phi·los·o·phy
n. pl. phi·los·o·phies 1. Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline.
2. Investigation of the nature, causes, or principles of reality, knowledge, or values, based on logical reasoning rather than empirical methods.
3. A system of thought based on or involving such inquiry: the philosophy of Hume.
4. The critical analysis of fundamental assumptions or beliefs.
5. The disciplines presented in university curriculums of science and the liberal arts, except medicine, law, and theology.
6. The discipline comprising logic, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics, and epistemology.
7. A set of ideas or beliefs relating to a particular field or activity; an underlying theory: an original philosophy of advertising.
8. A system of values by which one lives: has an unusual philosophy of life.
If philosophy helped you find God, I'm not going to dis it. But keep in mind, it's God that helps you find God in everything that you take part in. I'm in a psychology class right now, and it's not psychology that is helping me find God's truth, it's reading the Bible and praying and listening to God. And all this is sparked by God revealing himself to me, in my life, because he chooses to, not because my classes help me find or understand God. Psychology certainly increases my wonder and amazement in God, because it all supports God's perfection. But so does Astronomy, and English, and Biology, etc. Even though I'm not not even ALLOWED to bring God into the class discussions.
I guess I think that without God, all the discliplines are dead (my opinion only), and it's God that reveals himself to us, not the other way around.
philosophy - 1. Love and pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral self-discipline.
When God reveals his wisdom to us, dare I say has been revealed to me in whatever way I can actually phathom, it is not generated through thought. In fact, my experience has been that it removes the need for thought, and it becomes expression - love, compassion, action, connecting, teaching. It becomes experience and growth without the effort of thought. I can think about it after, and marvel at the perfection of it all, how it all makes so much sense, and at the beauty and far-reaching scope of it, but I don't think John sat around and thought a whole lot about what he was saying. It wasn't generated form his thought processes or by discussing possibilities and analysis with his peers. He was divinely inspired and merely expressed God's wisdom for God's purpose. And probably became a better human himself through that expression and experience of being divinely inspiried. You see poetic philosophy in it, and perhaps attribute it to John, but God is creation of all. His philosophy is perfect, his biology is perfect, his psychology is perfect. - God is perfect. I think it is beautiful that God reveals himself to you in philsophy. But my take is philosophy helps you because God is working in you, and you happen to be interested in philosophy. Any of the academic discliplines, if persued without God, are dead, and their incredible value to us is lost. All the potential that is there to better the world, create peace, etc. through educating ourselves, and opening opportunities for fulfillment, which is why I'm back in school, are limited. With God, instead of studying psychology, I'm studying God's incredible creation, and psychology can help me understand God's creation in our human ways. But God is the guide and goal. And this makes the discliplines most effective and productive personally and globally. Just my opinion.
I've always been a thinker. Never been a doer. I've failed as a doer, though I've tried. I've always been so much more comfortable just in my head, thinking. That's why I find relying on God for wisdom and answers such a relief and relaxation. I trust God. I don't need to figure anything out. And he is the one who is transforming me into a doer. There comes a time when doing is a logical extension of exploring thought. Growth - this is God's perfection to. God is cause of all things. God is creation of all things.
If you enjoy philosophy, it's because God created you that way. If God is revealed to you in philosophy, it's because he chooses to honor how he created you. That's my take. It still annoys me though, :wink: though it never used to. I don't think we disagree.
Philosophy promotes finding the truth, something that I really enjoy, and understanding. What is wrong with logic? So this is a chance to state whether philosophy is bad or good in your opinion, and of course to discuss why (if we may).
