I have a question about what is your view on gaining new understanding, wisdom/knowledge within a religion but there is no direct connection to it in the scripture.
Would it be better if this person did not see it as a part of the teaching?
Or do you see it more as a part of the journey, and that the person did gain deeper wisdom from the teaching?
I guess the real question is: should a religious person just read the teaching, but not seek the deep wisdom within? or is it a sign of enlightenment to be able to draw new wisdom from the teaching?
I didn't become a know-it-all until I actually knew it all (joking).
Reading the entire internet was a bit time consuming (joking).
The more one learns, the more one realizes that they know very little, or that there is a lot more to learn.
Socrates was said to have been one of the smartest people who ever lived. When the mayor of Athens called him an idiot,
Socrates said that he knew that he was an idiot, but the mayor didn't know that he (the mayor) was also an idiot, therefore,
that extra knowledge made him (Socrates) smarter.
Socrates was said to be the father of philosophy (which, at the time, was the study of all knowledge). Socrates wrote no books, but his student, Plato, wrote on his behalf. Plato (for Socrates) wrote a book about how discussion gains knowledge.
Some people fear discussing religion, for fear that questioning God's existence, motives, or actions might incur his wrath. Some even revere God so much that they don't dare write God, but write G-d. Discussing God strengthens convictions about him.
Scripture says that you have an
obligation to learn what is good. (This is the direct connection in scriptures to knowledge, that you asked about). So, if you
refuse to read the bible, you are not living up to your obligation. It is possible that one can be good without reading about how to do it. Many atheists are generous and helpful, but for some, it helps to read the bible and understand what God wants.
Since the end of knowledge can never be reached (no one can know everything), it must be considered a
journey, not a destination.
One must be humble in order to learn and follow orders (example: orders from God).
Reading the bible, and knowing what God wants is not enough. One must put it into practice. Commandments of God are not some dusty history, they should apply to our lives right now.
For example, the war in Iraq defies God. God said "thou shalt not kill" and Revelation specifically said not to attack Iraq or face God's wrath. But, because the Al Qaeda attacked America, it seemed logical to humans (using the human mind) to make war. Those who had faith in God followed God's instructions not to have a war. Those who were faithless, and followed the whims of mankind, were deceived into war by Satan's lies (lies that said that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction after we spent years proving that they did not, and lies that Iraq had some slight connection to terrorism). About a million Iraqis were killed, and a torture camp was made in Guantanamo.
So, we knew that God didn't want war, but we followed Satan's lies and went to war anyway. Satan put fear in our hearts (fear of more terrorism), and that fear was ramped up when Satan made Orange Alerts that made us think that North Korea was about to attack California with nuclear missiles. Our president (W. Bush), and his aides (Rice and Powell), lied us into war.
Only Satan uses lies to promote violence.
Satan's tactics of lies, greed, and violence oppose wisdom and knowledge, and can defeat even the wisest.
