Andrew

I recently wrote an article about Intelligence in the church and I received some feedback regarding that article. The feedback was thoughtful and articulate, so I thought that I would address it because I thought it was important.

The first comment dealt with the fact that anti-intellectualism seems to be rampant in the world, so it's not just a Christian phenomenon. I concede the point. My original article was an attempt to stir up Christians to be more engaged in intellectual pursuits. In the book Full Gospel, Fractured Minds?, Rick Nañez wrote, "science, education, and the arts are at their best when under the dominion of those called out from the blinding clutches of a fallen worldview." I agree completely with Mr. Nañez. I am less concerned with how the world views intellectual pursuits and more concerned with how the Church views the same pursuits.

In my original article I wrote "I equated intelligence with knowledge. To the best of my recollection, those people were intelligent. What they weren't was knowledgeable." Someone challenged me to address the difference between intelligent and knowledgeable. Many people use those terms interchangeably, so it was a fair criticism.

Intelligence is an innate ability. The Oxford English Dictionary defines intelligence as "The faculty of understanding; intellect." When a person is attempting to analyze, comprehend, or learn something it is that person's intelligence that determines how successful that person will be. Work and study habits play a part in the learning process so I'm not asserting that learning is strictly based upon intelligence. What I am stating, however, is that people use their intelligence to learn.

An intelligent person is able to learn. A knowledgeable person has already learned. A person who is knowledgeable has already attained some measure of knowledge through the learning process. That person used their innate intelligence to absorb and comprehend information. A knowledgeable person is one who is applying his intelligence. Knowledgeable is contrasted with ignorant. An ignorant person is someone who does not possess knowledge. An ignorant person can be intelligent. A 2 year old that does not know what anything about the Mandelbrot Set is ignorant, but that has no bearing on the 2 year old's intelligence.

I write all that to say that what I meant by my initial statement was that many people possess a keen intellect, but they refuse to use it. They have the ability to learn and possess great knowledge, but without applying their intelligence they will remain ignorant.

The next criticism deals with the following statement I wrote: "I believe it's essential that Christians read and understand the works of the world." Someone asked me two very important questions. This person wanted to know what worldly works can do to teach the Christian and whether or not there was truth outside of the Christian community. Both of those questions are excellent. I'll deal with each in turn.

The first is more difficult to address, because it deals with the root of the problem. That problem is that many people feel that the world has nothing to offer Christians. I believe that is a false belief. Many mathematical ideas come from non-Christians. Should we reject them simply because their source is the world? Many brilliant works of history and science are written by non-Christians. Do those books have nothing to offer? How can we love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength if we remain ignorant?

The second is far easier to address. Yes, there is truth outside of the Christian community. If a non-Christian discovers a new species and writes about it, is that untrue simply because it wasn't a Christian that discovered it? I believe all truth comes from God, but Christians are not the only people to whom God has revealed truth to. The truth of God is revealed through nature, so if a scientist discovers something about nature he also discovers something about God.

The final comment I received dealt with why Christians were afraid to engage the world. This person said, "We as Christians and Americans are not taught to examine. The first steps to sound examination is critical thinking skills." That's a valid comment, especially in light of my topic. I believe that engaging the mind and reading works of the world actually helps to develop critical thinking skills. One key part of this process is discipleship. I don't think Christians should simply dive into reading Nietzsche, Hume, or Hitchens. I didn't. I had several very intelligent and knowledgeable men guide me through the process of reading secular works, thinking critically, and refining my faith in the face of academic opposition.

There are enough Christians in the church that possess the intellectual fortitude to guide others in the process. Instead of rejecting intellectual pursuits, the Church should embrace them. Each individual church, as part of the corporate Church, ought to have experts in various fields willing to guide Christians along the learning process. There should also be people who are willing to help teach Christians the critical thinking skills necessary to not only defend their faith against the onslaught of the world, but also to understand what the world is saying and to be able to offer a response.