The 20th Anniversary of Longing to Know

​In 2023, my first philosophy book, Longing to Know: The Philosophy of Knowledge for Ordinary People, celebrated 20 years in print. In celebration of LTK and its fruit (including you), my team and I produced some additional videos and other resources for you. I also wrote a brand new "Afterword." It's now part of the LTK audiobook, or you can read it here. Longing to Know’s message remains critically necessary two decades on from its birth. Thanks for your part in LTK’s unfolding story. Together, let’s promote it in two more.

20 Years of Longing to Know: A Conversation with Amber Bowen
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As she tells it, when Amber Bowen and I connected at professional meetings in San Antonio, I was the first female Christian scholar that she had ever laid eyes on. As a graduate student at Southeastern Theological Seminary, she arranged for me to give talks there. Throughout her professional training she has encouraged and promoted my work. Now on the faculty of Redeemer University in Hamilton, Ontario, Dr Bowen has involved me in her humanities classes and her Two Cities podcast with Dr. Jon Dunne and others. At her initiative, this interview is of me!

Keep scrolling for more videos in this series.

​Michael and Jon were students in my “Covenant Epistemology 2000,” the course which birthed LTK. Talk about key players! I tell Michael’s story in the book. They were part of the birthing process. And they earnestly encouraged me in my work. These two continue to work in college campus ministry; hear their assessment of LTK’s relevance in this context 20 years out.

Giorgio and John were my students in 2000 at Covenant Seminary. Giorgio and John have pastored churches for over two decades. Hear these two reminisce about those days and name their key takeaways from the book: moving from certainty to confidence in knowing, risk, community, humility, and embodied knowledge. And hear how LTK plays into their pastoral ministries.

A student in my Covenant Epistemology 2002 class, Dr. Dru Johnson is a theologian and philosopher on the faculty of The King’s College in New York City. He has authored several books on Scripture’s epistemology. Dru distinctively shares and carries on my own Polanyi-based philosophical work, especially as it applies to Scripture.

Two of my most brilliant students share what it was like for them to undergo serious epistemological therapy—as a twosome. Josh served as TA and tutor for me, and now teaches my Critical Thinking class as he works toward a PhD in philosophy. Hear Josh ponder knowing from the perspective of computer science. Hear Molly share dealing with shyness and her spiritual journey.

Mary and Troy, 2011 Geneva grads, were stellar
students in the same class of Christian Understanding of Life. Mary TA’d for me; she also helped prepare the Index for my book, Loving to Know. Hear Mary reflect on the strategic value of LTK as she has combatted two things closely connected to a defective epistemology: OCD, and excessive commitment to certainty in church life. Hear Troy, a church planter and pastor in Pittsburgh, reflect on the value of LTK’s approach in the not-yet-knowing of church planting.

Two of my most creative students, Olivia and Andrew both served as my TAs, and these friends continue to help me in my work. Andrew, a film maker, has produced the intro for these LTK videos. Olivia advises from her savvy about sales. Hear Olivia tell how processing LTK played into her horrific auto crash and lengthy recovery. Hear Andrew share how LTK opened his eyes about his own deeply ingrained defective ideas about knowing.

Pauline Buisch tells how my book Longing to Know opened her eyes to knowing across disparate fields, from her earlier music training to her eventual doctoral work and teaching in languages—not to mention relating with children. Pauline was a stand-out student at Redeemer Seminary, where for some years I taught my work for their apologetics requirement. Now with a PhD in Ancient Near East Studies from Notre Dame, she has joined the faculty at United Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. She and husband Jonathan (priest, calligrapher, and another brilliant former student of mine) have three small children.

"Hey Dr. Meek,

I love Longing to Know!  You have been so helpful to me through it and the podcasts etc I have listened to. After 25 years as a PCA pastor ( I have met some of your students from Covenant seminary), I am now a traveling/teaching missionary and have given LTK to many of my friends (along with the Little Manual). Thank you for teaching me the obvious about knowing which wasn't so obvious!

Be encouraged that as I teach and coach pastors in Kenya and Colombia, your Covenantal grid for knowing is helping others in ways (and places) I never imagined!

Grateful for you and all the Lord is doing through you." — Rick Searle, Pastor/Missionary

"Having first heard of Michael Polanyi in the late 1990's, I was excited to see John Frame and others recommending the relevant work of Esther Lightcap Meek. For me, Longing to Know was a welcoming introduction to her thoughts on Polanyi and the human adventure of how we move towards knowing.

​As a philosophically inclined visual artist, I've spent years yearning and struggling to see my own believing, reasoning, and imagining grow up together. Through her sound analysis, approachable examples, and intuitive good sense, Esther leads her readers along, helpfully unfolding what she so wisely advocates. Simply put, this book made me long to read more of her work and learn more! And I'm glad I did, because it gets even deeper and richer! Looking forward to more...

Many thanks to Esther! Congratulations on 20 years of Longing To Know!" — Nathan Bertling, Visual Artist