Without wisdom, all the good intentions in the world are likely to be worthless. Many of the horrors of the twentieth century were supported by people with good intentions who lacked wisdom.
Therefore, because they have so much wisdom, the Torah and the rest of the Bible are indispensable. We live in an age, however, that has little wisdom; many people do not even value it. People value knowledge and intelligence, but not wisdom. This lack of wisdom—certainly in America and the rest of the West—is directly related to the decline in biblical literacy. In the American past, virtually every home, no matter how poor, owned a Bible, which was the primary vehicle by which parents passed on wisdom to their children.
In the modern period, however, people have increasingly replaced Bible-based homes and Bible-based schools with homes and schools in which the Bible plays no role. As a result, we are less wise and more morally confused.
Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible, Deuteronomy: God, Blessings, and Curses, pg.xviii
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