It is a fact that when we are born, we technically know nothing; actually we are much weaker than the babies of animals in terms of instincts and the abilities to lead an independent life. We need others to take care of us for many years, even for basic things such as feeding, cleaning, providing shelter and protection, but that’s not enough. In order to grow fully and become part of human civilization, our dependence on others is even more indispensable.
Apart from food, shelter and care, we need knowledge and training. We don’t start our lives from the Stone Age. We don’t have time to rediscover everything; therefore, we are taught – we are taught what’s good and what’s bad, how to behave and conduct ourselves, we are taught literacy skills and other sciences; in other words, we are taught the ABCs of life – from cooking and cleaning to the most complex professions of life and the most advanced forms of knowledge.
Do we still need divine revelation, then?
Our parents teach us. Society teaches us. There are scientists, philosophers, thinkers, trainers, professors, mentors, and governments have established a formal educational system, part of which is even mandatory, for one purpose only: to teach us and prepare us for living a successful life; well, at least we can assume so.
Nevertheless, the human mechanisms and the established system of passing down knowledge from generation to generation are not flawless as humans themselves are not perfect.
First, those who are in charge of us, such as parents or teachers, not always know the best even if we assume them to have good intention. Their knowledge is always limited and the time to dedicate to us is never enough. So, what we learn from them does not necessary guarantee us success.
Second, the most problematic part is that the same mechanisms and system that are used to teach us to succeed, they can be used to teach us the opposite, how to fail and how to end up doing the wrong things or making the wrong choices. Given the fact that natural resources are limited, human beings are in competition and at war with one another. At the same time, the priority of governments is to control people. So, those whose interest is to prevent us from success and to control us are many, including the government.
Therefore, there is nothing to guarantee a teenager, whose independent life as an adult is about to start, that he or she has been taught the right things or equipped with the right training and knowledge in order to succeed. On the contrary, much of his or her knowledge that he or she has learned could be wrong, a deception, misleading, or part of the ideological warfare of the government.
There is one way, however, to have access to credible knowledge and cleared from human interests and the practical need of governments to control us: that is divine revelation; otherwise, what people teach us could be lies, deception, or harmful.
Sabri Lushi
