) intuition (see Fig. 18.2). A short overview
of these five sources of knowledge (and their complementarity) is helpful. First,
according to Knight (2006), empirical knowledge is gathered through the senses and
has the advantage that “many sensory experiences and experiments are open to both
replication and public examination” (p. 23). Secondly, revealed knowledge presupposes an omniscient and transcendent source, which people of faith typically hold
as “absolute and uncontaminated” (p. 23). Notwithstanding, for Knight (2006) the
need for both faith and “human interpretation” (p. 23) make revealed knowledge
unreliable as an only way of knowing. Third, authoritative knowledge defers to
the expertise of other authorities and thereby “saves time and enhances social and
scientific progress” (p. 23). Fourth, reason or rationalism organise the raw data
into “meaningful system[s]” (p. 24), thereby generating new insights and coherent
knowledge. Finally, intuition knowledge may occasionally overcome human limitations by sparking “sudden flash[es] of insight” (p. 24). Knight cautions that each
way of knowing is highly unreliable on its own and stresses the need to draw on
multiple knowledge sources concurrently. Thus ‘multiple knowledges’ become a
crucial safeguard against the limitations inherent in each one.
According to Fair (2018) it is possible to “hold various knowledges (Christian, kastom and scientific) in balance, exploring their convergence, connections
and tensions” (p. 7). During her research in Vanuatu she used the Bislama term
8 If it is true that “God created man in His own image; [as] male and female” (Gen 1: 27, RSV;
emphasis added), then God evidently comprises both masculine and feminine traits. See Johnson
(2002) for a richer discussion on God and gendered perspectives and portrayals.
355
or constructed by members of the Christian faith and how conceptions of knowledge and truth inform Christian environmental action or inaction. Unless otherwise
indicated, all scripture will be quoted from the New International Version (NIV) of
the bible. Moreover, references to ‘God’ with the pronoun ‘his’ (as in ‘his creation’)
reflect the customary gender usage in the Pacific Island region.
8
Truth and truth-seeking occupy an eminent place in the bible and in Christianity.
Invariably a quest for the truth cannot be divorced from a quest for knowledge, which
brings the realm of epistemology and the study of knowledge into focus, namely what
is known and what can be known. In Christian literature ‘sources of knowledge’ or
‘ways of knowing’ are presented as multiplex and complementary. According to
Knight (2006), there are five sources of knowledge (the senses, revelation, authority,
reason, intuition), and according to Wesley, there are four sources of knowledge
(experience, tradition, reason, and the bible) (Maddox 1994; Hey 2018). This section
introduces these multiple sources of knowledge and explores how truth-seeking and
knowledge generation can play an important epistemological role in supporting more
environmentally friendly practices among Christian communities of faith.
According to Knight (2006), “[t]here is no one source of knowledge that supplies
people with all knowledge” (p. 25). In Knight’s epistemological conceptualisation
there are rather five sources of knowledge that are “in a complementary relationship
rather than one of antagonism” (p. 25). They are as follows: (1) the senses; (2) revelation; (3) authority; (4) reason; and (5) intuition (see Fig. 18.2). A short overview
of these five sources of knowledge (and their complementarity) is helpful. First,
according to Knight (2006), empirical knowledge is gathered through the senses and
has the advantage that “many sensory experiences and experiments are open to both
replication and public examination” (p. 23). Secondly, revealed knowledge presupposes an omniscient and transcendent source, which people of faith typically hold
as “absolute and uncontaminated” (p. 23). Notwithstanding, for Knight (2006) the
need for both faith and “human interpretation” (p. 23) make revealed knowledge
unreliable as an only way of knowing. Third, authoritative knowledge defers to
the expertise of other authorities and thereby “saves time and enhances social and
scientific progress” (p. 23). Fourth, reason or rationalism organise the raw data
into “meaningful system[s]” (p. 24), thereby generating new insights and coherent
knowledge. Finally, intuition knowledge may occasionally overcome human limitations by sparking “sudden flash[es] of insight” (p. 24). Knight cautions that each
way of knowing is highly unreliable on its own and stresses the need to draw on
multiple knowledge sources concurrently. Thus ‘multiple knowledges’ become a
crucial safeguard against the limitations inherent in each one.
According to Fair (2018) it is possible to “hold various knowledges (Christian, kastom and scientific) in balance, exploring their convergence, connections
and tensions” (p. 7). During her research in Vanuatu she used the Bislama term
8 If it is true that “God created man in His own image; [as] male and female” (Gen 1: 27, RSV;
emphasis added), then God evidently comprises both masculine and feminine traits. See Johnson
(2002) for a richer discussion on God and gendered perspectives and portrayals.