Wisdom and Knowledge
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
“The virtue of wisdom differs from knowledge in that wisdom is normally understood as the immediate insight into things, the practical understanding and grasping of what is true and right in its living expression and form. The wise man is the one who sees clearly and deeply into the mysteries of God. He is the one who can give concrete advice in the everyday affairs of life, the one who can point out the will of God to man who is confronted by actual problems and decisions. He is the one who, like Jesus, knows not only what is in God, but ‘what is in man’ (cf. John 2:25).” (Fr. Thomas Hopko)
“Knowledge is deeply problematic. It takes a variety of forms (few of which have much to do with the biblical notion of knowledge). We ourselves are also the constant target of those who market various forms of “knowledge,” most of which are nothing of the sort, but feel like knowledge. The knowledge to which Christ refers can also be called “saving knowledge,” for it requires and involves the transformation of the person who has it. And that transformation is in the direction of true existence – conformity to the image of God.” (Father Stephen Freeman)
“Noetic knowledge is potentially available to everyone, regardless of one’s level of formal education, or lack thereof. The training required for this kind of knowledge is largely ascetic—purifying the heart by keeping the Gospel commandments/ living the Gospel life (hence also knowing/ understanding Scripture); striving for virtue by means of various spiritual disciplines such as fasting, prayer, and almsgiving (all part of the Gospel life); and participation in the sacraments and the ongoing life of the Church (also indicated in Scripture)—all necessitating one’s cooperation with God’s grace. Sin, which these practices, in conjunction with God’s grace, help to overcome, is most often imaged as an illness preventing fullness of health.” (Dr. Mary S. Ford)
“The Law taught us that not only were we created after the image of God, but we are also microcosms of creation. Like the heavens and the earth, we bear the imprint of this divine Wisdom that “cannot be purchased for gold” (Job 28:15) on our being. In exploring the depths of nature, we see the marks of divine Wisdom through which the world came to be, according to which God sustains it and for which He created it. Wisdom, then, can be found anywhere, from the heights of heaven to the most mundane occupations and labors of this life.” (Dylan Pahman)
“Madness begins where man abandons the straight path of Revelation and attempts to measure God by his own limited reason. It is an existential voyage into a moonless night across a storm-tossed ocean on the fragile raft of one’s ego. Instead of standing in sacred awe before Eternity—which the very book of nature proclaims—man becomes a craftsman, fashioning a convenient “pocket god” who obediently approves of his passions…the root of this disaster: pride. It is a metaphysical turning away from Divine Wisdom. And where the Light is extinguished, the ringing emptiness of non-being takes its place.” (St. John Chrysostom, St. Augustine, Metropolitan Luke Kovalenko)
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