In my journey to understand Knowledge and Wisdom I have decided to start with knowledge. I did some research and came up with a definition for knowledge. You have to know what you are researching before you can actually try to figure it out. After sitting on my definition of knowledge I decided it wasn’t quite right.
Definition as yesterday: “Knowledge is the sum of what you are conviced or certain of to be true or factual.”
I didn’t state this entirely correctly and this was pointed out to me. A better definition is this: “Knowledge is the sum of the things you are aware of that are true or factual.”
This definition is a very worldly definition. Seeing that I am a believer in God and Jesus Christ I don't believe you can define something like knowledge with out seeking God's definition and view of knowledge. I mean if you are a believer you have to believe a few facts about knowledge.
1)God is the God of Knowledge. (I Sam 2:3)
"Boast no more so very proudly, Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the Lord is a God of Knowledge, and with Him actions are weighted."
In this scripture it says that "the Lord is a God of Knowledge" and I say the Lord is THE God of Knowledge. I say this because of the First Commandment. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me". Also the word God is capitalized in I Samuel. With those two things I don't believe I am off when I say God is THE GOD of Knowledge. There are many other reasons i could state but I won't for shortness of this writting.
2)God's knowledge is much higher they we could ever attain. (Psalms 139:1-6)
v6 says, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it."
This passage is talking about the ways of the Lord and His knowings of our comings and going, risings and fallings, words and no words. So if we can never attain the knowledge of God why do we study it from his word and try to understand it. Psalms 119:10 is the answer. His knowledge is given to us in the word and althought we may never attain and apply it(this could be wisdom but we will see about this later) we will "tresure Your word in my heart, That I may not sin against You".
So with these facts stated...Is the study of knowledge the study of how not to sin? Instresting thought I think. I am not saying that is true or false but I think i will investigate further in to this idea next post.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Thursday, September 29, 2005
What is Knowledge
What is Knowledge.
I have a co-worker, one with much knowledge and wisdom, who I like to refer to as Webster’s best friend. He is always challenging me to use the correct word and definition for the conversation. This has been a huge learning curve for me because I am terrible with grammar and terrible with sentence context. But this little bit of wisdom has really helped me as a person. So with this being said lets look to Webster for our definition on Knowledge.
Pronunciation: 'nä-lij
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English knowlege, from knowlechen to acknowledge, irregular from knowen
1 obsolete : COGNIZANCE
2 a (1) : the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association (2) : acquaintance with or understanding of a science, art, or technique b (1) : the fact or condition of being aware of something (2) : the range of one's information or understanding <answered to the best of my knowledge> c : the circumstance or condition of apprehending truth or fact through reasoning : COGNITION d : the fact or condition of having information or of being learned <a man of unusual knowledge
3 archaic : SEXUAL INTERCOURSE
4 a : the sum of what is known : the body of truth, information, and principles acquired by mankind b archaic : a branch of learning
Let us examine the 2nd part of this definition. I like this because I don’t agree with Webster. I will get in to that later as to why in another post. I think the best definition of knowledge is number 4. The sum of what is known. So what does it mean to know something. Again we look to Webster.
Pronunciation: 'nO
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): knew /'nü also 'nyü/; known /'nOn/; know·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English cnAwan; akin to Old High German bichnAan to recognize, Latin gnoscere, noscere to come to know, Greek gignOskein
transitive senses
1 a (1) : to perceive directly : have direct cognition of (2) : to have understanding of <importance of knowing oneself> (3) : to recognize the nature of : DISCERN b (1) : to recognize as being the same as something previously known (2) : to be acquainted or familiar with (3) : to have experience of
2 a : to be aware of the truth or factuality of : be convinced or certain of b : to have a practical understanding of <knows how to write>
Number 2 says to be aware of the truth or factuality of: be conviced or certain of. So a good definition of knowledge in a personal form.
“Knowledge is the sum of what you are conviced or certain of to be true or factual.”
Chew on that definition, do some research and post back what you think to be a good definition of Knowledge.
I have a co-worker, one with much knowledge and wisdom, who I like to refer to as Webster’s best friend. He is always challenging me to use the correct word and definition for the conversation. This has been a huge learning curve for me because I am terrible with grammar and terrible with sentence context. But this little bit of wisdom has really helped me as a person. So with this being said lets look to Webster for our definition on Knowledge.
Pronunciation: 'nä-lij
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English knowlege, from knowlechen to acknowledge, irregular from knowen
1 obsolete : COGNIZANCE
2 a (1) : the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association (2) : acquaintance with or understanding of a science, art, or technique b (1) : the fact or condition of being aware of something (2) : the range of one's information or understanding <answered to the best of my knowledge> c : the circumstance or condition of apprehending truth or fact through reasoning : COGNITION d : the fact or condition of having information or of being learned <a man of unusual knowledge
3 archaic : SEXUAL INTERCOURSE
4 a : the sum of what is known : the body of truth, information, and principles acquired by mankind b archaic : a branch of learning
Let us examine the 2nd part of this definition. I like this because I don’t agree with Webster. I will get in to that later as to why in another post. I think the best definition of knowledge is number 4. The sum of what is known. So what does it mean to know something. Again we look to Webster.
Pronunciation: 'nO
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): knew /'nü also 'nyü/; known /'nOn/; know·ing
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English cnAwan; akin to Old High German bichnAan to recognize, Latin gnoscere, noscere to come to know, Greek gignOskein
transitive senses
1 a (1) : to perceive directly : have direct cognition of (2) : to have understanding of <importance of knowing oneself> (3) : to recognize the nature of : DISCERN b (1) : to recognize as being the same as something previously known (2) : to be acquainted or familiar with (3) : to have experience of
2 a : to be aware of the truth or factuality of : be convinced or certain of b : to have a practical understanding of <knows how to write>
Number 2 says to be aware of the truth or factuality of: be conviced or certain of. So a good definition of knowledge in a personal form.
“Knowledge is the sum of what you are conviced or certain of to be true or factual.”
Chew on that definition, do some research and post back what you think to be a good definition of Knowledge.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Knowledge and/or Wisdom
Intersting title huh. This is something I have been struggling with for sometime and I bet that most of us have. Think back to to thirteen...Teenage years. I knew it all. I didn't need my parents, my coach, my pastor. I was in control of my own life and didn't need their knowledge of the world to get by. Ok let us break down my last statement. I said knowledge because when you are in high school all you are getting is head knowledge. Most of the "life applications" you need you can learn from your early years of life. For example don't stick your finger in the light socket, don't touch a hot stove, Listen when someone talks, etc. Everything else in the world is head knowledge.
Let us skip a little forward to college. This 4 years, or in some cases 10 years, of our lives is the most knowledge based thing we will probably ever go thru in our lives. What do they tell you on every college application. We are preparing you for your FUTURE! I went head over heals for this even though I didn't get good grades. But i learned a lot of head knowledge about my skills, trades, self, and my God.
So why am I ranting about head knowledge. Well I have been out of school now for almost 2 years. In these two years I have learned so much that I can't even begin to sum it all up. But the lessons I have learned have been in how much wisdom I really don't have. So people want to use Wisdom and Knowledge as the same. Most in the world want to do away with "wisdom" because everyone is equal and can and do have the same wisdom. Well I don't and will not agree with that. SO to truly understand this fact for the next few post I am going to be discussing Wisdom and Knowledge. I will leave this post with this little bit of insight i found in my bible
INSIGHT:"To have knowledge is to have understanding of information about something. To have wisdom is to have the ability to apply knowledge to daily life."
I think this is probably the greatest quote I have heard on this topic. This quote will be the source for my discussion as i am going to break down this insight word by word. Please post and let me know what you think on this topic or if you have any questions we all can see if we can figure it out.
Let us skip a little forward to college. This 4 years, or in some cases 10 years, of our lives is the most knowledge based thing we will probably ever go thru in our lives. What do they tell you on every college application. We are preparing you for your FUTURE! I went head over heals for this even though I didn't get good grades. But i learned a lot of head knowledge about my skills, trades, self, and my God.
So why am I ranting about head knowledge. Well I have been out of school now for almost 2 years. In these two years I have learned so much that I can't even begin to sum it all up. But the lessons I have learned have been in how much wisdom I really don't have. So people want to use Wisdom and Knowledge as the same. Most in the world want to do away with "wisdom" because everyone is equal and can and do have the same wisdom. Well I don't and will not agree with that. SO to truly understand this fact for the next few post I am going to be discussing Wisdom and Knowledge. I will leave this post with this little bit of insight i found in my bible
INSIGHT:"To have knowledge is to have understanding of information about something. To have wisdom is to have the ability to apply knowledge to daily life."
I think this is probably the greatest quote I have heard on this topic. This quote will be the source for my discussion as i am going to break down this insight word by word. Please post and let me know what you think on this topic or if you have any questions we all can see if we can figure it out.
A Mind Straining Project
I am the worst writer in the word, I hate to read, but most of all I hate to have to think. I am a act and re-act kind of person. This project is going to be one of a learning curve for me and for my responders. As I have begun to work I have realized that college was something of a blur for me. Not because I was drunk but because in college you really don't have to deal with the "real world" and its problems. I will be addressing some of these problems thru out this project but also I will be addressing the benefits of the "real world" as well. So if I sound like I am pissed off about something just wait until the next time I post because then you might find I am very happy about something else.
House Keeping Issues:
1) This is not a hate blog so please no bashing of opinions. I just get mad when people come out and say, " Well you are stupid and so is your opinion." We are human and won't always agree but hey that is the great and the bad thing about being human.
2) I don't and won't post daily!!! You will be lucky if i post more than once weekly. Read the first sentence again if you don't understand this concept. I don't like to sit and think. I will only "blog" when I have a thought on my mind and to be honest I am simple so once a week will probably be good.
3)I will not being giving you any of my person information outside of what is on the info page so don't ask. I won't tell you even if it is relevant because my personal space is my personal space and the only two people in the world that are priviledged to that space are my God, Jesus Christ, and my wife, Crystal McGrew.
4) I will be posting sometimes on religion. So it is important that you all remember issue number 1. There is only one truth in the Holy Bible, in my opinion and rememeber opinion right there, that is absolute. Jesus Christ was/is God, He cam from heaven to earth and lived as a man, was crucified, was brought back from the dead in three days, walked on this earth after and finally accended to heaven to sit at the right hand of the throne of God and this was not for vain reasons but to save everyone that believes in him. If you disagree with this statement then you probably won't want to read on this blog very often because alot of my opinions are based on this truth.
5) So if you like the sound of this i encourage you to read and check back and respond because hopefully this will be a good project for me and my readers.
House Keeping Issues:
1) This is not a hate blog so please no bashing of opinions. I just get mad when people come out and say, " Well you are stupid and so is your opinion." We are human and won't always agree but hey that is the great and the bad thing about being human.
2) I don't and won't post daily!!! You will be lucky if i post more than once weekly. Read the first sentence again if you don't understand this concept. I don't like to sit and think. I will only "blog" when I have a thought on my mind and to be honest I am simple so once a week will probably be good.
3)I will not being giving you any of my person information outside of what is on the info page so don't ask. I won't tell you even if it is relevant because my personal space is my personal space and the only two people in the world that are priviledged to that space are my God, Jesus Christ, and my wife, Crystal McGrew.
4) I will be posting sometimes on religion. So it is important that you all remember issue number 1. There is only one truth in the Holy Bible, in my opinion and rememeber opinion right there, that is absolute. Jesus Christ was/is God, He cam from heaven to earth and lived as a man, was crucified, was brought back from the dead in three days, walked on this earth after and finally accended to heaven to sit at the right hand of the throne of God and this was not for vain reasons but to save everyone that believes in him. If you disagree with this statement then you probably won't want to read on this blog very often because alot of my opinions are based on this truth.
5) So if you like the sound of this i encourage you to read and check back and respond because hopefully this will be a good project for me and my readers.
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