Knowing God and Knowing About God--Both...And

"Unfortunately, some have erroneously concluded  that--because knowing God is more than intellectual familiarity with the facts about God--we may get along well enough without them. Thus, what for many passes as the knowledge of God is in fact a mindless, contentless, self-generated feeling of spiritual exultation. Indeed, on occasion I have actually heard it said that theological propositions concerning the nature of God are actually an obstacle to knowing him in any real and lasting way. One almost gets the impression that for such people theological ignorance is heavenly bliss! But we must guard against such careless extremism lest we think that because intellectual apprehension is not sufficient for a genuine knowledge of God, it is not necessary. It is, in fact, the foundation upon which all valid Christian experience and godly fervor are built. In the absence of biblical information concerning who God is and what he is like, we may find ourselves worshiping "foreign gods," if if not a "god" fabricated from our own self-absorbed imaginations. The point of this warning is simply to emphasize that knowing God is a 'both...and' endeavor. It is both thinking great thoughts about him and living in such a way that those thoughts spark loving, joyful, exhilarating obedience."

-Sam Storms, The Grandeur of God (1984 A.D.)