Opus 2024-036: Knowledge and Value

My thinking started with wondering how I would know about God if I were born in a pagan culture centuries ago. The Bible tells us that through nature we would know certain things. That would probably be limited to the attributes of God which are observable such as creativity, variety, and power. It would not include the moral qualities of God.

The moral issues I could learn by the work of the Holy Spirit speaking to a willing heart.  I could get the basics of the moral law by just the inward work of the Holy Spirit and willingness to listen.

From there I went to people who don’t know about Jesus and how they can be saved and how limited my knowledge is and my understanding. That doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. The plan that God has given is clear involving Jesus and the blood and forgiveness and faith. That does not mean that there are is no other way that God has provided. It doesn’t mean that because I don’t need to know it.

Which brings us to the question of knowledge, and why we seek knowledge, and if we need knowledge. If I were given the information about the temperature at the bottom of a gravity well on an unknown planet, I would be able to intellectually look at the number and fit it into my knowledge base. I could add one and subtract two.  In spite of that, it would not mean anything to me, because I could not grasp it. Also, it would be totally immaterial because it would not affect anything, anywhere, at any time.

Much of the knowledge we gather is of this nature.  If knowing that temperature will allow us to develop technology to beat cancer, that changes everything.  If it allows us to build a faster than light starship that can be world changing.  If all it does is add to the list of numbers in an encyclopedia somewhere, it is totally useless information. Much of what we think we need to know falls in that category.

Don’t be impressed by knowledge.  Be impressed by knowledge that is applied.  That is often called wisdom.

homo unius libri