9 Bible Verses about Philosophy

Most Relevant Verses

Acts 17:18

Also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him, and some were asking, "What does this foolish babbler want to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods." (They said this because he was proclaiming the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.)

Ecclesiastes 1:2

"Futile! Futile!" laments the Teacher, "Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!"

Isaiah 29:14

Therefore I will again do an amazing thing for these people -- an absolutely extraordinary deed. Wise men will have nothing to say, the sages will have no explanations."

1 Corinthians 1:19-20

For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will thwart the cleverness of the intelligent." Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Mosaic law? Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made the wisdom of the world foolish?

1 Corinthians 3:19-20

For the wisdom of this age is foolishness with God. As it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness." And again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile."

From Thematic Bible


Philosophy » Philosophical inductions and deductions relating to God and his providence

Job 5:8-20

"But as for me, I would seek God, and to God I would set forth my case. He does great and unsearchable things, marvelous things without number; he gives rain on the earth, and sends water on the fields; read more.
he sets the lowly on high, that those who mourn are raised to safety. He frustrates the plans of the crafty so that their hands cannot accomplish what they had planned! He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the cunning is brought to a quick end. They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope about in the noontime as if it were night. So he saves from the sword that comes from their mouth, even the poor from the hand of the powerful. Thus the poor have hope, and iniquity shuts its mouth. "Therefore, blessed is the man whom God corrects, so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For he wounds, but he also bandages; he strikes, but his hands also heal. He will deliver you from six calamities; yes, in seven no evil will touch you. In time of famine he will redeem you from death, and in time of war from the power of the sword.

Job 10:2-21

I will say to God, 'Do not condemn me; tell me why you are contending with me.' Is it good for you to oppress, to despise the work of your hands, while you smile on the schemes of the wicked? "Do you have eyes of flesh, or do you see as a human being sees? read more.
Are your days like the days of a mortal, or your years like the years of a mortal, that you must search out my iniquity, and inquire about my sin, although you know that I am not guilty, and that there is no one who can deliver out of your hand? "Your hands have shaped me and made me, but now you destroy me completely. Remember that you have made me as with the clay; will you return me to dust? Did you not pour me out like milk, and curdle me like cheese? You clothed me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews. You gave me life and favor, and your intervention watched over my spirit. "But these things you have concealed in your heart; I know that this is with you: If I sinned, then you would watch me and you would not acquit me of my iniquity. If I am guilty, woe to me, and if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head; I am full of shame, and satiated with my affliction. If I lift myself up, you hunt me as a fierce lion, and again you display your power against me. You bring new witnesses against me, and increase your anger against me; relief troops come against me. "Why then did you bring me out from the womb? I should have died and no eye would have seen me! I should have been as though I had never existed; I should have been carried right from the womb to the grave! Are not my days few? Cease, then, and leave me alone, that I may find a little comfort, before I depart, never to return, to the land of darkness and the deepest shadow,

Job 12:6-24

But the tents of robbers are peaceful, and those who provoke God are confident -- who carry their god in their hands. "But now, ask the animals and they will teach you, or the birds of the sky and they will tell you. Or speak to the earth and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea declare to you. read more.
Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this, in whose hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all the human race. Does not the ear test words, as the tongue tastes food? Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? "With God are wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. If he tears down, it cannot be rebuilt; if he imprisons a person, there is no escape. If he holds back the waters, then they dry up; if he releases them, they destroy the land. With him are strength and prudence; both the one who goes astray and the one who misleads are his. He leads counselors away stripped and makes judges into fools. He loosens the bonds of kings and binds a loincloth around their waist. He leads priests away stripped and overthrows the potentates. He deprives the trusted advisers of speech and takes away the discernment of elders. He pours contempt on noblemen and disarms the powerful. He reveals the deep things of darkness, and brings deep shadows into the light. He makes nations great, and destroys them; he extends the boundaries of nations and disperses them. He deprives the leaders of the earth of their understanding; he makes them wander in a trackless desert waste.

Job 33:12-30

Now in this, you are not right -- I answer you, for God is greater than a human being. Why do you contend against him, that he does not answer all a person's words? "For God speaks, the first time in one way, the second time in another, though a person does not perceive it. read more.
In a dream, a night vision, when deep sleep falls on people as they sleep in their beds. Then he gives a revelation to people, and terrifies them with warnings, to turn a person from his sin, and to cover a person's pride. He spares a person's life from corruption, his very life from crossing over the river. Or a person is chastened by pain on his bed, and with the continual strife of his bones, so that his life loathes food, and his soul rejects appetizing fare. His flesh wastes away from sight, and his bones, which were not seen, are easily visible. He draws near to the place of corruption, and his life to the messengers of death. If there is an angel beside him, one mediator out of a thousand, to tell a person what constitutes his uprightness; and if God is gracious to him and says, 'Spare him from going down to the place of corruption, I have found a ransom for him,' then his flesh is restored like a youth's; he returns to the days of his youthful vigor. He entreats God, and God delights in him, he sees God's face with rejoicing, and God restores to him his righteousness. That person sings to others, saying: 'I have sinned and falsified what is right, but I was not punished according to what I deserved. He redeemed my life from going down to the place of corruption, and my life sees the light!' "Indeed, God does all these things, twice, three times, in his dealings with a person, to turn back his life from the place of corruption, that he may be enlightened with the light of life.

Philosophy » Employment of, was not paul's method of preaching the gospel

1 Corinthians 1:19

For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will thwart the cleverness of the intelligent."

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come with superior eloquence or wisdom as I proclaimed the testimony of God. For I decided to be concerned about nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and with much trembling. read more.
My conversation and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on the power of God.

Philosophy » Rabbinical

Colossians 2:16-19

Therefore do not let anyone judge you with respect to food or drink, or in the matter of a feast, new moon, or Sabbath days -- these are only the shadow of the things to come, but the reality is Christ! Let no one who delights in humility and the worship of angels pass judgment on you. That person goes on at great lengths about what he has supposedly seen, but he is puffed up with empty notions by his fleshly mind. read more.
He has not held fast to the head from whom the whole body, supported and knit together through its ligaments and sinews, grows with a growth that is from God.

Philosophy » The nature of things

Philosophy » Reveals the mysteries of providence

Romans 1:19-20

because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes -- his eternal power and divine nature -- have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse.

Philosophy » Is not sufficient for an adequate knowledge of God

1 Corinthians 1:21-22

For since in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching. For Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom,

Philosophy » Is not enough for salvation through the atonement of jesus Christ

1 Corinthians 2:6-10

Now we do speak wisdom among the mature, but not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are perishing. Instead we speak the wisdom of God, hidden in a mystery, that God determined before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood it. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. read more.
But just as it is written, "Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those who love him." God has revealed these to us by the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

Philosophy » Greek schools of

Acts 17:18

Also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him, and some were asking, "What does this foolish babbler want to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods." (They said this because he was proclaiming the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.)

Philosophy » A philosophical discussion about wisdom

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