Knowledge
Knowledge of man gives us pause; however, knowledge of God gives us purpose. Knowledge of science gives us access to unlimited choices; knowledge of good and evil gives us wisdom to make those choices. Knowledge of man allows us to make balanced laws to govern those choices that we may retain our liberty, yet live together in harmony, not in discord; knowledge of God allows us to combine the laws of God (spiritual or eternal laws) and the laws of science (temporal or natural laws) and the laws of man (human law or laws of rights)[1] to increase in agency, freedom, and liberty.
Let us call the knowledge of science, the path to FREEDOM; the knowledge of good and evil, the path to AGENCY; and the perfect blending of the laws of God and man, the path to LIBERTY. We can never be a free nation unless we adhere to all three. And all three must be in harmony.
Knowledge of science and of man is necessary to our freedom as we wander in a wilderness delicately balanced between order and chaos. Knowledge of science helps us to navigate the ever-looming perils of a shaking earth, an angry sea, and a thundering sky. Knowledge of medicine helps us to fight the ravages of disease. Knowledge of the mind helps us to understand the scintillating differences in wonderous man, thus giving us compassion. Knowledge of man helps us to negotiate the awful perils of power.
Whether launched by reason or unleashed by emotion, power, like a hurricane at sea, increases in fury as, unopposed, it forgets its origin, becomes a life unto itself, and turns to land against man.
However, only knowledge of God gives meaning to the sorrows of quarrelling opposites. Only faith in God empowers man over the fighting elements of mortal earth and carnal man and gives hope to the soul in its struggle for life, liberty, and happiness.
[1]Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica: “Human Law”; G.W.F. Hegel: “Laws of Right”
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