Posted on by Abe Austin

Knowledge vs Practice- Conclusion

Deepening Theories)

I began this study simply to explain why I don’t like statements like, “action is better than knowledge.” While I saw some validity to that statement, I felt it obscured the fact that these two components of faith actually have a symbiotic relationship with one another, each requiring the other to properly exist. In the course of this study, I tried to clarify and express my own position, which ended up leading me to an even deeper understanding of the subject, as any good study should. Here are the three levels of depth that I identified in the relationship between these two components:

  1. Knowledge is fulfilled when we put it into genuine practice, and genuine practice is dependent upon us first gaining knowledge. Ultimately, all of our faithful actions have their roots in revelations of true knowledge given by God.
  2. Practice leads back to greater knowledge. It turns out that knowledge to practice is not a one-way street. The two exist in a cycle. Small actions are inspired by small knowledge, and they yield a testimony of greater knowledge, inspiring greater actions.
  3. Knowledge is the conceptual seed that only becomes part of physical reality through our practice of it. We are moved when we learn key concepts, such as mercy, but at this point that concept is only metaphysical. It is as we put that concept into practice, by actually extending mercy to another who has wronged us, that the metaphysical becomes a living reality in the world.

Essential, Thus Equal)

Thus, can we truly say that knowledge is inferior to practice? They are inseparably linked to one another, each performing a different but complementary role, neither existing without the other. Can we say that the conceptual is more important than reality, or that reality is more important than the conceptual? Both are essential, neither exists without the other.

Of course, when we look at a specific individual, we can probably identify some knowledge which he has not allowed to bloom as practice in his daily life, and in that case, yes, it would be better for him if he let his knowledge become truly alive through action. But that is a statement of how the person becomes better, not a measure of practice being more essential than knowledge.

Like anyone else, I am such a person who has unfulfilled knowledge in me. Having the knowledge isn’t the problem, the problem is that I have held it back, obstructed it from its destination. I pray that I learn to take some of my life, and give it to those ideals, so that the ideals become truly alive through me.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Knowledge vs Practice- The Theory

I have often heard that spiritual practice is more important than spiritual knowledge. Just knowing that you should do good to your fellow man doesn’t do anything to make the world better, you have to actually live that principle in your daily life.

There is something true in this sentiment, but it isn’t as though these two types of testimony live in isolation from one another. Knowledge of the first order precedes practice, and knowledge of the second order follows practice. I’ll explain that further in the course of this study, but for now my point is simply that there is a cyclical relationship between knowledge and practice, and practice typically only occurs because we first gained some sort of knowledge.

Thus, there actually is no “knowledge vs practice.” While I see some merit in describing practice as better than knowledge, I fear that portraying them in this opposing light may create the illusion that we can have practice without any knowledge and perhaps should aspire to that. I believe it would create a clearer picture in our minds if we were to instead say that “knowledge is incomplete without practice.” This, I feel, communicates that practice is a continuation of what began with knowledge, a further step along the same path.

Now, just like practice cements what was previously only knowledge, examples can cement what was previously only theory. I’ve already given the theory, so now I will grow from it with specific examples in scripture. Hopefully those will make clear anything that is still murky from what we have discussed today.

Posted on by Abe Austin

The Captive Heart- Matthew 5:38-39, 1 Peter 2:24, Colossians 3:13

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

COMMENTARY

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
But I say whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also
Yesterday we discussed that the only form of justice our fallen world can provide is “an eye for an eye.” It is fair, but also harsh, and it is destined to worsen the whole human experience over time.
Jesus, of course, recommended a different way. By taking the insult, having the right to lash back in kind, but yet not doing so, the cycle of harm comes to an end. For the first time it becomes possible for the human situation to actually become better instead of worse. It’s an exciting prospect, but who has the strength to do it? How do we find the power to let go of vengeance, when our mortal frame cries for it?

Who bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we should live unto righteousness
Our heart cries for justice. There is an eternal force that sees offense and demands retribution, and that force resonates through us all. It is one of the laws of this world, and it cannot be denied, the compensation of an eye for an eye must be answered. What we need to recognize, though, is that it already has been.
When my fellow brother or sister has offended me, the offense that I would do to make things even has already been endured by Christ. He stands in for them, having that right as their spiritual father, and takes the pain until things have been made equal to what I endured. And because that balance has been made, I no longer need to hurt my brother or my sister. I can forgive them instead.

Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye
And what is more, I am not only able to forgive them, I am compelled to! For I have also been forgiven by Christ, and not because of any merit of my own. I have been forgiven undeservedly, thus creating an imbalance, which that same eternal force of justice now compels must be matched by another act of undeserved forgiveness. Because I have been forgiven freely, I feel that I must forgive another freely.
And just like that, the self-destructive cycle of the world applies to us no more. It is not that it has been broken, it is that it has been fulfilled (Matthew 5:17).