1. Wisdom

What is Wisdom?

The main goal for this lesson is to create connection between the ideas of wonder and wisdom. The biblical wisdom literature suggests that we grow wiser when we wonder about the way the world works. This version of wisdom helps make the case for a connection between faith and science, and why a person of faith should want to learn more about the way the world works.

If possible, you might start with a review of the homework activity Walk of Wonder assigned at the end of Part 1: Course Orientation.

Allot time for students to report back to a partner or small group before engaging in a class discussion about the Walk of Wonder and how it affected students. Guidelines for this discussion can be found at the activity link above.

The scene-setting activity Watching the Wave is a good follow-up to this discussion. It is designed to get students thinking about wonder, wisdom, science, and faith. Students are asked to respond to a video of a pendulum wave and then consider the relationship between responses that focus on beauty and those that seek scientific explanation. The activity concludes with a discussion of how wonder, faith, wisdom, and science might be related.

Following this, you could ask students to share other natural or scientific phenomena they have found beautiful or fascinating:

• What kinds of things have given them a sense of wonder?
• Why are moments of wonder important?
• Have students ever thought that curiosity about the natural world is connected to the Bible’s idea of wisdom? If not, why not—how have they pictured biblical wisdom?

This lesson’s homework assignment is What Is Wisdom?. It asks students to interview a parent or other adult about wisdom. For this assignment, students may need time to work around family schedules before reporting back in a subsequent session. Some students may need alternative options if parents are not available. If students have living grandparents, they can be encouraged to interview them.