Essay On Knowledge In Religion

As a young lad growing up, I was raised in a Christian home and taught the ways of the bible. When I moved to Germany, I was exposed to several new religions that I had never encountered before, and these contradicted my prior knowledge of religion. JW von Goethe once said, “we know with confidence only when we know little; with knowledge doubt increases”. Exposure increased my knowledge of other faiths, but this increase also meant more doubts, more questions. For example, how can there be this many religious divisions, despite, there being only one God? Every religion envisions life in different light with different rules to live by, but which one is correct? Knowledge is facts and information acquired through experience or education. With knowledge we can either have confidence, a state of being certain that something is correct or it’s conflicting kin doubt, uncertainty of belief that often interferes with decision making. JW von Goethe’s statement raises some questions that make Do we know with confidence when we know more …show more content…
Religion comes to mind. Religion is a complex intricate belief system. It was a way for people to create, gather and share ideas that tell truths about the existence of the universe and the beings on it, animate or inanimate, conscious or unconscious. It relies heavily on faith, believing in something, as an element of piety, which some believe is not a valid way of knowing because it is not based on substantial proof. Religion is therefore faith in a supreme external entity, called God, it is essentially the belief in something outside the boundaries of reason. Every being needs something to believe in. Back in the old days, religion speak the human needs that scientific theories could not satisfy. It was a means for people to find comfort in ignorance. Knowing more about religion did not increase doubt, but instead increased confidence, giving comfort to the