[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f-fFN2fVS6WDLLZP44_JQFVlPrSadYZHK_4owJscF1lk":3,"$fjeSDipm6DDpHawXeQ_Y7Xksdncinoe7aXBKXJnLT_Lc":12},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},16348,"J. Mark Bertrand","J",4,null,"j-mark-bertrand",[],{"quotes":13,"pagination":96},[14,33,59,75],{"id":15,"quote_text":16,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":19,"source":20,"quote_tag":21,"commentary":32},733547,"For modern people the pursuit of wisdom sounds like something you'd have to travel to Tibet for. To us, wisdom is mystical and esoteric. It conjures up images of cave-dwelling hermits, saffron-robed monks, and, well, Yoda.",2,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[22,27],{"id":23,"tag":24},3548566,{"id":25,"tag_name":26},223,"wisdom",{"id":28,"tag":29},3548564,{"id":30,"tag_name":31},21294,"esoteric","**The Backstory**\n\nThis quote likely stems from J. Mark Bertrand's writing, which often critiques modern Western society's pursuit of wisdom and spiritual growth. Although I couldn't pinpoint the exact origin of this quote, it reflects a sentiment that is common in his work: a commentary on how our culture has become disconnected from traditional sources of wisdom. As an author who frequently explores the tension between faith and modernity, Bertrand might have written these words as part of a broader critique of Western society's spiritual malaise.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\n\nBertrand's quote reveals that our perception of wisdom is often shaped by cultural myths and stereotypes. By linking the pursuit of wisdom to esoteric or mystical practices, we overlook the possibility that genuine wisdom can be cultivated through ordinary human experiences, relationships, and reflections on everyday life. This tension between the exoticized notion of wisdom and its mundane reality is a crucial insight for those seeking to develop their own understanding of what it means to live wisely.\n\n**How to Use This**\n\nIn practical terms, this quote suggests that we should not fetishize spiritual practices or exotic locations as the sole sources of wisdom. Instead, we can cultivate wisdom by engaging deeply with our everyday lives, our relationships, and our communities. By recognizing that wisdom is not solely the domain of esoteric practices, we can develop a more nuanced understanding of how to live wisely in our own time and place.",{"id":34,"quote_text":35,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":36,"source":37,"quote_tag":38,"commentary":9},601802,"The cold logic of mid-twentieth-century atheism has now given way to an era of renewed 'spirituality,' but it is an awakening more thrapeutic than pious, more attuned to self-expression than self-denial. It is now fashionable to talk about God, though it is still deeply unfashionable to believe in him.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[39,44,49,54],{"id":40,"tag":41},3168552,{"id":42,"tag_name":43},111,"spirituality",{"id":45,"tag":46},3168549,{"id":47,"tag_name":48},255,"god",{"id":50,"tag":51},3168551,{"id":52,"tag_name":53},4011,"skepticism",{"id":55,"tag":56},3168550,{"id":57,"tag_name":58},24935,"relativism",{"id":60,"quote_text":61,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":62,"source":63,"quote_tag":64,"commentary":9},472011,"... we met with more closed doors than open ones -- and the people who answered our knocks were invariably older. Young people didn't aswner the door to strangers, who would undoubtedly be trying to sell something, any more than they would answer the telephone to telemarketers once Caller ID came along. The only people we encountered going door-to-door were the ones old enough to remember when that's the way the world worked.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[65,70],{"id":66,"tag":67},2673323,{"id":68,"tag_name":69},1822,"evangelism",{"id":71,"tag":72},2673324,{"id":73,"tag_name":74},30256,"methods",{"id":76,"quote_text":77,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":78,"source":79,"quote_tag":80,"commentary":9},70763,"Those two little words -- says you -- are the most powerful argument in any discipline: theology, philosphy, even domestic harmony. They are powerful because they are true. Whenever you say something, it is you who says it. You. And what do you know?",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[81,86,91],{"id":82,"tag":83},488706,{"id":84,"tag_name":85},50,"perspective",{"id":87,"tag":88},488700,{"id":89,"tag_name":90},5924,"argument",{"id":92,"tag":93},488707,{"id":94,"tag_name":95},12048,"subjectivity",{"currentPage":97,"totalPages":97,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":98},1,10]