Theologian John Eldredge Explains How Overthinking Blocks You from Jesus

For some of us, it’s all too tempting to treat Christian faith as mainly a way to feel intellectually satisfied by living in a world that makes sense where we can win arguments and feel that we’ve got everything explained. In this seven-minute video, author and theologian John Eldredge joins Matt Fradd of Pints with Aquinas to explain how this use of Christianity can divert us from the whole essence of belief — which is a relationship with the person of Jesus.

Editor’s Note: The transcript that follows was automatically generated and lightly edited, so please be aware there could be typos or other small errors. The Stream is working toward a transcription service that does fast, accurate, and reliable work; thank you in advance for your patience!

00:00:00:05 – 00:00:20:27
I think it was Chesterton who said something like, let your faith be more of a love affair and less of a syllogism. I don’t know if you said syllogism, but for me, I’m constantly worried that we keep doing that, that we keep thinking of Christianity like a philosophical worldview. Yes, that if you just accept the premises, your life will flourish because you will live in accord with reality and all that’s true.

00:00:20:28 – 00:00:28:12
Yes. But as Pope Benedict the 16th said, like Christianity is a person. It’s the encounter with South.

00:00:28:13 – 00:00:29:26
Yeah, absolutely.

00:00:29:26 – 00:00:52:15
But I do fear sometimes that we sort of go, well, you know, pornography is bad because Christianity says so. So I got to stop that and I’ll say my prayers to try to get that that under control. Yeah. We just sort of manage our life with the with certain truths of Christianity. Yes, but sometimes it feels like a Christ less Christianity ones like the teachings of the church, which, again, are true.

00:00:52:15 – 00:00:53:24
Yeah.

00:00:53:26 – 00:01:20:17
They are. But to separate them from the great lover of our souls. And I sometimes think that the reason I struggle with this at times is because I’m trying to understand it, which is totally not necessary. Only, you know, like, my son doesn’t need to understand how snow works to play in it. Yep. Yes. And so we which, I don’t know, sometimes, but maybe it’s maybe because I’m tend to be more kind of analytical, philosophically minded.

00:01:20:20 – 00:01:37:26
You know, pray at times and you start wondering, you know, like, golly, I can’t even pay attention to my four children at once. How is God really present to me now? How does that work? Yeah, I sort of have to remind myself, like, well, just accept it. Like, just accept the truth that Christianity teaches that he is present to you.

00:01:37:26 – 00:01:50:00
And yes. And the difference between you and God is he’s actually infinite. Yeah. So you don’t have to figure it out. You can just sort of. Yes, give yourself over to it. Yes. Have you struggled with that or.

00:01:50:01 – 00:02:07:05
That’s I mean, that’s beautiful. Oh, man. Keep going. Pascal had that traumatic encounter. You know, he’s praying. Sister. Giselle probably prayed him in to the kingdom. And Pascal, late in life has the dramatic encounter with Christ and the.

00:02:07:05 – 00:02:08:13
God of Abraham. Isaac?

00:02:08:14 – 00:02:38:00
Yes. Fire. Fire, fire. Intimacy. Like. Yeah, yeah, he’s a little, you know, kind of thing. Later he would say, so this is what faith is. God perceived by the heart. God perceived by the heart. The mind is a beautiful instrument. It’s absolutely beautiful. But it was designed to protect the heart, not supplant it. And, and in the last, you know, sort of post-enlightenment era.

00:02:38:03 – 00:03:04:01
And now we as disciples of the internet, I want to say yes. What you are saying is true. We have an overdeveloped left brain approach to our life with Christ. And frankly, everything else. We think the latest research, the new science. Google it. You know, that that’ll get us there, right? But that’s actually not it’s just not even how you enjoy your friends.

00:03:04:02 – 00:03:12:28
You don’t dissect your friends to enjoy them is to enjoy them. You hang out. That’s not that’s not how you enjoy the ocean.

00:03:13:00 – 00:03:25:14
And it’s probably a less real description than a poetic one. It is. I’m thinking more about how the Lord of the rings is truer than, let’s say, the most accurate account of the founding of America. Yeah, something like that. Or work on mathematics.

00:03:25:15 – 00:03:26:10
Yes, yes.

00:03:26:11 – 00:03:31:29
It’s like, yeah, it’s less true. Yes. What the Lord is like fiction is I think good fiction is more true.

00:03:32:02 – 00:03:51:27
And by the way, the Lord of the rings is a really helpful. Let that be your understanding of the Christian story. Yeah. That’s the world you live in. Nazgul, orcs, all that hatred, violence, massive war, huge. You know, consequences. Yeah. That’s reality.

00:03:51:29 – 00:03:59:25
Yeah. I’m thinking of. So to all who live to see such times. But it is not for them. To us. All that is required is to decide what to do with the time that’s given us.

00:03:59:27 – 00:04:16:25
That’s right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, Justin, in thing he says mystery keeps men sane. Yeah. It’s from a man. Has always been a mystic. Because the common man has always allowed for mystery. He said one foot on earth and the other in heaven.

00:04:16:27 – 00:04:27:01
And yet we have such a materialist view of things that when we talk about the heart. Yes, some of us just went, well, that’s stupid. Yeah. Like that’s just that thing that beats is not even a thinking thing. What are you talking about?

00:04:27:02 – 00:04:49:00
Yes, yes, yes. So just use your little Bible app, folks, and just put heart in and start the Bible face. To start with, just submit to that. It. See, the heart is absolutely central in the Scripture. Turn to me with all your heart. Oh, that you would read your hearts right? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.

00:04:49:00 – 00:04:58:17
I mean, on and on it goes that Christ may dwell in your heart. Create in me a clean heart. Oh, God. And then the big one, the big one. He says, A new heart. I will.

00:04:58:17 – 00:04:59:22
Give you.

00:04:59:24 – 00:05:31:21
A new heart. I will give you. I will put my laws in your heart to obey God from the inside instead of from the outside. Yeah. External pressure, old Testament, internal desire. New Testament. Right. We live from a transformed heart. I follow Christ because I want to, not because I’m afraid of him. Right? Because I love him and I know him intimately.

00:05:31:24 – 00:05:53:02
Right? That. Oh, that’s the good stuff. A new heart I will give you. And then Isaiah 61, and I need to heal your heart. You need to let me in there. I need to restore your heart from all that has both wounded and fragmented you and those Ephesians four strongholds that have gotten in.

00:05:53:09 – 00:06:20:24
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00:06:20:26 – 00:06:37:03
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00:06:37:03 – 00:06:56:03
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00:06:56:03 – 00:07:02:14
At points with Aquinas, help spread these excellent interviews all over YouTube, and I think you’d agree there’s all the junk on YouTube.

00:07:02:14 – 00:07:05:17
We need more good conversations like this. Oh.