Hywel Clifford

‘God understands the way to it’: biblical trajectories in the search for wisdom.

‘But where shall wisdom be found?’ This question, posed in the ancient Book of Job, to which the answer comes in strikingly anthropomorphic language ‘God understands the way to it’, is a question we can all relate to. In this talk, I’ll highlight key aspects of wisdom in the Biblical texts, and consider some implications these have for the cultivation of a Christian worldview. Wisdom is a “many-splendored thing”: an attribute of God’s supreme being, a practical necessity for human flourishing, that special quality of discretion which takes time and experience to acquire, a beautiful and desirable asset to treasure, and a reality uniquely incarnated and modelled in the person of Jesus Christ. The ramifications are equally numerous, as seen in the history of Christian belief and practice. We’ll reflect on some of these in the context of university life: attitudes to knowledge, the role of the virtues, and the vocation of societal engagement – all essential parts of scholarly endeavour.