Sentence Sermons (Christian Inspiration) #71 --- Knowledge

Knowledge is knowing facts in the concrete, and truth in the abstract. Knowledge is the exercise of the mind, obedience is the exercise of the mind and the body, faith is the mind and soul.

—B.J.W. Graham, Christian Index, Atlanta, Ga., April 15, 1915.

Knowledge is resourcefulness. Knowledge is the first cousin of judgment and the grandfather of good works.

—E. Eugene Greer, Jr., Baptist Standard, Dallas, Texas, June 7, 1989.

The true source of knowledge is a thirst for the truth.

—Roy L. Smith, Tampa Morning Tribune, Tampa, Fla., June 28, 1935.

More people fail from a lack of morals than from a lack of knowledge.

—Billy Sunday, The Shreveport Times, Shreveport, La., Feb. 23, 1924.

False knowledge is more dangerous than ignorance.

—H.W. Knickerbocket, Houston Post-Dispatch, Houston, Texas, Aug. 29, 1927.

Knowledge is the power that is essential to conquest. Helplessness is in proportion to ignorance.

—H.W. Knickerbocker, Houston Post-Dispatch, Houston, Texas, Jan. 30, 1928.

If a man would pursue knowledge his first task is to throw away conceit. The recognition of ignorance is the first step to knowledge.

—H.W. Knickerbocker, Houston Post-Dispatch, Houston, Texas, Nov.. 26, 1928.

Much that we call sin, God will term ignorance and blame us for denying our school adequate means of lighting all the dark corners of the realm of lack of knowledge.

—W.A. MacKenzie, Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Fla., Nov. 4, 1922.

To anyone who has become enlightened by the Holy Spirit, it is no mere duty to acquire knowledge; they hunger and thirst to acquire knowledge; they hunger and thirst for it continually and derive profitable instruction from their experience, as well as good precepts. ... Treasure up knowledge, both by study and by faith. ... Knowledge or intelligence is the gift of God.

—Franklin D. Richards, Millennial Star, Liverpool, England, Jan. 11, 1868.

It is dangerous to discover and impart knowledge without surrounding it with a sense of commitment for its use to the glory of God and for the good of all mankind. You must supplement factual knowledge with the achievement of creative and imaginative minds which are sensitive to the deeper realities of the human spirit and the authentic needs of all mankind. Otherwise knowledge is worthless and you will walk in darkness, without vision, without purpose and without love. Every aspect of education must become more imbued and fused with moral judgment.

—Rufus C. Harris, Christian Index, Atlanta, Ga., June 7, 1962.

There is something better than knowledge. It is the love of knowledge. There is something better than learning. It is the love of learning--the hunger and thirst after knowledge, the relish out of which come all the digestive juices of the mind, the psychic storms and fevers and ferments reaching out to know and to make known the fruits of knowledge. There is something better for the student than the knowledge of nature. It is the love of nature and communion with her kindly ways. There is something better for the student than the knowledge of the Bible. It is the love of its truth and its incarnation in the daily life. It is the love of truth which is also the love of the search for truth which guides fallible men feeling out in the dark for the way of life--which way we find in simple straight lines in Jesus.

—J.L. Kesler, Southern Baptist College News and Views, Waco, Texas, February 1946.

Ignorance is the parent of superstition, while devotion is the offspring of knowledge. True knowledge, knowledge wedded to love, promotes spirituality of mind, and spirituality of mind is the persistent foe of superstition.

—George C. Needham, New York Observer, New York, N.Y., March 18, 1897.

Knowledge which is not useful is not valuable, and it is of worth only in that proportion in which it enhances the happiness of the possessor. That knowledge which the pupil will need first should be taught to him first, and that which will be of the greatest practical value should precede studies designed principally for amusement or ornament.

—Charles W. Penrose, Deseret Evening News, Salt Lake City, Utah, Sept. 15, 1886.

Man, “the noblest work of God,” is endowed with great intellectual faculties, which, with proper cultivation, are calculated to elevate and ennoble his being and perfect his happiness and dignity of character. Of these that ability which enables him to impart knowledge to others is one of the most useful, and should be cultivated and improved as much as possible. For the improvement of this and other faculties it has been found to be of great benefit for one to condense his sentiments and discipline his arrangements to the best of his ability, which offers means of improving the judgment, apprehension, mode of expression, memory, etc., and committing it to paper, impart it to others, by which means he is enabled, when placing it before his hearers, to avoid diffidence. ... This means of improving the intellectual powers, ... essay writing; ... by it we are enabled to train our minds to that proficiency which will enable us to govern our thoughts and discipline our expressions and bring them to bear upon one general point; it also encourages us to seek for useful knowledge, and to endeavor to portray our ideas in appropriate words. ... By so doing we encourage and enlighten our hearers with the information we have gained, and plant in their minds a love of improvement, which may be the means of turning some from their vicious ways, and cause them to love truth and walk in the narrow path.

—Timothy Flounders, The Amateur, Ogden, Utah, April 15, 1879.

The measure of a man's knowledge is his ability to adjust himself to life.

—Roy L. Smith, Tampa Morning Tribune, Tampa, Fla., July 10, 1935.

Knowledge always comes in the most painful way to those who cannot take advice.

—Roy L. Smith, Tampa Morning Tribune, Tampa, Fla., Aug. 18, 1938.

Knowledge usually finds a market in the worst times.

—Roy L. Smith, Tampa Morning Tribune, Tampa, Fla., Aug. 18, 1938.

A man with knowledge but without energy is a house unfurnished but not inhabited; a man with energy but no knowledge, a house dwelt in but unfurnished.

—Catholic Telegraph, Cincinnati, Ohio, Nov. 23, 1827.

The firefly only shines when on the wing. So it is with the mind; when once we rest we darken.

—Christian Advocate, New York, N.Y., July 31, 1884.

Men are rarely driven to drink through a thirst for knowledge.

—Sunday Visitor, Paducah, Ky., July 8, 1900.

There is no wealth like knowledge, for thieves cannot steal it.

—Taylor County News, Abilene, Texas, June 16, 1893.

Our impressions of our knowledge are apt to be in inverse proportion to our actual possessions.

—Henry F. Cope, Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill., April 11, 1909.

Some minds are like trunks–packed tight with knowledge, no air and plenty of moths.

—The White and Blue, Provo, Utah, April 17, 1918.

Knowledge is a dangerous acquisition--for the person who knows it all.

—Benjamin Arstein, San Antonio Express, San Antonio, Texas, May 1, 1911.

Ignorance is a slave driver. He who is unenlightened may never realize his servitude, but to the extent of his ignorance he is in bondage.

There is nothing so destructive of human welfare as active ignorance.

Acquired knowledge alone is not education. It must be accompanied by the wisdom necessary to its application. A mind which is simply a storehouse of textbook information is a machine ready to go with no one to run it.

It is power without a mind to direct it.

It is a mine of riches awaiting the pick and shovel of the prospector.

It is a land of illimitable resources awaiting development.

It is knowledge unapplied, and knowledge unapplied is a sleeping giant. It is power unused, and power unused, and power unused is power wasted. It is food unconsumed. It is beauty unrevealed.

Genius without integrity is a curse.

Talent without honor is a handicap.

Effort without purpose is blind.

Power without judgment is dangerous.

Beauty without virtue is a menace.

Theory and practice must join. Qualification and endeavor must square with each other.

Attribute and wisdom, intellectually and discretion, courage and prudence, must be companions. Cooperation is the principle which must impel them.

Knowledge without wisdom serves to intensify one's ambition without enabling him to attain it. One so educated is like one possessing a mechanic's tools but without skill to their use.

Philosophic theorizing must be accompanied by common sense if it shall lead to beneficial achievement. A philosophy that will not exert a helpful influence upon daily life, that will not mitigate suffering, mollify patriotism, or move upon the waters of human thought to the extent of at least in a measure quieting their rage, is not worth investigation, much less study.

With increased preparation come increased opportunities, and with these come less excuse for failure.

—Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas, Nov. 18, 1923.