The Blind Men and the Elephant:

Can Christians Learn Anything from this Story?

By Brian D. Wilson

I was a Cultural Relativist in community college when I first heard the Indian folk tale The Blind Men and the Elephant. Some years later I read a devastating critique of the Relativist's interpretation of this story from apologist Greg Koukle. I am indebted to him, because one day I found my self utilizing his masterful argument in defense of Christianity, with a few twists of my own. For those interested in Mr. Koukle’s original article entitled The Trouble With the Elephant go to his website at www.str.org.

I sat in a café near a gentleman who was telling his friend why Christianity was a false religion. “The problem with Christianity is its self righteous assertion of truth. They actually believe that something called truth exists out there and that it can be pulled from a magic tree like fruit or something. They think they have exclusive claim to truth, when in actuality we all have only a piece of it. When we put all the pieces together then we have ultimate truth.”

His animosity toward Christianity came as no surprise. After all Christ’s statement, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through me” is going to have a hard time meshing with Religious Pluralism, a philosophy that by its very nature believes all religions are equally true. I sat sipping my tea as the gentleman then recounted this story to his friend.

“One day a group of blind beggars decided to go to the city, ‘Surely we will make more money there’ one said. So they all agreed and off they went.” For weeks they traveled through the jungle. Finally they arrived in Delhi the capitol and began begging. They were astonished, for in only an hour they had made enough for 3 days of food. Then the youngest blind man hit upon an idea ‘Why don’t we go and find an elephant!’ None of them had encountered one before.

They walked, and eventually found themselves in the center of the city near the grand palace where an imperial elephant was being bathed. “With great anticipation the blind men surrounded him and began to feel him. ‘I know what an elephant is like.’ one said, ‘He is like a great wall of the palace.’ Another, touching the tip of the elephant’s tusk said, ‘No, you have it all wrong. He is like a great spear.’ On and on they went until they began arguing. The shouting became so loud that it woke the Raja from his noon day nap in the palace next door. He came out onto the terrace and said, “Can’t a person get any sleep in this blasted city! What’s the problem?’”

“One man began to explain the situation, but the quarrel, now growing louder, resumed. Finally the Raja said ‘Silence! Gentlemen you all are experiencing just a piece of the elephant. You each have a part of the truth. When you combine your experiences together then you will know what an elephant is like. Now go away and ponder what I have said.’ And the Raja went back to bed. And the Blind men thought about what the Raja had said.”

I understood what our story teller was getting at. The elephant represented the universe, and the blind men were all of us. As for the truth, it is so out of reach. Humanity never gets the big picture.

Leaning over from the next table I said to the story teller, “That was a really cool story. I was curious though, which character represented you? Were you the Raja, or one of the blind men?” He was perplexed so I tried to elaborate. “In your tale the Raja had a perfect view of the elephant. He alone possessed knowledge of the way the elephant truly was. But I couldn’t help over hearing you tell your friend earlier that no one has the complete truth. So which character are you?” “Definately one of the blind men” he replied.

“Fair enough, but I am still confused. You told your friend that Christianity is a false religion. But as you say, if you are not the Raja, how did you come to know with such certainty that you are right and Christians are wrong?”

Again he looked confused, so I offered an illustration, “One 6th of the Earth’s population is either Protestant or Catholic. You disagree with the perspectives of both of these sects of Christianity, right?” “Absolutely” He answered. “So if you are certain that 1 out of 6 people on the planet are wrong, how did you escape the blindness from which the rest of humanity suffers? You’re one of the blind man too, right?”

The light bulb finally went on. He understood that he could not in one breath deny the possibility of humanity reaching religious truth, then in the next declare that all Christians were wrong.

What the story teller failed to consider was that his belief that all religions lead to heaven is itself a claim by one particular individual to actually know what the big picture looks like. You cannot have your religious cake and eat it too.

This made his declaration to me a moment later of Christian arrogance all the more strange. Apparently the light bulb that lit for the story teller wasn't the revelation I initially thought. He hadn't completely realized that in fact he was claiming to be the all knowing Raja, even if he did not want to admit it. He informed me that I was arrogant and oppressive because of the beliefs I held.

So I asked him, "Why do you say that?" His reply, "Because you think you are right and everyone else is wrong." I answered "So basically I am arrogant because I think I possess the truth, and do not think you are right." So I continued, "Tell me then, you disagree with me don't you?" He reluctantly answered, "Yeah." "So why is it that when I think I am right, I am arrogant, but when you think you are right. . . .you are just right?" He didn't answer. The story teller had enough and went on his way.

The irony is that Christians have never made claims to supreme knowledge. We turn to Jesus precisely because we are blind. We are doubtful that we understand ourselves very well let alone the Cosmos. As Paul says, “We see through a glass dimly…”

That is why we need the Raja from the palace to come down and make clear for us those things that are not. Jesus has always been the Raja for us because we do not think we are qualified for the job. Are you?