Monday, February 20, 2023
(click here to listen to or read today’s scriptures)
Part 2: This is the purpose of life: Follow the truth, wherever it leads, no matter the cost
All wisdom comes from the Lord and with him it remains forever, and is before all time. The sand of the seashore, the drops of rain, the days of eternity, who can number these? Before all things else wisdom was created; and prudent understanding, from eternity. The word of God on high is the fountain of wisdom and her ways are everlasting.
Matt asked, “How do you know something? Anything? And how can you be sure?”
He was sketching some of the basic philosophical questions for us. Philosophy, literally the “love of wisdom,” seeks to understand fundamental truth about ourselves, our world, and our relationships.
So … follow the truth, wherever it leads, no matter the cost. All of us are philosophers, good, bad, brave or cowardly philosophers. Having an idea of who we are is part of being human.
There are four arenas of philosophy (probably more): metaphysics (what lies behind the physical), ethics (relating to one another), logic and epistemology.  Matt talked about epistemology, which helps us decide what we know, and how we know it. He described seven ways in which we “know:”
- Like math.
- We reason things out. We have faith in our ability to think.
- We have senses and experiences, and we have faith in what we sense and feel and experience.
- Descartes said, “I think, therefore I am.” We are aware of our “selves,” we are self-conscious. We have faith in this awareness.
- As I grow older, I remember differently, less accurately. I have faith in my memories. But when I am wrong, I also have “faith” in the testimony of my friend or family. When I hear their side, I adjust my own beliefs and accept however I think I’m wrong.
- Did you hear the news? That’s testimony. Gossip, news on TV, stories of any and every kind, heard from anyone and everyone, that’s testimony. History books are full of the testimony of others. We have faith (more or less) in what we hear from others.
- This comes from a “maker,” from outside myself. What revelation is the most reliable: the Bible? The Koran? I must decide this myself. The six other sources of knowledge matter very much in this decision. Because of these other sources, this decision is ongoing. For example, every day I make the decision again to be a Christian.
To whom has wisdom’s root been revealed? There is but one, Most High all-powerful creator-king and truly awe-inspiring one, seated upon his throne and he is the God of dominion. It is Yahweh; he created her (wisdom?) through the Holy Spirit, has seen her and taken note of her.
It is God who makes us wise. When we ate even a bite of the “knowledge of good and evil,” we turned away from his way of making us wise in favor of our own. Hence, we die.
He has poured her forth (wisdom) upon all his works, upon every living thing according to his bounty; he has lavished her upon his friends.
Let me be your friend again, O Lord.
(Sirach 1, Psalm 93, 2 Timothy 1, Mark 9)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
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