Defending Philosophy Biblically Part 1

Defending Philosophy Biblically Part 1

             Philosophy is generally understood to be a love for the pursuit of wisdom. It is a method of pursuing wisdom through logical reasoning. It is an academic discipline through which logical reasoning is employed to critically analyze one’s fundamental presuppositions and beliefs about some area of life.  Philosophy investigates the nature, value, principles, knowledge, and causes of that discipline.  After logically and critically analyzing one’s systematic beliefs, a unified field of wisely developed knowledge is established that becomes a system of values and beliefs by which one operates within that discipline To the Christian this philosophical pursuit is always deeply grounded in Bible principles.

            It seems only logical to find out what the word philosophy means and if it is ever mentioned in the Bible before one attempts to write a book about music philosophy. The English word philosophy is only used once in the AV in St. Paul’s first epistle to the Colossians where he warns in chapter two, verse eight, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy (philosophia 5385) and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”  The word philosophia is derived from philosophos (5386) which is a word which comes from the two Greek words Philos (5384) and sophos (4680) which mean one who is fond of wise things i.e. wisdom. 

So let us consider philosophy’s mention in the Bible.   Philosophia is used only once in the New Testament in Colossians 2:8; philosophos is also only used once in acts 17:18; sophos is used 21 times and is translated wise, wiser, and wise man in the AV. I define wise as meaning having knowledge, and good judgment and wisdom as the quality of a person being wise.  The English word wisdom is used about 55 times in the AV New Testament.  The word wisdom is found in 266 verses the AV Old and New Testament!  The exact number of references is not important, but it is important that the Bible speaks so often of wisdom.