We think we know so much!
The greatest library in the ancient world was in Alexandria, Egypt, before Jesus was born. It was more akin to a major university than a book house. There "Euclid developed his geometry; Archimedes discovered pi and laid the foundation for calculus; Eratosthenes posited that the earth was round and calculated its circumference to within 1 percent; Galen revolutionized medicine. Alexandrian astronomers postulated a heliocentric universe; geometers deduced that the length of a day was 365 1/4 days and proposed adding a 'leap day' every fourth year..." and more. (Stephen Greenblatt, "The Swerve," 87)
Today marketers lead us to believe that the latest title or the newest celebrity have hitherto unknown knowledge. We're like the ancient Athenians who "spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or hear some new thing." (Acts 17:21). True, there are new discoveries but our culture easily gets puffed up about our sound-byte and tweeted knowledge. "Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls." (Jeremiah 6:16)
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