Omnia Disce: The Pursuit of Knowledge

By Trey Bell

Omnia disce. Postea videbis esse nihil superfluum.

I first heard this quote from my Latin professor at Lee University. It was coined by Hugh of Saint Victor, a medieval English monk. Of course, it’s Latin, and quoting advice from another language could make you sound intelligent or beautiful, but that’s not why I have been drawn to this quote. I am drawn to it because I believe it conveys a fundamental truth with important implications for both our physical and spiritual lives. The quote translates in English to, “Learn everything. Afterward, you will see that nothing is superfluous.”

Hugh of Saint Victor was challenging his readers literally to learn every thing, to pursue all knowledge. Of course, one of the first questions that all of us pragmatic and “get-to-the-point” people ask is, “Why?” Why should we pursue any and all knowledge that we come across? After all, the historian might say, “why should I care about the cell cycle, chemical reactions, or adenosine triphosphate?” Or the scientist, “why should I care about Greek mythology, the Roman Empire, or the establishment of governments?” Perhaps the central question of this utilitarian mindset that has raged in the back of many-a-student’s mind is, “When am I ever going to use this?”

To refute the mindset of our friends, the historian and the scientist, we must embark on a fundamental shift of our personal philosophy of knowledge. We must discover that all knowledge will eventually lead us back to the Source of all knowledge, the Source of life itself. Let’s turn to Scripture for help.

Instead of asking “When am I ever going to use this,” the first question our friends should ask is, “Where do knowledge and wisdom come from?”

Job asks a similar question when he says, “But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?” (Job 28:12, ESV). The question Job asks originates out of a crisis. His situation prompts him to ask such a question. In verses 13-19, Job explains that no one knows wisdom’s worth and that it cannot be purchased with any amount of earthly treasure. Then he repeats his question in verse 20. He then identifies the One who does know:

God understands the way to it,

and he knows its place.

For he looks to the ends of the earth

and sees everything under the heavens.

When he gave to the wind its weight

and apportioned the waters by measure,

when he made a decree for the rain

and a way for the lightning of the thunder,

then he saw it and declared it;

he established it, and searched it out.

And he said to man,

‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,

and to turn away from evil is understanding.’ (vv. 24-28)

Here Job attributes wisdom and this “place of understanding” to only our Creator. Similarly, Proverbs tells us that all knowledge is from God. “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (2:6). We can see in both examples that God is the Source of our knowledge and wisdom. God must be the source of all wisdom and knowledge because He himself is omniscient. God’s omniscience means that “he is the ultimate criterion of truth and falsity, so that his ideas are always true” (Frame, TGC). Psalm 147:5 says, “His understanding is infinite.” I John 3:20 states that “God is greater than our heart and knows all things.” It makes perfect sense that our Creator, the only truly omniscient being in the universe, is the source of all wisdom and knowledge.

Epistemology and philosophy have long been intriguing fields of study for those searching for answers to similar questions. One of the most beautiful depictions of Wisdom is a personification account found in the Wisdom of Solomon. This first-century BC writing, though not included in most Protestant canons, is still an excellent example of Hellenistic Jewish thought of Wisdom. Wisdom is shown as more than just a path to immortality. She is shown as a fundamental principle that binds and holds all things together (kind of like the Force in Star Wars). In her mediation, she connects God with His universe, including humanity. This is very similar to the Greek concept of the Logos, which is said to be the structure and binding of the universe.

Now, we can be confident that wisdom and knowledge are from God, our Creator. Now we can begin the next step in our argument.

Throughout the entirety of the Bible, we see numerous examples of exhortations to seek the Lord. After the Ark of the Covenant is placed in David’s tent, David sings a song of praise, saying, “Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually” (I Chronicles 16:11). Christ teaches in Matthew 6, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (v. 33). James tells us to “draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you” (4:8). It is proven time and again that God is our Direction, our Strength, our Sustainer, the Giver of our life itself. We are constantly encouraged to pursue God above all things, so that we may grow ever nearer to Him, and He to us.

Now we can assemble our complete argument.

1. Wisdom and knowledge come from God Himself, our omniscient Creator.

2. We are called to seek the things of God continually.

3. Therefore, we must seek wisdom and knowledge as things from God.

If I haven’t convinced you yet, let’s take this one step further. Think back to our friends the historian and the scientist. They may not be completely convinced. They might still be asking, well what’s the point of all this knowledge, even if it comes from God? Hosea 6:3 — “Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord.” Our call to knowledge allows us to grow closer to our Creator. In the same way, art reveals characteristics of the artist, creation reveals our Creator. After all, since all knowledge originates from a common Source, it must be related and connected somehow. We look at the cell cycle and see evidence of an intricate design, which reflects an orderly and detail-oriented Designer. We can look at Greek mythology and see how the Greeks (to whom God did not reveal Himself directly) conceptualized and imagined a power beyond themselves, which shows that the power of God is evident in His creation.

However, exacting knowledge is not easy, and it comes with its own fair share of troubles. For instance, we know that we live in a fallen world, a world into which sin has entered through humanity’s disobedience. Therefore, there are things of the world that we will encounter in our journey of pursuing knowledge. The question is, what are we to do with it? Think about the Greeks and the situation I parenthetically mentioned earlier. God did not reveal Himself to the entire world until the time of Jesus. Prior to that, He had only revealed Himself to His chosen people, the Jews. Now if that is the case, then how did the Greeks achieve so much and, quite honestly, touch Truth in their studies without knowing? We are God’s special creation, so we do have capabilities beyond those of other pieces of creation. The Greeks knew there were superior beings and powers than themselves; they just missed the fact that the higher power was God/Yahweh/Christ instead of the many titans, gods, and goddesses they created to fill the void. All this to say that we must be able to discern what is of God and what is not. When we study the Greeks and their theology, we can learn that our God is powerful like Poseidon or wise like Athena, but we do not adopt the Greek gods and create our own pantheon. We are called to cling to that which is good, “to test everything; hold fast to what is good” (I Thessalonians 5:21).

We have already discussed how everything is interconnected through our Creator, so it should be no surprise as I return to where we started— God. God is the good to which we, as encouraged by Paul, are supposed to hold fast. Pursuing a knowledge of everything will lead us to understand that while God is good, God is also Good. The capitalization makes a difference here. Let’s get grammatical. In the first sentence, our sentence pattern is subject (S) – linking verb (LV) – predicate adjective (PA, something that describes the subject). Here, God is given the quality of being good. I can say that my food is good or my pen is good— I’m describing those things. We can (and should) also view God as Good itself, as is written in the second sentence. That pattern would be S – LV – PN (predicate noun, something that renames the subject or tells what it is), meaning that God Himself is goodness, not merely having the quality of good. I cannot say that my food or my pen is, in fact, the totality of goodness. That is reserved only for God.

In all of our studies, whether it be Science, Math, History, or English, all of the truth and goodness we uncover is ultimately a way of finding out more about God. If all knowledge comes from God, then it is imperative that we never stop learning, thus we never stop growing closer to Him. This means our friend, the historian, can never again say, “What is the point of me knowing that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell?” nor can our scientist question the significance of Charlemagne’s adventures. When we take a proper approach to knowledge, we will always be its beneficiaries.

Sources:

• https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/omnipotence-omniscience-omnipresence-god/