I'm gonna try to do the long-list-of-opinions thing but I don't know if I have the follower account to do the one like, one opinion thing
So let's just see what I can rattle off about wisdom
So let's just see what I can rattle off about wisdom
1. Wisdom assumes that the world is ordered. This sounds trivial, but it's not; there's a whole lot of power packed into the belief that the world is ordered and you can perceive that order.
2. Wisdom also assumes that the world's order is fractal--that analogies work, that what is above mirrors what is below, that order passes through levels of abstraction
3. This makes wisdom at least a bit mystical; there's a reason hermeticism makes a big thing of "as above, so below"
4. This also makes wisdom tend toward religion; partly because it's looking up the abstraction ladder, and partly because attention toward order (and order that iterates at every level of abstraction) encourages belief in a Maker
5. When I talk about wisdom, I mostly talk about it in a judeo-christian sense, although a lot of taoism strikes me as very similar
within that tradition, wisdom is THE theme, and maybe the theme that is most underrated by general Christian thought
(intentionally bombastic)
within that tradition, wisdom is THE theme, and maybe the theme that is most underrated by general Christian thought
(intentionally bombastic)
6. You can see wisdom on the first page or two of Genesis--knowing good and evil is wisdom language, and so God's enunciation of what is "good" is already an exercise of wisdom
This is why later texts will read wisdom into the creation
This is why later texts will read wisdom into the creation
7. There's a long tradition of reading the tree of knowledge as being the primary source of wisdom in the garden, which makes otherwise great readers of Scripture have to do somersaults to make the text make sense; they say they would eat the tree later.
This is wrong
This is wrong
8. The other source of knowledge of good and bad isn't the tree, it's God's voice: he says what is good and bad
They were never supposed to eat of the tree, but that doesn't mean they weren't supposed to become wise; the first test is between *sources* of wisdom
They were never supposed to eat of the tree, but that doesn't mean they weren't supposed to become wise; the first test is between *sources* of wisdom
9. And so there's this huge motif of "listening" when Scripture talks about wisdom: Adam listens to the voice of his wife, but hides when he listens to the voice of God in the garden; and Solomon will ask for a "listening heart" to know good and evil, and God will be pleased
10. In the New Testament, that motif of listening becomes a motif of seeing: the spoken (and heard) Word becomes the revealed (and seen) Christ
Hence all the vision language in the sermon on the mount, and every other damn place
Hence all the vision language in the sermon on the mount, and every other damn place
11. Don't forget: light/darkness imagery is *first of all* an image of sight/blindness and so wisdom/foolishness, and only after that an image of good/evil
the evil *is* the blind
when you notice this you realize the NT is *obsessed* with wisdom
the evil *is* the blind
when you notice this you realize the NT is *obsessed* with wisdom
12. Wisdom traditions are obsessed with chaos and evil
It's the question they can't stop picking at, their theodicy
When you assume the world is ordered, all of the chaos suddenly leaps out as shocking and hard to explain
Hence, you know, the entire Old Testament
It's the question they can't stop picking at, their theodicy
When you assume the world is ordered, all of the chaos suddenly leaps out as shocking and hard to explain
Hence, you know, the entire Old Testament
13. Job is the old-standby example, and for good reason
I don't understand this book the way I want to
But the Job poet/God bite the bullet *hard* here, which is what makes it a masterpiece: it engages the questions head-on, and passes out the other side; it doesn't dodge
I don't understand this book the way I want to
But the Job poet/God bite the bullet *hard* here, which is what makes it a masterpiece: it engages the questions head-on, and passes out the other side; it doesn't dodge
14. Part of God's answer is that what you perceive as chaos is simply an order beyond your control
The sea is the oldest image of chaos, and Genesis already is messing with that idea: God makes it and calls it good
The sea is the oldest image of chaos, and Genesis already is messing with that idea: God makes it and calls it good
15. (As a side-note: the one day that *doesn't* get a "and God saw that it was good" is the day when God separates heaven and earth, which I think an apostle would say foreshadows the meeting of heaven and earth you get in Revelation, the above truly becoming the below)
16. The leviathan is the image of all that is beyond human control or understanding, but it's in God's control; he forms it to play with
This has deep implications for how we think about Satan but damned if I know what they are
certainly God likes a wrestle
This has deep implications for how we think about Satan but damned if I know what they are
certainly God likes a wrestle
17. This is another part of wisdom: it's war-like
When I feel wisdom, I feel it in my gut and loins and it feels pissed off and ready to wreck someone
It's also productive and good and loving, but those aren't contradictions
When I feel wisdom, I feel it in my gut and loins and it feels pissed off and ready to wreck someone
It's also productive and good and loving, but those aren't contradictions
18. It's worth noting that ANE creation myths are basically wars: the gods of order against the gods of chaos (often gods of the seas and storms)
Genesis is often read as being a contradiction to that, but it seems to me that it's more a re-telling
Genesis is often read as being a contradiction to that, but it seems to me that it's more a re-telling
19. Psalm 89's image of God defeating the sea, personified by Rahab, *is* Genesis 1
The exercise of wisdom *is* war, is wrestling
The exercise of wisdom *is* war, is wrestling
20. But even that image doesn't go un-adjusted: God *loves* to wrestle, is a big laughing delighted warrior God
He takes the father of his people and wrestles him in the middle of the night
He takes the father of his people and wrestles him in the middle of the night
21. And God makes Leviathan to play with, to wrestle with
He really likes a fight
And that fight isn't a contradiction to his act of delighted wisdom, it is synonymous with it
Job points at that puzzle but I think it's most clearly resolved in the NT
He really likes a fight
And that fight isn't a contradiction to his act of delighted wisdom, it is synonymous with it
Job points at that puzzle but I think it's most clearly resolved in the NT
22. The crucifixion is a brilliant inversion of the creation battle: the Wisdom (Word) of God not triumphing over chaos, but being destroyed by it, and making a new thing not out of the dead body of the chaos monster, but out of the dead body of wisdom itself
23. And the cross is depicted not as a series of *dividing* acts, like when God divides the light from the darkness, but a unifying act: Paul in Ephesians 2 picks up on this
This is so fascinating to me, because wisdom is always about dividing up until now
This is so fascinating to me, because wisdom is always about dividing up until now
24. To make this about Job: Job is complaining to God that he suffers beyond what he can bear and undeservedly; and so the world is uncontrolled, unjust, unordered
the hell is God doing; evil runs uncontrolled and triumphs!
the cross shows that God was playing a level deeper
the hell is God doing; evil runs uncontrolled and triumphs!
the cross shows that God was playing a level deeper
25. God plays the game against Leviathan/the Serpent and *loses*, lets Satan eat him; and the resurrection shows that that suffering is exactly the move that *most* establishes order, blessing, peace, reunion
Jesus conceives of himself as playing against Satan
Jesus conceives of himself as playing against Satan
26. (this is relevant to wisdom still! wisdom is about knowing what brings about peace and order, is about perceiving the reality of the world and playing the deeper game
the cross is the "wisdom" of God, the move within the deeper game God perceives)
the cross is the "wisdom" of God, the move within the deeper game God perceives)
27. Insofar as wisdom is about chaos/order, then, that relationship gets real complicated in Scripture
I'm still wrestling through what chaos means--to what extent it's just order that is beyond us and to what extent it's really in rebellion to God and his wisdom
I'm still wrestling through what chaos means--to what extent it's just order that is beyond us and to what extent it's really in rebellion to God and his wisdom
28. Evidence for there being real chaos that gets removed from the world: John the Revelator says that in the new heavens and earth, "There is no more sea there." Chaos is gone
But God made the thing and made it good! he made leviathan!
won't God get bored w/o a wrestle?
But God made the thing and made it good! he made leviathan!
won't God get bored w/o a wrestle?
29. Further evidence: pain is real and sucks, and scripture seems to have no delusions on this point
so *something's* gotta give, some stuff really is unordered
Seems like the confidence of Scripture is that even this disorder is part of a larger, well-ordered story/battle
so *something's* gotta give, some stuff really is unordered
Seems like the confidence of Scripture is that even this disorder is part of a larger, well-ordered story/battle
30. This is another wrinkle in Scripture's view of wisdom; it's not a static, unchanging thing. the order of the world actually *isn't* eternal, in some sense
the order of the world changes, and the rulers over it change too
the order of the world changes, and the rulers over it change too
31. I've tended to imagine the world's order as percolating *upwards*, from physics to more abstract stuff
Scripture/wisdom views it as percolating downwards in abstraction, from the spiritual to the physical
the world is fractal because God made it and it has his fingerprints
Scripture/wisdom views it as percolating downwards in abstraction, from the spiritual to the physical
the world is fractal because God made it and it has his fingerprints
32. If you wanted to understand the world properly, you would focus on *authority*; whose authority is this person/place/event under? Which means the world revolves around *persons*; to be wise is to know persons and their authority
33. But Scripture doesn't imagine God as the only authority, but the ultimate one. Humans and satan and demons and angels and all of these other things have authority too; God delegates power and it's often abused
34. And so the tricky thing is that the order of the world *changes* as powers rise and fall. Jesus sees Satan fall from heaven, and the world changes; people stop staying dead *because* Jesus is in charge instead of Satan
And so wisdom changes from age to age
And so wisdom changes from age to age
35. Another thing that sets the biblical view of wisdom apart is that it makes humans really, really godlike and powerful
Proverbs 8 simultaneously says, "Wisdom is what God used to make the world" and "come get some"
sexual innuendo included actually
Proverbs 8 simultaneously says, "Wisdom is what God used to make the world" and "come get some"
sexual innuendo included actually
36. This is one of the most weak-sauce aspects of much Christian thought: we take this offer of God-like, world-shaping, leviathan-destroying wisdom and boil it down to not sinning
which, sure, is part of it, but not sinning is for babies, wisdom is for kings
which, sure, is part of it, but not sinning is for babies, wisdom is for kings
37. That point is worth dwelling on: wisdom is for kings
see a wise person? be nice, they'll be king some day
they probably already are and are hiding it
see a wise person? be nice, they'll be king some day
they probably already are and are hiding it
38. there's a reason the OT embodiment of human wisdom is Solomon
you know that story of him judging the two prostitutes? the whole divide the baby thing? sooo much more than a cute story
first thing to note is that wisdom is *not* just following a set of rules; it's cunning
you know that story of him judging the two prostitutes? the whole divide the baby thing? sooo much more than a cute story
first thing to note is that wisdom is *not* just following a set of rules; it's cunning
39. Solomon judging between two women--one who brings life, one who brings death--is about Proverbs, which is structured by a father telling his child to pursue Lady Wisdom who brings life and reject Lady Folly who brings death
The story is about choosing lady wisdom/life
The story is about choosing lady wisdom/life
40. The way Solomon does that is by determining which one of them is a life-bringer and which a death-bringer
it's about discerning foolishness and wisdom: does this bring life? does this bring death?
those are bigger categories than existence, you can feel them in your gut
it's about discerning foolishness and wisdom: does this bring life? does this bring death?
those are bigger categories than existence, you can feel them in your gut
41. And the way he does this is by drawing out the truth from them, discerning their inward hearts
You can do this
It is possible to test someone, to discern what kind of person they are, if they'll bring life or death
it takes real insight and wisdom though
You can do this
It is possible to test someone, to discern what kind of person they are, if they'll bring life or death
it takes real insight and wisdom though
42. What allows you to do this is what allows all wisdom to work: order
what someone does in one situation comes from the same place as what they do in every other situation
Out of the heart the mouth speaks
but understanding that deeper order is not simple
what someone does in one situation comes from the same place as what they do in every other situation
Out of the heart the mouth speaks
but understanding that deeper order is not simple
43. This is what Hopkins is talking about here:
44. Worth noting that you can read many of the greats of Western thought (which could almost be defined as that line of though rooted in/shaped by Scripture) as meditating upon wisdom
And they read themselves that way
And they read themselves that way
45. Old English poetry very clearly places itself within a Christian wisdom tradition
What's cool about it is that it does so by bringing another wisdom tradition to the table--riddles, for example, were a big thing in Old English culture
What's cool about it is that it does so by bringing another wisdom tradition to the table--riddles, for example, were a big thing in Old English culture
46. Riddles are about wisdom, because they demand that you see the hidden connection; how does the fractal world tie together, say, time and a hungry animal? @Billyrib_and_co is always talking about "tunnels", connections between unconnected things
47. What often gets missed is that Beowulf is wisdom literature; it is a reflection, like Job, on the nature of evil and chaos, and the relationship of man's apparently futile suffering with it
Beowulf was what this tweet evoked in me
Beowulf was what this tweet evoked in me
48. Tolkien, who's as rooted in wisdom traditions as anyone in the last 100 years, saw this; Beowulf puts the monsters at the center of the story because they are at the center of human life. Chaos, pain, the things that fight against civilization & order, are always at the gates
49. The upshot is that the Beowulf poet writes a modern book of Job, but written with the eye of a 10th century Christian and set in his own culture's past
Beowulf rides to meet the dragon (the Leviathan! the serpent! death to his flesh and bone!) knowing he will die
Beowulf rides to meet the dragon (the Leviathan! the serpent! death to his flesh and bone!) knowing he will die
50. (Side-note: Job's accuser/satan figure is connected to the Snake of the garden; he comes from going to and fro upon the earth, as the Snake was cursed to do, and he attacks Job's "bone & flesh", just as the Snake attacked Eve, Adam's bone & flesh)
51. For the Beowulf poet, Beowulf is the true hero because he rides to battle with the serpent knowing he will die; he doesn't flinch. He's riffing on Christ, here, even though Beowulf is also clearly a pagan prince; heroism is part of the deep order of the world
52. The answer to chaos, then, is courage. And in doing this--unknown to Beowulf but known to the poet--Beowulf retells the story of Christ, who is slain by the Dragon. The futility is revealed to be powerful, dragon-slaying, resurrection death-defying wisdom.
53. The Beowulf poet gives the story room to breathe; he gives the tragedy its due. There's no resurrection here. Beowulf dies and his people mourn and they know that death is coming for them because their warrior-king protector is dead
It's beautiful and awful and sad
It's beautiful and awful and sad
54. He bites the bullet like the Job poet does; the Beowulf poet's Christian faith *does not* mean that all of the old tragedies never happened, does not mean that monsters aren't real, or that men died seemingly hopelessly
Chaos and death is real
Chaos and death is real
55. But it does mean that Beowulf was a hero, and that there's hope for his resurrection; and that the universe has been revealed in Christ to not be futile, to be a place where death is not the final page on every hero's story
56. This was all a roundabout way of saying that a lot of great Western literature is wisdom literature, and wisdom literature that is explicitly and self-knowingly in conversation with the Bible, meditating on the same themes of chaos and death and the restoring of things
57. It's more than literature; the great mathematicians and scientists used to me magi, even before Christianity showed up on the scene; there's a reason pythagorus and newton are mystics
check out Keynes on Newton: the last of the magicians
check out Keynes on Newton: the last of the magicians
58. What connects these men (and I think connects all wise men) is that they perceived the world as carrying a hidden order, one that could be unravelled through careful attention and thought
For Newton, the bible, the heavens, and an apple falling all partook of the same order
For Newton, the bible, the heavens, and an apple falling all partook of the same order
59. This is why I'll occasionally amateurishly wander into mathematical theory; because that's what I see the old wise men doing. They just saw this as another revelation of the order that governs all things
60. Something I wonder about a lot: are there evil wise men?
The thought is terrifying, honestly; someone who's well-integrated, knows themselves, understands the world, and is evil
They almost certainly exist and are almost certainly be too wise to let me know they're there
The thought is terrifying, honestly; someone who's well-integrated, knows themselves, understands the world, and is evil
They almost certainly exist and are almost certainly be too wise to let me know they're there
61. The Snake is cunning, after all, which is another word for wise; so Christianity says you have at least one enemy who is wise, which is nerve-wracking
Even Jesus when he tells his people to be wise says to be "cunning as serpents"--learn from Satan, be cunning like him
Even Jesus when he tells his people to be wise says to be "cunning as serpents"--learn from Satan, be cunning like him
62. Satan's wisdom seems different though, which is interesting; he has a whole different approach to the world than God
Satan assumes scarcity whereas God assumes abundance
The first line someone says is always important, and notice Satan's
Satan assumes scarcity whereas God assumes abundance
The first line someone says is always important, and notice Satan's
63. The first thing the Snake says is, "Did God say you couldn't eat any of the trees of the garden?" He implies lack while God supplies plenty
God's first line is "Let there be light", something out of nothing; Satan tries to make nothing out of something
God's first line is "Let there be light", something out of nothing; Satan tries to make nothing out of something
64. (The first-line-of-dialogue thing is real, by the way: Moses' is "Why are you hitting your fellow hebrew?", Solomon's is "If there is good in him he'll be saved, if evil slain"; they're foreshadows of the themes of their story)
65. What frightens me about much Christian thought is that it assumes Satan's way of thinking rather than God's, looks to the distribution of scarce resources rather than the righteous handling of abundant gifts
This makes it so that Jesus seems offensive and foolish to us
This makes it so that Jesus seems offensive and foolish to us
66. This actually gets to the point of wisdom shifting, evolving; Jesus *straight up* disagrees with Solomon's wisdom in Proverbs, as being too serpent-like, too scarcity minded; don't worry about what you'll eat or drink! God will provide!
67. This makes Jesus seem reckless; he really doesn't worry about anything. Gotta pay taxes? Let's look in this fishes' mouth. Storm crashing your boat? You'd sleep if you had any faith.
I writhe under these stories, try to find a way to make them less reckless than they are
I writhe under these stories, try to find a way to make them less reckless than they are
68. The storm story is a fascinating one, because it's a wisdom motif: the sea in storm as emblematic of chaos. It's a story of how to face chaos, and about Christ's/our mastery-over/faith-in-the-face-of it
69. Wisdom is inherently sexual in ways I haven't figured out yet; the Song of Solomon is connected to Solomon *for a reason*, and the entire book of Proverbs is a love poem to Lady Wisdom
I think about this riddle a lot:
I think about this riddle a lot:
70. Part of it is that sex is fractally related to a whole bunch of other really important stuff; it's an act of power, of cooperation, of life-bringing, of union, of passion and desire
Wisdom is literally sexy, is strong and powerful and swaggering and life-giving and right
Wisdom is literally sexy, is strong and powerful and swaggering and life-giving and right
71. Certainly the existence of Song of Solomon implies that God views this activity as not only important, not only beautiful, but as worth contemplation and consideration
Even ardent consideration; some of those passages are pretty raunchy
Even ardent consideration; some of those passages are pretty raunchy
72. I've said this before, but wisdom is an aesthetic thing: it's about how you view the world, what you see and pay attention to; and lust is always already built into this
Eve *looks* at and *desires* the fruit; that language will be sexual later on
Eve *looks* at and *desires* the fruit; that language will be sexual later on
73. When David looks at Bathsheba, the same language is used--he looks and takes
What you turn your eye toward and desire is the main question of wisdom; wisdom literature is mostly designed to *change what you find beautiful*
What you turn your eye toward and desire is the main question of wisdom; wisdom literature is mostly designed to *change what you find beautiful*
74. This is why poetry is a wisdom genre: by its densely packed nature, poetry rewards long attention; and while you’re paying attention to it it’s changing what you find beautiful
