Some time ago I decided to take the intellectual aspect of my spiritual beliefs more seriously. It left some of my Christian friends scratching their heads.

They graced me with comments like, “Don’t let your head get in the way of your heart.” Some said, “I don’t need to study because I have faith.” The most challenging one was, “Be careful not to study too much, since the Bible says ‘knowledge puffs up’ (1 Corinthians 8:1).”

These comments were all well intended. But they also reflect the anti-intellectualism that has long saturated American culture, and seeped over into the church. In an article aptly titled “Burning Hearts Are Not Nourished by Empty Heads,” R.C. Sproul wrote,

We live in what may be the most anti-intellectual period in the history of Western civilization. … Secular culture has embraced a kind of impressionism that threatens to turn all our brains into mush, and the evangelical world has followed suit, developing an allergy to all things intellectual. (1)

But this hasn’t always been the case. Christians founded Ivy League universities such as Harvard and Princeton. They pioneered the scientific revolution. Christianity’s intellectual mark on world history is beyond calculating.

A Little History…

When the Puritans first arrived in America, they deeply valued the life of the mind. American philosopher J.P. Moreland noted,

The Puritans were highly educated people (the literacy rate for men in early Massachusetts and Connecticut was between 89-90 percent) who founded colleges, taught their children to read and write before the age of six, studied art, science, philosophy, and other fields as a way of loving God with the mind. (2)

Ministers were viewed as authorities not only on spiritual matters, but on intellectual matters as well. Change began, though, after several revivals broke out in America in the mid-1800’s. Much good came out of these revivals. They brought an emphasis on personal conversion to Christ and an emotionally engaged faith.

But these experiences became over-emphasized. They began to take the place of quiet reflection, thoughtful consideration, and a deep grasp of authentic Christian teachings. Thousands of people heard revivalist preachers and became Christians, which was great. Many of these new believers, however, lacked real understanding of essential doctrinal issues.

Cults such as Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses gained momentum as a result. Meanwhile new attacks were being brought against the truth of Christianity. Science supposedly undermined Christian faith, and German “higher criticism” raised doubts about the Bible. Christians’ theological illiteracy weakened their ability to answer. They could have risen up to confront these false ideas head-on. Instead many became suspicious of intellectual pursuits.

Before long, liberalism began to influence mainline denominations. This provoked many conservative “fundamentalists” to retreat from public discourse. They formed their own seminaries, thus isolating Christian ideas from the rest of the world. Rather than being the “salt of the earth,” they effectively put the salt back in the cupboard.

Together these trends weakened the church’s effect on broader culture. They’ve also led many modern Christians to devalue a robust understanding of their faith. (3)

A Little Theology…

But doesn’t the Bible say “knowledge puffs up”? When someone uses a single verse to make a point, remember this useful tip from author and speaker Greg Koukl: “Never read a Bible verse.” Consider the whole passage.

Right before “knowledge puffs up,” the apostle Paul wrote, “Now about food sacrificed to idols.” Some Christians knew that idols weren’t real, whereas others didn’t know that. They believed eating food sacrificed to idols made it ceremonially unclean. In context, Paul was exhorting the believers with the greater knowledge to show love to those with the weaker conscience. He urged them to refrain from eating food offered to idols in front of them, so they wouldn’t stumble. His point was that knowledge should be exercised in love, to build up other believers. It’s not to be used to feed our own arrogance.

All of Scripture agrees. Here are a few of the many places where Scripture speaks positively of knowledge:

Fools hate knowledge. (Proverbs 1:22) A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel. (Proverbs 1:5)

Hosea chapter 4 says God’s people perish for lack of knowledge regarding the law. 2 Peter 2:1 tells us to add to our faith goodness, and to goodness, knowledge. In Philippians 1:9, Paul prayed “that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment.”

Paul even includes knowledge as a part of spiritual warfare. In 2 Corinthians 10:5 he says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.” Proverbs 15:4 says the “discerning heart acquires knowledge,” and Proverbs 1:29 warns of the destruction that follows a hatred of knowledge.

Over and over in Scripture we are commanded to seek out knowledge. Over and over we are warned of the consequences if we don’t. Jesus commanded us to “love the Lord your God with all your mind.” He was saying we must love God with all of our intellectual capacity.

Knowledge must be exercised in love. When it isn’t, pride and arrogance can gain a foothold. But true knowledge is humbling. The more I learn, the more I know how much I have to learn — the more I realize my smallness and intellectual inadequacy.

When we engage our faith intellectually with love, knowledge will not puff us up. In fact, I have to agree with the writer of Proverbs who said, “Lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel!”

References:

1. R.C. Sproul, “Burning Hearts Are Not Nourished by Empty Heads,” Christianity Today 26: (Sept 3, 1982), p. 100 (Cited in J.P. Moreland, Love Your God With All Your Mind)
2. J.P. Moreland, Love Your God With All Your Mind, (NavPress, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1997) p. 22
3. For more on the history of anti-intellectualism in the church, see chapter one of Moreland’s Love Your God With All Your Mind, cited above.

Originally published on AlisaChilders.com. Republished with permission.