Armchair Philosophers and the Experience-Oriented
1Cor 1:22-24 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
The pursuit of the Jews might be likened to those today who seek an experience. Jesus gave the Jews sufficient evidence by the miracles he did. But that's all they sought, as if the Messiah was simply to entertain them or fulfill their physical desires. But Christ came to deal with their sin, a fact they didn't want to accept. In his parable of Lazarus and the Rich man Jesus concluded, "‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’" Luke 16:31 Those who merely seek an experience will not be satisfied by what Biblical Christianity offers, seeing as experiences are subject to submission to Christ as Lord, and God is primarily concerned not about how they feel but about the matter of sin.
But there are experiences in legitimate Christianity. There is power not only to save but to sanctify. And God does interact personally with the saints.
The Greeks sought a man-based philosophy so as to exalt human reasoning above divine revelation. The gospel is too simple for such people. And its basis in divine revelation and consequently its presentation as straight forward proposition truth (take it or leave it) fails to satisfying those merely pursuing an intellectual challenge. Such people pursuing Christianity without embracing the gospel end up as Gnostic heretics in their speculations.
But for the saints, there is wisdom in the gospel. There is wisdom whereby man-based religions and philosophies are foolish in comparison. But attaining that wisdom is contingent upon the fear of the Lord and subsequently upon the embracing of the gospel which reveals both the necessity of salvation and its means. But to the intellectually proud, personal sin in view of God's impending wrath are of little concern and thus they are disqualified from the calling.