Article of Faith: The blind servants of God (2)

The pursuit of spiritual understanding is presented as a journey toward becoming like Christ, a path that requires acknowledging one's own ignorance. The author draws upon biblical scripture to argue that worldly wisdom, often gained through education, can paradoxically lead to greater ignorance of divine truths. Passages from 1 Corinthians are cited to illustrate how God's perceived foolishness in the message of the cross is ultimately wiser than human understanding.

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I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

This spiritual blindness affects both the literate and illiterate, as they may read sacred texts without comprehending their deeper meaning. Isaiah's prophecy about a sealed book is invoked to highlight how knowledge alone does not guarantee spiritual insight. Jesus's mission is described as opening the eyes of the blind, but this requires an initial admission of one's inability to see. The text contrasts those who claim to see with those who recognize their blindness, suggesting that the former's sin remains because they reject the need for divine judgment and illumination.

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For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

Pride is identified as the most perilous sin, acting as a veil over the heart and hindering individuals from recognizing their spiritual condition. The article contends that proud individuals believe they can outmaneuver God, failing to understand that their perceived cleverness is a symptom of their blindness. Isaiah's warnings against those who hide their counsel from the Lord and turn things around, questioning the creator's role, are presented as examples of this prideful defiance. The piece concludes by noting that such individuals honor God with their lips but have removed their hearts from Him, their fear taught by human commandments rather than divine truth.

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The whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, “Read this, please.” And he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”