Different Kinds of Wisdom

Mart De Hann has posted a helpful piece on different kinds of wisdom. Here is an excerpted portion (see the full post here).

According to Buddhist folklore. Two traveling monks reached a river where they met a young woman. Wary of the current, she asked if they could carry her across. One of the monks hesitated, but the other quickly picked her up onto his shoulders, transported her across the water, and put her down on the other bank. She thanked him and departed. As the monks continued on their way, the one was brooding and preoccupied. Unable to hold his silence, he spoke out. “Brother, our spiritual training teaches us to avoid any contact with women, but you picked that one up on your shoulders and carried her!” “Brother,” the second monk replied, “I set her down on the other side, while you are still carrying her.”

As I’ve thought about this story, I’ve been reminded of how important it is to acknowledge that, While the Bible is the measure of all moral and spiritual truth, all moral and spiritual truth is not confined to the Bible.

Four Kinds of Wisdom:

Secular wisdom (Helpful insights that can be observed without regard for God or the supernatural)

Religious Wisdom (Encompasses secular wisdom, but recognizes God and the supernatural)

Biblical Wisdom (Selectively encompasses secular and religious wisdom, while in the process providing something like an international standard of weights and measures. The combined Old and New Covenants provide an authoritative yardstick for evaluating wisdom found inside or outside of the Scriptures)

Redemptive Wisdom (the wisdom of the cross)