This is an interesting exploration, though I think it starts in the wrong place. The study of being (ontology) and the study of knowing (epistemology) part ways in our modern, secular age. The supremacy of ontology only really becomes of thing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Heidegger comes to mind as someone who insists on doing ontology before even beginning to think about epistemology.
The ancient and medieval worlds are dominated by metaphysics, which is a hybrid of ontology and epistemology. The biblical texts belong to this ancient world. They explicitly assert that God/God's will is beyond any human capacity to know or understand, but find in themselves a reflection of God's creative activity, i.e., the image of God.
Plato also belongs to this metaphysical world: his theory of how intelligible forms inhere in sensible matter obviously crosses the very, very modern barrier we have erected between ontology and epistemology. The same can be said for Aristotle, Neoplatonism, Stoicism, etc.
It's unnecessary to do an analysis of the historical development of Western philosophy/theology to come to this conclusion. Persons can consult their own inquisitive nature. Human beings are thinking beings. Indeed, if the idea that Logos became flesh means anything concrete, it is precisely that human beings are thinking beings.
Wonder at the mystery of Being is a really annoying idea. It is vague and indeterminate. It is more true to the Bible texts to wonder, not about the transcendent mystery of Being/God in the abstract or the numinous sacrality this transcendent mystery invests in finite things, but about the mystery of the problem human beings pose for themselves and the mystery of divine Incarnation.
As writer (mostly songs), this is kind of where I mostly try live.
When I tell people that I read the Bible with the eyes of a poet and poetry appreciator I usually run up against two kinds of reactions:
-People who think I'm dismissing the Bible and not taking it seriously enough. "So you don't believe the Bible is the Word of God?" They think I'm a heretic and they are appalled.
-People who think I'm dismissing the Bible as a bunch loose metaphors . They think I'm a heretic and they are relieved.
It's neither of those things. About songs I say, "it's just a stupid song, but it's everything." That's the aim, to get a the essence of being.
At my best I read the Bible with "enchantment," "ontological wonder," "a halo of awe," the "corona of mystery."
In a Newtonian "Clockwork" universe I would likely be an atheist. In a Quantum "Relational" universe with its hints of a Reality behind our perceived reality, that's simply not an option.
This is an interesting exploration, though I think it starts in the wrong place. The study of being (ontology) and the study of knowing (epistemology) part ways in our modern, secular age. The supremacy of ontology only really becomes of thing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Heidegger comes to mind as someone who insists on doing ontology before even beginning to think about epistemology.
The ancient and medieval worlds are dominated by metaphysics, which is a hybrid of ontology and epistemology. The biblical texts belong to this ancient world. They explicitly assert that God/God's will is beyond any human capacity to know or understand, but find in themselves a reflection of God's creative activity, i.e., the image of God.
Plato also belongs to this metaphysical world: his theory of how intelligible forms inhere in sensible matter obviously crosses the very, very modern barrier we have erected between ontology and epistemology. The same can be said for Aristotle, Neoplatonism, Stoicism, etc.
It's unnecessary to do an analysis of the historical development of Western philosophy/theology to come to this conclusion. Persons can consult their own inquisitive nature. Human beings are thinking beings. Indeed, if the idea that Logos became flesh means anything concrete, it is precisely that human beings are thinking beings.
Wonder at the mystery of Being is a really annoying idea. It is vague and indeterminate. It is more true to the Bible texts to wonder, not about the transcendent mystery of Being/God in the abstract or the numinous sacrality this transcendent mystery invests in finite things, but about the mystery of the problem human beings pose for themselves and the mystery of divine Incarnation.
There's a lot to chew on here.
As writer (mostly songs), this is kind of where I mostly try live.
When I tell people that I read the Bible with the eyes of a poet and poetry appreciator I usually run up against two kinds of reactions:
-People who think I'm dismissing the Bible and not taking it seriously enough. "So you don't believe the Bible is the Word of God?" They think I'm a heretic and they are appalled.
-People who think I'm dismissing the Bible as a bunch loose metaphors . They think I'm a heretic and they are relieved.
It's neither of those things. About songs I say, "it's just a stupid song, but it's everything." That's the aim, to get a the essence of being.
At my best I read the Bible with "enchantment," "ontological wonder," "a halo of awe," the "corona of mystery."
In a Newtonian "Clockwork" universe I would likely be an atheist. In a Quantum "Relational" universe with its hints of a Reality behind our perceived reality, that's simply not an option.