The Passion to Know God

Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. [Rom. 1:28]

It is almost impossible to grasp the full strength of what the apostle is saying here. It is not simply that people are unwilling to know anything about God. Rather Paul teaches that they prefer not to maintain epignosis. The Greek epignosis combines the word for knowledge (gnosis) with an intensifying prefix (epi). We can translate it this way: Humans did not see fit to seek after a full knowledge of God.
The people Paul is describing here did not see any worthwhile purpose or value in pursuing the knowledge of God in any kind of depth. Nor did they even see the value of maintaining the knowledge they already had.
The very word theology often is regarded as repugnant, and people glibly say, “I’m not interested in theology. It’s not practical.” By that, some may mean that they have an aversion to academic and scholarly research into the things of God. Certainly most people will never be academic theologians. But in its general use the word theology simply means “the knowledge of God.”
So how is it possible for a person to be a Christian and not have a passion for theology? Apart from merely knowing things about God, such as the creeds and the doctrines, I question how a believer can not passionately want to know God or have a real understanding of who he is.
The human problem stems from corruption and fallenness. A person converted to Christ is certainly changed and transformed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; but just as Adam and Eve hid from God, we have a natural aversion to the pursuit of the knowledge of God. The basic human disposition of fallen humanity is to see no great value in seeking a fuller knowledge of God. How incongruous is our aversion to God’s desires that each of his children seek him with a whole heart.
Sproul, R.C., Before the Face of God: A Daily Guide for Living from the Book of Romans, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books) 1992.