epistemology and heaven

Have you ever wondered how skepticism will handle the beatific vision? I mean, it is one thing to say we can’t know certain things today, but what about later, when we stand before God? To be honest, I’m not sure how this will work out. That is, how will we know that the One before whom we stand is actually the true God? Will we ask for proof? Do we dare? Would proof be convincing? How does a skeptic respond to the reality of a present God, a speaking God? Again, I’m not entirely certain. However, I do think that when God appears, when we stand before him, that it will be undeniably evident that he is indeed the One. There will be no doubts, no guesswork, no efforts to persuade God to show off His wares. Furthermore, I don’t believe that this acceptance of knowledge in heaven is merely a matter of force, of God saying “”I’m bigger and stronger than you, so listen.” Rather, I honestly think that we will all know, even as we are known. “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). At that point, truth will permeate our hearts, and doubt will melt away. Does this mean that we’ll know everything? No, I don’t think that creatures, even glorified ones, can know everything. There will still be major (even insurmountable) gaps in our thinking. But we won’t doubt God’s existence, nor his love, fairness, holiness, or wisdom. And we’ll have an immeasurably increased capacity for taking in and absorbing who and what God is. Thus, our thinking will never be exhaustive, but it will be clear.

Now, if any of this is true, and if the Christian picture of this things is even generally correct, we have to ask how our view of then, of the future, ought to affect our perception of the here-and-now. In what ways does our sense that everything will one day be undeniably clear impact the way we think through issues related to knowledge and epistemology? Though there are no clear-cut answers, I believe it is reasonable for Christians to incorporate these eschatological (i.e., future) realities into their current understanding. If we walk by faith–a sensible and defensible faith but a faith nonetheless–our belief in and experience of the future now (the “now and not yet” of Christian theology) must play a role in the way we approach these manners. In heaven our access to God, His ways, and our relationship to both of these will be incontrovertibly clear. Surely, this must have an impact on us now, as we walk through this often uncertain and baffling world. We believe, Lord. Help our unbelief, and increase our faith.