The Danger of Ignorance

Ignorance is dangerous for it makes us take for grated everything good that revolves around us or what might come or taking place in the future. Ignorance can be happened if we are ignoring something that we could possible come to know or have. Essentially, Ignorance always comes within the limit or what Daniel R Denicola said as the limit of knowledge, or using Kant language simply stated as "limit" (Scharanke). We cannot say that someone ignorant to something that they cannot possibly known. Take for instance, is there a multi-verse? To say I do not know, is not an act of ignorance for the idea of multi-verse seems to be out of the limit of knowledge. We cannot prove or even disapprove it. To say it is truly a fact because the Marvel Movies say so is a sign of ignorance detected. Futhermore, idealization of "as if" cannot be said as ignorant. To say something is wrong (as if) when it is true not necessarily mean that person is ignorant about the fact of right or wrong rather, he could choose to do that for the sake of "usefulness"as Hans Vaihinger proposed (useful untruth).

Digging deeper to the world of ignorance, In his Work, Kant once argue that God is beyond limit of Human reason or what he called as "Speculative reason/theoretical reason." Hence, inferring from Kant's view, we can say that someone who reject the belief of God cannot be said as ignorant. However, on that case, all boiled down to this basic question as well, whether God is beyond reason or not? Of course, God as transcendent being and the ultimate-numinous being, stand in a very different category apart from transience human. Nonetheless, to say that God is transcendent does not necessarily follow that He cannot be known for the reason of that He communicate to us though various means in the course of history. According to Monotheistic religions, God is not like Spinoza's God, he speak to us and willing-fully revealed Himself with a special act of disclosure, so that we have the trace and mark of God in this so called natural world. 

Karl Barth, a famous Swiss Theologian wrote a book entitled, The Word of God and the Word of Man and show how God can be experienced deeply and dearly . He ponder what does it mean to say God is present? "The answer, God is present, which is doubtless given...in the content of truth...witness to a meaning in life". Barth show How God speak to human and He tied the content of truth (related to God himself) with the meaning of life that the truth brings. Thus, from here we can say that Barth believes that God indeed can be known within the limit of human knowledge for he communicate truth and meaning of life. And If God does speak and communicate, He must be very clear and precise in the truth he wanted to deliver, otherwise He won't try to speak at all for. God won't do meaningless action. But we must note, the confusion is always in part of man. We are the one who fail miserably fail to grasp God's word. Still, we cannot know "all" things about Him as Reformed Theology call this with the term the incommunicable attributes of God that is to say, the truth of in which only God can know, the truth if being Himself as God. This is the hidden aspect of God that is beyond our limit (Scharanke).

Besides ignorance is a condition whereby people are ignoring something within their limit, or for some it can also mean the lack of knowledge  (E.T Ezekiel argue: Ignorance simply means, "Lack of Knowledge": Hosea 4:6) but I venture to say that ignorance can also means that someone who is intentionally reject to open themselves to something new even it is reasonable simply because it is contrary to their old thinking or mindset. The old mindset can be wrong and derived from bias and pre-ideologies but ignorant people always think that they always right. Ignorant people unwilling to do check and recheck unto things they hold dearly all these time. Take for instance Jewish people in the past. When Christ stand in front of them, they cannot recognize Him as the true Messiah. Jesus clearly wrote that the entire prophet and Old Testament is about Him as Jesus stated, "You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me" (John 5:39). Poythress commenting the relationship of Jesus with Old Testament he then say, "Christ himself indicates that the Old Testament from beginning to end is about Himself and that the whole of the Old Testament...has as its central message the suffering and resurrections of Christ." 

Ironically, people in Jesus time missed to see Jesus clearly as the truth because they come to a believe in majority that the Messiah agenda is political rather than Spiritual in nature (some group also believe that Messiah will come to liberate them from spiritual bondage). Why so? Because they define the Scripture only through the lens of need and overwhelming hope for deliverance. The danger of this kind of ignorance is this, people will miss the treasure that was set in front of them. Even the old Psychological trick of saying/telling the same truth fives times and people can believe, cannot penetrate their hardness of mind as far as I concern. We can say also that this kind of ignorance really dangerous because  they will crucify truth eventually. If we crucify truth what Good that left for us to live? We can say that when people in Jesus time said crucified Him, Crucified Him was actually a voices of ignorance. What they are actually did in their ignorance was to shout, crucified truth, crucified truth! They appear to defend the truth but in fact, they are exposing their own fanaticism or radical ignorance. Indeed, when we crucify Jesus we lost truth but when we crucify ourselves, theologically speaking, we most likely will found truth! Paraphrasing Nietzsche famous story, we can say this is what ignorant people do, truth is dead, we crucified Him! (Original phrase: God is dead, we killed him!)