Opus 2026-227: Can Ignorance Be a Blessing?

We live in an age awash in education and resources.  Think of the literacy rates in the developed world.  While there may always be a small minority who are incapable of learning to read, most of those who cannot read at grade level need to put the cap of accountability on their own head.  History is full of people who learned to read in the face of violent opposition.  My mind goes to Frederick Douglass.  It was illegal to teach a slave to read so he had to find ways to do it himself.  In that same period you had uncounted people like Abraham Lincoln who had very little formal education but kept seeking out knowledge.

We live in times when education is available.  Is that a good thing?

Which is worse, a culture where knowledge was freely available but people seemed determined to remain brainwashed or one in which there was little book learning but the practical bent of people allowed them to progress in their lives?  I prefer the former because it allows me to dig deep even in a world of shallow soil but over all I am not sure I am better off.

As usual, I tend to think in spiritual terms.  We have long periods of history in which the great unwashed masses had no access to the Bible.  The entire world was run by powerful elites who themselves could not read and, if they could, usually did not.  My heritage is Europe so look at it.  Consider Charlemagne.  He was illiterate as a young man.  He recognized the importance of learning because he did not want to be forced to rely on priests who served another master.  He learned to read at some level but never did get the hang of writing.  He was the tip of the iceberg. 

How did you come to know God in an illiterate, ignorant age?  What was the basis of salvation if you could not access the basic words of life?  Imagine being forced to rely on what the priest told you and it was possible that he could not read either and was making it up as he went along.  Were any of those people saved?  I would imagine so but on what basis?

Very possibly it was the same basis as today.  It is possible to know all the right doctrines and quote all the right verses and still not be part of the Body of Christ.  You have to ask yourself what the basis of Abraham’s salvation was.  He had no written Bible.  All he had was folklore passed down and a few conversations with a mysterious Supreme Being.  It was enough.

Ultimately God is looking at our hearts.  Do we trust in Him?  Do we follow Him as best we can?  It is possible to wander down this road too far and drift into heresy but the Bible repeatedly talks about faith and trust in God.  It supersedes the law.  It is the basis of doctrine.
Ultimately we are dependent on God’s grace and mercy.  Knowing my limitations, I am good with that.

homo unius libri