Double knowledge

Something I have been learning, as of late, is something the church fathers, St. Gregory Palamas in particular, calls double knowledge.  Having now been introduced to the concept, it makes perfect sense.  The idea is this, there are two kinds of knowledge, the first, natural, that is, knowledge we gain by study and intellect.  The natural sciences, book learning, the scientific method, etc.  The second is knowledge of God.  This is not a mere knowledge about God, but a knowledge of/relationship with God.  It is not something that comes by study, but by prayer, repentance and the cleansing of the soul.  We draw into an ever deepening relationship with God by turning away from the vanity of the world, loving God more than ourselves and hating sin.
I cannot but marvel at the radical contrast between this way of living versus that of the Protestantism/Calvinism that I previously lived.  My previous reformation years, while I did learn much about thinking, learning, history and theology, all of those things do not lead to godliness.  This point cannot be emphasized enough.  All the natural/worldly knowledge in the universe will not lead to godliness.  We only grow in our relationship with God by cleansing our souls and seeking Him. 
At the same time, there is nothing wrong with book learning.  One only needs to look at my library to see that I believe that.  As the church fathers have said, education and knowledge are tools that we can use to reveal greater light of divine truth.  The two types of knowledge are not contrary to one another.  They are two completely different realities.  One is natural, the other is divine.
Having great intellectual prowess and education will mean nothing if we neglect the state of our souls.  But on the other hand, someone can have a first grade education but surpass the most educated among us by having developed a sanctified soul.  Purity of heart is infinitely more important than any knowledge of any created thing, conceptual, philosophical or natural.
As Paul tells us in 1st Corinthians, anything without love is merely a clanging cymbal.