Romans 1:22

22 Seeming to be wise, they were in fact foolish,

Romans 1:22 Meaning and Commentary

Romans 1:22

Professing themselves to be wise
The learned men among the Gentiles first called themselves (sofoi) , "Sophi", wise men: and afterwards, to cover their wretched pride and vanity, (filosofoi) , "Philosophers", lovers of wisdom; but notwithstanding all their arrogance, their large pretensions to wisdom, and boast of it

they became fools;
they appeared to be so; they showed themselves to be such in those very things they prided themselves with the knowledge of: as, for instance, Socrates, after he had asserted the unity of God, and is said to die a martyr for the truth; yet one of the last actions of his life was sacrificing a cock to Aesculapius, at least he desired his friend Crito to do it.

Romans 1:22 In-Context

20 For from the first making of the world, those things of God which the eye is unable to see, that is, his eternal power and existence, are fully made clear, he having given the knowledge of them through the things which he has made, so that men have no reason for wrongdoing:

21 Because, having the knowledge of God, they did not give glory to God as God, and did not give praise, but their minds were full of foolish things, and their hearts, being without sense, were made dark.

22 Seeming to be wise, they were in fact foolish,

23 And by them the glory of the eternal God was changed and made into the image of man who is not eternal, and of birds and beasts and things which go on the earth.

24 For this reason God gave them up to the evil desires of their hearts, working shame in their bodies with one another: