In my research of faith I have found that those with a deep thirst for knowledge are some of the people who struggle most with faith. It’s not necessarily that they don’t have it. It’s just that they have a hard time marrying faith and knowledge. After all, by the sheer nature of their meaning, they are complete opposites.
But here’s the thing. We search and thirst for knowledge because we know that there is always more to learn. There is always more to be discovered. We know that so much of what exists isn’t revealed to us yet. That’s why we research, we experiment, we discover, we uncover, we go deeper and deeper into the truth of it all. What drives our journey? Faith. Faith that there is more. It may not be as blatant, but it’s there. Otherwise we’d be perfectly content with the amount we know and the world we live in right now.
Faith and knowledge, faith and science, faith and data. They all go hand in hand. Knowledge, science, and data may be our goal but faith is what gets us there. Kant thought that he had to give up knowledge in order to make room for faith. But many who came after him disagreed. Knowledge comes from faith and faith from knowledge. It’s what keeps the circle of time and space go round and round.
What is your relationship with knowledge? Why do you seek it? What do you do with it? How do you contribute to it?
Love you all!
Rabbi Gabi