According to St.
Augustine St.
Augustine
St. Anselm of Canterbury, a well-known Christian philosopher of the 11th Century, echoed St. Augustine's statement in his famous motto: “I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand.”
St. Anselm of Canterbury, a well-known Christian philosopher of the 11th Century, echoed St. Augustine's statement in his famous motto: “I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand.”
Accordingly, to begin the spiritual journey of seeking
God’s wisdom, we must, first and foremost, have faith seeking knowledge to
understand God, which is to believe in order to close the door of unbelief.
According to Lao Tzu, the
author of TAO
TE CHING, the ancient Chinese classic on human wisdom, the
mysteries of the universe are indefinable and inexpressible. The human mind is
meant to see only the manifestations of the things created, but not the
mysteries of God’s creations.
“As one, it is unbroken thread with neither a beginning
nor an end.
It returns to nothingness: invisible, inaudible, and
intangible.
It is the indefinable, the intangible, and the
unimaginable.
Stand before it, and there is no beginning.
Follow it, and there is no end.
Only by its grace can we discover how things have been and
will be.
This is the essence of the Creator: invisible, inaudible,
and intangible.”
(Chapter 14, Tao Te Ching)
To Lao Tzu, seeing is not believing, but
believing is the beginning of seeing.
“The more we look, the less we see.
The more we hear, the less we listen.
The more we crave, the crazier we become.”
(Chapter 12, Tao Te Ching)
“When a wise man hears of the Creator,
he immediately begins to do some soul-searching.
When an average man hears of the Creator,
he half believes him, and half doubts him.
When a foolish man hears of the Creator,
he laughs out loud.
If he did not laugh,
there would be no Creator.”
(Chapter 41, Tao Te Ching)
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
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