This is a more modern sociology idea that suggests that knowledge is discovered and created by, for, and from a society. This means that we do not just gain knowledge on our own, but that we are influenced by those around us. It also means that to a certain extent if a group of people start to believe one idea is true over another that they can change the course of other groups in their pursuit of knowledge. The knowledge becomes repeated so often that society as a whole can, oft times blindly, accept the knowledge as ‘truth’ and ‘facts’ and no longer has the ability to see reality or the world outside of that knowledge. The assumption is that as members of society, we can then recreate the knowledge that everyone knows and then change society to live under a different set, a more accurate set by our current standards, of truth and facts. This is a means of making a better society.

But here’s a few things that need to be pointed out. First, if knowledge itself is a social construct, that is ultimately determined by what people believe, construct or create, and not on what actually is true, then it is primarily based on subjective beliefs not necessarily on truth or knowledge. The focus on beliefs is part of a philosophical issue on the topic of knowledge. In philosophy real knowledge on a topic is often determined by the combination of having knowledge, truth, and belief. Some have argued that you cannot have actual, complete knowledge without all three. Knowledge has to be true and it has to be believed in order for it to make a difference and be relied upon in a factual way.

In other words, if I know that there is a snake in the other room, I believed my eyes when I saw the snake hide under the bed in the other room, and it is completely, actually true that there is a snake in the other room, then I have knowledge about there being a snake in the other room. This knowledge of the snake can be proven true by others by their going to the room, looking under the bed, and seeing the snake for themselves. But the position above is suggesting that all we need for proper knowledge is the right belief by most of society, i.e. if enough people believe there is a snake in the room, whether there really is a snake or not, their belief makes it true that there is a snake. And if others try to see the snake and can’t find it, they are wrong because they don’t have the right belief.

This view of knowledge is not based on the actual knowledge of a topic, or the actual truth of that topic, just belief. At the very least we do not live in a world where we can reimagine it to whatever we might wish to be true, even if all of society agrees to believe it.

Second, who would be qualified to determine if or when the societal construct was no longer keeping with real knowledge. Is it only a matter of the right educational degree? The right experience? How would we ever know if we have the right people leading the construction of knowledge? If our current socially constructed knowledge is false and we fix it, would it stay that way forever? The answer would be ‘no’ because future people would find our views and beliefs out-of-touch and out-of-date with their reality and they would need to reconstruct society’s knowledge again.

Third, if society’s knowledge will constantly need to be updated, then it cannot be seen as real or true knowledge, but only a temporary opinion that would be replaced by a similarly temporary opinion. There is no consistent standard that could be upheld as a solid foundation that society could return to, preserve, and maintain.

Those are just some issues with viewing knowledge as a social construct. The question is: Is knowledge only constructed, determined, and maintained by society?

From a biblical perspective the answer is no. Knowledge does not come from society nor is society its source. It is not constructed by society so that its origins are racist or misogynist or steeped in preserving some kind of sinful past. Rather, knowledge was first created by God. God maintains it. God has shared some of it with us so that we can learn and grow and relate with Him. Christ, Himself, is the source of all wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3) and He keeps what is true hidden in Himself so that we might seek Him and continue seeking Him. He does not change knowledge, nor is it socially constructed by Christians, but it is fixed and all that is true can only be found through Him.

Knowledge is not changeable because Christ is not bendable to whatever is popular by yesterday’s morals, today’s standards, or tomorrow’s ideals. He is constant and He can also be known. It is in Him alone that we can understand what is real, true, and right. All other ‘knowledge’ will fade and bleach and rust away. If we stand on anything other than Christ, we will always have to shift our knowledge, however, by sticking with Christ we never have to move into ‘new knowledge.’ We will only go from a basic to a deeper and deeper knowledge of what is real.

We also need to be aware of blending knowledge of Christ with the kind of knowledge those who claim knowledge is socially constructed would want us to blend. It is not a choice to mix Christ who has real knowledge and society who wants to reconstruct knowledge. Christ has said all knowledge is in Him. Certain members of our society have said all knowledge can be made by man. These are not compatible statements. Ultimately, those who claim knowledge is a societal construct that they can mold into a better construct are saying that they want to be gods. They want to create right and wrong, good and evil, in whatever image they want and they will want to create it in their own image. Either they are right or Christ is, but it cannot be both. We cannot serve both masters. If we try to hold on to both, we will lose our grip on Christ and not know it.

Yet, it is so much more freeing to trust Christ with all knowledge. We never have to strive to catch up on the latest views. We are never caught off guard by some new direction that we need to go that may or may not completely change what we thought was real 5 minutes ago. We only need to return our eyes to Christ, to trust that He will give us all we need for life and godliness, and to rest in what is true with the understanding that it will never change. And then we can stick with Him who will last forever.