Is God KNOWABLE?

Can we know God?

Yes and no. For one thing we can't even know people that well. We can live with a spouse for years and find out new things about them. People are deep wells of information, experiences, natures, and characters... but through time and devotion, we can get to know them....

BUT- what about God. God is SO different, right? He is UNFATHOMABLE. He created everything, and is everywhere, all-knowing, all-powerful, says Julie Clawson (at the emergent women website, thanks Julie) and says the Bible, right? How can we REALLY REALLY possibly KNOW him, right? He is beyond language. Correct? Well, the short answer is "yes, kind of."

God made it possible for us to have an amazing book in our reach called the Bible which talks all about him. It can't capture him fully with words, but certain language can loosely give a good contour. We can't sketch a sunset with pencil, but we can get some shapes down. We can't use words to describe what tasting coffee is truly like, but with words, we can outline a bit what the aroma is like and how good a warm cup tastes and feels when it is drank. One can imagine well what it is REALLY like based on a word description. So too with God. The reality of him can be known, but not fully grasped. He is knowable, but not fully comprehendible. It is limited knowledge, but entirely useful.

Let us not dismiss some of our best ways to encounter God by calling them shoddy when we use and trust language for so much else. It is on the basis of language, words, and propositions, that we first encounter all our initial ideas before they are incorporated into our lives. They are a starting point, not the end all be all to knowing God.

Do you know God? How have you encountered him? Feel free to leave your comments.