I found John Piper’s recent message from his National Conference to be very good and I would recommend that you listen to it. The title is “The Life of the Mind and the Love of God.” Here is one quote:
There is an odd notion that, if we use our minds to grow in our knowledge of God, mystery will diminish and with it a sense of wonder and reverence. I call this notion odd for two reasons. One is that, no matter how many millions of ages I use my mind to know more and more of God’s majesty, his glories will never be in danger of being exhausted. What is not yet known of God by finite creatures will always be limitless. You honor this truth more by shameless growth in the knowledge of God.
And the second reason I find the notion odd that thinking about God and knowing more and more of God jeopardizes our worship of God, is that without knowing him we can’t worship in a way that honors him. God is not honored when people get excited about how little they know of him.
Piper doesn’t directly call people to read their Bibles; his is a message encouraging thought. But the best thinking must be rooted in the Scriptures. There is no knowledge of God apart from his revelation of himself. “Shameless growth in the knowledge of God” means less football and more Bible study, less exercise and more Scripture reading, less socializing and more Bible memory.
I like this. Explanation should not diminish wonder, rather, it should enhance it. This is the same problem we encounter with the reductionism in many popular interpretations of science.
There’s something wrong with the modern mind and it’s tendency to think an explanation erases the need for thaumazo.
These are great thoughts, and I fully agree. At the same time, Piper is emphasizing the pure pursuit of the knowledge of God, while many who critique overdone theological pursuits are emphasizing wrong motives. So what he critiques and what he affirms are different not only in degree but in nature.