Article August 1, 1959 Issue

UNDERSTANDING VERSUS KNOWING ABOUT

H. PHELPS GATES

One may know a great deal about some phase of human experience, yet not know how to make that knowledge practical. One may have an extensive theoretical knowledge of bridges, or ships, or power plants, yet not know how to put that knowledge to practical use.

In the field of religious knowledge, one may know a great deal about the Bible, yet not know how to use its teaching in daily living. A brilliant scholar of ancient and modern Christianity may know much about God and what He has done for men. Yet he may never have proved in his own experience God's healing power and presence. He is like one who knows all about bridges, but has never built one.

Christ Jesus taught his followers to prove their understanding of God as well as to preach it. There was the impetus to know and to do, to pray and to demonstrate, in what he said and did. "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free," the Master stated (John 8:32). Here is a two-part statement. It is a statement that calls for both understanding and demonstration.

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