Enough Knowledge to be Dangerous

Luther writes regarding the sinful human condition in the Smalcald Articles, "3] This hereditary sin is so deep [and horrible] a corruption of nature that no reason can understand it, but it must be [learned and] believed from the revelation of Scriptures, Ps. 51:5; Rom. 6:12ff ; Ex. 33:3; Gen. 3:7ff" (SA III, I, 3) His statement mirrors what we Lutherans learn early on from the Small Catechism and namely, "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts..." (Small Catechism, 3rd Article).

The above certainly expresses the truth of the Scriptures. The prophet Isaiah records God's truthful claim, "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:9). The Apostle Paul hands down to us Christ's teaching when he writes, "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14). Indeed, when Jesus taught the disciples what the Scriptures (old testament) had to say about Himself, Luke records that Jesus had to open the disciples' understanding to the Scriptures (Luke 24:45). That is to say, Jesus had to reveal the truth about Himself to his disciples, since they were incapable of understanding from natural reason what the Scriptures had to say about His death, burial, and resurrection.

However, the fact that we cannot approach God through our own corrupt powers of reason, and through that faculty come to "accept the things of the Spirit of God" does not mean the Christian faith is irrational. In the Forumula of Concord we read the following concerning human reason,

"9] For, first, although man's reason or natural intellect indeed has still a dim spark of the knowledge that there is a God, as also of the doctrine of the Law, Rom. 1:19ff, yet it is so ignorant, blind, and perverted that when even the most ingenious and learned men upon earth read or hear the Gospel of the Son of God and the promise of eternal salvation, they cannot from their own powers perceive, apprehend, understand, or believe and regard it as true, but the more diligence and earnestness they employ, wishing to comprehend these spiritual things with their reason, the less they understand or believe, and before they become enlightened and are taught by the Holy Ghost, they regard all this only as foolishness or fictions" (SD II, 9).

Notice that the writers of the Solid Declaration point us to Romans 1:19 in reference to the statement we all have a "dim spark of knowledge that there is a God, as also of the doctrine of the Law." Paul writes in verse twenty of Romans chapter one that the attributes of God "have been clearly perceived" since the creation of the world such that nobody can claim ignorance to the existence of our Creator. Indeed, Paul goes on to write in chapter two verses twelve through sixteen that the Gentiles are proof that the law of God is written on all our hearts and that same law accuses us all day and night.

It is because humans, even in their corrupt sinful natures, do have "...a dim spark of the knowledge that there is a God..." that we can have a "historical faith" about God (James 2:19) as opposed to the faith given to us by the Holy Spirit through the hearing of the Word of God and whereby we joyfully receive the promises of His Word (Romans 10:17, Ephesians 2:8).

It is because of the natural state of human reason that we can broadly understand there is a God (yet not know Him) and know right from wrong due to the law written on our hearts, that we also face doctrines of Devils found in many false  teachings and false religions. Men such as Mohammed, Gautama Buddha, and other founders of so-called "world religions" are capable of saying something which is truthful because of this "dim spark" of knowledge we retain of God. Should we be surprised by such as Christians? Absolutely not. Even the Devil himself was able to tell some truth in the Garden of Eden through which he was able to twist it around and deceive Adam and Eve. The entire premise of "false prophets," "false shepherds," and "wolves in sheep's clothing" is built upon the idea that just enough of the truth is being expressed in order to trick the faithful into listening to the falsehoods.

The fact that we have "a dim spark of the knowledge that there is a God" means that when left to our own natures we have enough knowledge to be dangerous. We can't reach God through our natural reason. The unregenerate can, and sometimes do, state profound truths, but none of which grant faith unto salvation. Indeed, these same "wise persons" are described in the Scriptures as fools who are always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 3:7). From the Gospels it is clear that the only way to get the truth of Jesus is that it takes His opening our understanding through the Word of God.