wildernesse

I think we might be talking about different things--at least I'm somewhat talking about two different things and calling it the same thing. Intellectual pursuits--the pursuit of facts/factual knowledge. Intellectual pursuits--the pursuit of a better understanding of how to apply relgious beliefs in your life--which is more reflective. The first goes with knowledge, the second more with wisdom. I think that they are inter-related really.

Where would you need factual knowledge in order to more fully put faith into action? If you believe that showing love to people means alleviating their suffering--then you might need significant factual knowledge in order to build homes, give medical treatment, teach, create charitable organizations that work well within the governing structure and society, etc. If you believe that you are called to be a good steward of the natural world that you live in--then you need to know how that natural world works in order to better care for it and be less wasteful and destructive. If you believe that your body is a temple for the Lord, then you need to know how it works and interacts with the environment and the things you place in its environment, in order not to harm it. If you believe that loving your neighbor as yourself means that you want the best for that neighbor--then you need to look critically at your community and identify injustices and work to overcome those things.

You also need significant factual knowledge in order to make appropriate choices that deal with the "wisdom" side of things. If I love my neighbor--what does that mean? If you don't have knowledge of the short-term and long-term impact of your choices, then I don't think you're able to make very good choices. Do you focus on the short-term or the long-term? In the short term, how does it affect anyone if I use disposable instead of reusable objects? Probably not very much, and it's convenient. Long-term and widespread use of disposable over reusable leads to a greater need for more waste disposal sites, though--and since no one wants a landfill/etc. in their backyard, they usually don't end up next door to the golf club communities but in rural/low-income areas who then have to deal with the effects of having a waste disposal site near them. Of course, those communities often get paid to locate the waste site there, and there are some jobs that come along with it, I'm sure. So, does contributing to the greater need for landfills look like loving your neighbor? Without investigating short-term and long-term effects of your choices, you can't make the decision. If the long-term effect isn't known, then perhaps some factual knowledge is needed from academic/scientific studies in order to make this sort of moral choice. How does loving your neighbor look in your transportation, clothing, food, housing, entertainment, etc. choices? How does it fit in with the way you spend your time? The Bible doesn't say much about whether to have a car or ride the bus, or whether I should buy apples from Chile instead of apples from NY. Is it even a sin/moral issue? I don't know until I look into it--which requires a good deal of factual knowledge.

I think that for most people it's not a sin/moral issue whether they buy apples from Chile or NY. Perhaps for people who know a lot about apples, it is. Perhaps for people who wonder about whether it is a sin/moral question, it is. If you're capable of handling that sort of intellectual pursuit, then perhaps you should investigate.

trendkill

Neither of these is what I meant; those would both fall under "common sense" in the context of my posts. I gave two examples of the kinds of things I was talking about--philosophy and theology. Using the intellect to discover basic, significant truths about the nature of existence and how humans should relate to it. The kinds of questions that can't be answered by looking up the facts. Using the mind to solve the problem of theories being inadequately comprehensive to clearly eliminate others, e.g. the Christian can't prove conclusively that Islam is wrong.

Equally intelligent and well-meaning people, using their minds to figure out how to understand their world and the correct way to relate to it, can come to diametrically-opposed positions. Clearly, if there is a God who created a religion, he did not mean for these peoples' activities to show the way to truth. He speaks, and if people are wise, they obey, and it seems foolish to guess that there's more to it.