I’ve always been attracted to the heart of the matter.
From the time I was a little child, I’ve wanted to understand. Why are those beautiful poison dart frogs so dangerous? How did America become what it is today? What is the point of it all?
I dig and dig and dig until I am somewhat satisfied with the answer to such questions, while recognizing that the choice of when to stop pursuing a line of inquiry is a mere act of will. Just because I stop doesn’t mean that I fully know.
This frustrates me. I want to understand the world, and I want to understand it completely. I do not want to be a finite mind, constrained by the limits space and time set on my capacity to know all that there is to know.
Yet, that is my position as a bounded creature made by the uncircumscribable God. This being the case, what am I to do?
First, filter. Given my short period of time on Earth, I must be selective in choosing what to attend to. While I am interested in many things, they are not all of equal importance in explaining the breadth and depth of reality. What subject matter will most help me understand the entirety of all subject matters? Where is the principle from which all else flows located?
Second, dive. Once said fundamental field is identified, dig as deep as possible and use learnings from it to inform my perception of all contingent lines of inquiry. Provided that it truly contains the Truth in which all other truths participate, then I will know that I am spending my limited time on the primary intellectual pursuit.
While this approach will not satisfy my curiosity about all things, it will at least give me the satisfaction of knowing that I am seeking to understand the primary thing.
The key question is, what is this field that informs all others? How am I to know that it is indeed the one, and does not just appear to be so? Why should I trust that I have chosen correctly?
This field is theology, and I know this by faith.
