Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13 – English Standard Version of the Christian Bible)
I’ve just finished reading some opinion pieces regarding the latest convoy protests in Canada. One particularly insightful article by Andrew Coyne (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-our-shared-reality-and-the-knowledge-that-undergirds-it-is-being/) points out that knowledge can come vertically (from the elites) or come horizontally (from peers).
In this case the idea of vertical knowledge is all about the socialization that happens with observation over time, scientific conclusions and recognized precedents. But there is no mention of God. Those who oppose this knowledge are considered to be uneducated and likely to spread misinformation.
For Christians (and most religious groups) this is a problem. Coyne seems to imply that Christians (a significant part of the convoy) were uneducated and prone to conspiracy theories. While this may be discerned in some of the protesters, a significant portion are smart and accomplished in understanding knowledge and wisdom. But they start, not with the broken and fragmented chips of their peers information, but with a metanarrative that is vertical in nature. Not the elites, but the creator. Not the searchers, but the revealer.
And the question arises – who is the truly knowledgeable one?