Knowing God in Light of Reality

Christmas musing on Ontology Determines Epistemology

In the critical realist approach to the philosophy of science, the principle that ontology determines epistemology asserts a foundational truth: what exists shapes what we can know and how we can know it. It’s a principle I’ve long valued in my academic work, but recently, I’ve been reflecting on how it applies to something far more personal: belief in God.

The Epistemic Trap

When we start with epistemology determining ontology, we limit reality to what our methods of knowing can measure, observe, or verify. This creates a tension in matters of faith. If our tools of knowing—rational thought, empirical observation, or personal experience—set the boundaries of reality, then belief in God becomes bound to our cognitive limitations. We risk reducing God to a mere intellectual construct, a hypothesis to test rather than a transcendent reality to encounter.

This approach is not only limited but also fragile. What happens when our epistemic tools fail to “find” God? When intellectual certainty wavers, or when life’s experiences cast long shadows over neatly organized theological frameworks? If epistemology is our foundation, doubt threatens the entire structure.

The Ontological Turn

But what if we start with ontology determining epistemology? What if God exists independently of our ability to comprehend or measure God? In this view, reality precedes our knowledge. And if God transcends our categories—our language, logic, and empirical tools—then the question becomes not, “Can we know God with certainty?” but rather, “How should we know God given the nature of God’s being?”

This shift changes everything. Instead of demanding that God fit into our epistemic frameworks, we ask:

• How does a transcendent being become knowable to finite creatures?

• What forms of knowing—beyond rational analysis—are appropriate for encountering such a being?

Knowing the Unknowable

Scripture and theological tradition suggest that God accommodates to our limited capacity for knowledge—through revelation, through incarnation, through relational experience. We know God not because we’ve mastered the right methods of knowing, but because God has made God known.

This doesn’t mean we abandon reason or observation. Rather, it means we approach them with humility, recognizing their limits. It also means we remain open to forms of knowing that transcend data points and logical deduction—intuition, beauty, worship, and perhaps most importantly, love.

A Thought Experiment

Imagine standing before a grand symphony. You could analyze the sound waves, measure the frequencies, and map the acoustics. But could you truly know the symphony that way? The fullness of the music isn’t just in the data—it’s in the experience, the way it resonates within you.

Likewise, if God transcends creation, then knowing God might involve something more than just analysis. It might require relationship, reverence, and recognition of mystery.

Why This Matters

When ontology determines epistemology, faith becomes less about intellectual conquest and more about relational encounter. Doubt doesn’t threaten the foundation because the foundation isn’t our fragile knowledge—it’s the reality of God.

So we must ask:

• What kind of knowing corresponds to God’s nature?

• How do we let our methods of knowing align with the reality of who God is, rather than forcing God into our epistemic categories?

In a world obsessed with measurable certainty, this approach feels both ancient and radical. But it’s a perspective worth holding onto—because if God is real, then God is not merely a question to answer, but a presence to know.