Think for Christ

My intention in the last two episodes has been to disabuse us of the idea that faith and reason are somehow fundamentally at odds with one another or that faith is an exclusively religious phenomenon, by showing that faith is a natural, rational, and practically unavoidable mode of human knowing. We believe things by faith when we trust in the testimony of another. If the person that we believe is trustworthy, then our faith will be, to that extent, reasonable.But what about theological faith, or what has traditionally been called the theological virtue of faith? Is there anything unique or special about the kind of faith that Christian believers have in God and in his redemptive work in Christ? It is now time for us to consider this important question.

Last time we looked at defective view of faith, which is the idea that faith is a kind of noncognitive, irrational, and emotional activity that is entirety distinct from and even in opposition to reason. We also briefly considered a much better definition of faith that accords with our ordinary, commonsense usage: faith is belief based on the authority and testimony of another. In this episode we are going to take a deeper look at faith by analyzing it further as a natural and rational mode of human knowing.

In my experience, one of the most poorly understood relations among believers is that of faith and reason. Few have a clear understanding of the nature of faith, fewer still have a clear understanding of the relationship between faith and reason in the life of a Christian. So, over the next several episodes we’re going to tackle the subject head-on and try to work our way out of this confusion. Perhaps you’ve heard some well-meaning believer say something like this: “Christianity is all about faith, or the heart, and not about reason, or the head. I don’t need evidence, argument, or reasons. I just have faith.” This sentiment may seem pious, but it actually perpetuates the false and dangerous notion that faith and reason are mutually exclusive and even in conflict with each other. The idea here is that faith takes over where reason leaves off; one must make a “leap of faith into the dark” in order to be a Christian; one must “check the brain at the door” when they enter the church. I think that many Christian believers unreflectively assume a view of faith like this; that faith is just a kind of a raw act of the will or a decision to believe that requires little involvement from the intellect. But this conception of faith is just confused and completely misguided. To see this, let’s just consider for a moment our everyday, common notion of faith. When we say that we have faith in a person, we usually mean simply that we trust that person; when we take on faith what a person tells us, we are simply accepting the person’s testimony as being trustworthy. Our everyday, commonsense notion of faith is simply this: believing something based on the authority or testimony of another. That’s it. There’s no notion here of a blind leap into the dark, or of a suspension of our rational faculties, or of gullibility. These are all ideas that we often associate with the idea of faith, but that are no part of the notion of faith as such or in itself. Whether or not our faith or trust in the authority or word of another is rational or reasonable is a separate question. If the authority or witness in whom we have placed our faith is trustworthy, if we have good reason to believe that they are an authority in what they say, then our faith is reasonable, it is rational to trust them. If, on the other hand, the authorities or witnesses in whom we have placed our faith are untrustworthy––if we have no good reason to trust what they say, or if we have good reason to doubt that they are an authority in what they say––then our faith will be to that extent unreasonable; it will be irrational to put our faith in them. Faith as trust or belief based on the authority or testimony of another will be reasonable or unreasonable depending on the quality of the witness. Credible witnesses make for a reasonable faith. Faith is not a defective act of the mind, it is a natural and legitimate mode of human knowing.

In the last episode I addressed the common concern that deep intellectual engagement leads to doubt and a crisis of faith. Here I consider a second concern often raised by well-meaning Christians. It is sometimes claimed that a focus on the intellectual side of the faith will result in intellectualism. By ‘intellectualism’ I mean a kind of an emotionless, affection-less, or dispassionate pursuit of knowledge. There is a worry that too much of a focus on the mind can produce a dryness of soul and a passionless faith. Moreover, some maintain that the pursuit of knowledge distracts believers from what is really important, namely personal devotion. Now, these are valid concerns that we should take seriously, we certainly do not want our intellectual pursuit to devolve into a stale intellectualism. Happily though, a life of intellectual engagement doesn’t have to lead to intellectualism and can instead lead to a deeper devotion and a more profound religious experience. And this brings us to the final and the greatest benefit that comes from pursuing a life of the mind for Christ: elevate your worship.

Many people share the general assumption that intellectual pursuit is dangerous to the Christian soul; there is a fear that too much worldly wisdom, or secular learning will lead to doubt; that science and philosophy in particular are antithetical to faith. I understand why people think this way; it seems that today “experts” in every academic discipline are making claims that seem to be at odds with Christianity. This seems especially true in the fields of philosophy and science; philosophers today seem to be in the business of doubting and criticizing everything we’ve ever held dear and there is a general feeling that science and faith are at war with each other. But I’m convinced that deep intellectual engagement is actually good for the Christian soul. Cultivating your intellect can actually reinforce and fortify your faith. In fact, I think that this is one of the most important benefits of pursuing a life of the mind; engaging your mind for Christ is one of the very best ways to strengthen your faith.

Christians are engaged in a spiritual war. This is not a war of bombs and bullets, but of ideas. Since the intellect is the realm of ideas, the spiritual war is, to a large extent, a war that wages on the battleground of the intellect. There is a spiritual clash of ideas happening all around us. False ideas make up the arsenal of the enemy, and to fight back, Christians have been armed with the truth. We attack false ideas by exposing them to the light of reason and Scripture. So, if you want to be well-trained spiritual soldier on the battleground of the intellect, you’ll need to be proficient in the use of your intellectual weaponry. Christians today find themselves in the middle of a global spiritual war; we’re caught in the crossfire of ideas that in one way or another come straight from hell. This is not mystical or invisible war being fought in some dimension inaccessible to our sight; the battles in this war are being fought right before our eyes, every day in the places we are most familiar with; in our homes, in our schools, in our churches, in our government, in our own minds. In this hour, the church needs soldiers well-equipped to engage in this war of ideas, intellects that are dedicated to Christ and skilled in the art of spiritual battle, who can effectively wield the weapon of truth to demolish intellectual strongholds, to destroy arguments, and to cast down every opinion raised against the knowledge of God.

The next benefit that comes from pursuing a life of the mind is the learning of intellectual humility. The most arrogant people around are usually the ones who think that they know more than they actually know. Having some knowledge or a little learning can often lead to overconfidence and self-assurance. As Alexander Pope once wrote, "A little learning is a dangerous thing." One of the very best remedies for intellectual arrogance is to gain true understanding, to gain wisdom. Wisdom brings humility since it includes an understanding of the nature of reality, the order of things, and one's place in it all. To have wisdom is to know the limits of your own knowledge. It is to understand the boundaries of your own understanding. It is to be aware of your own ignorance. This sobering state makes possible the priceless perception of the relation one bears to the world, to others, and to God. As the life of Socrates so vividly illustrates, humility is the reward of true wisdom.

Another benefit that comes from pursuing a life of the mind is historical literacy. Anyone committed to broadening his or her thinking for Christ will inevitably encounter the great Christian Classics from the past. These works are some of the best ever written and come from some of the greatest minds the world has ever known. Here we discuss four reasons to become historically literate. First, you'll interact with Christians gifted to be intellectual giants. Second, you'll arm yourself against deceptive heresies and all-too-common false teachings. Third, you'll broaden your Christian family. And finally, you'll protect against cultural assimilation.

In this episode Anthony considers the next benefit of pursuing a life of the mind: the achievement of a well-ordered soul. In the course of this talk, important ideas are reviewed including: realism, essentialism, nominalism, essence, nature, an objective and universal standard of human goodness, human flourishing, and human purpose.

In this video, Anthony Alberino begins a new series titled "The Benefits of a Life of the Mind." There are many blessings that come from developing your intellect for Christ. Over the next several episodes, Anthony will share some of the ones that have been particularly useful in his own life. We begin by noting that when you develop your intellect, you'll improve your ability to reason. This is the first great blessing that comes from pursuing a life of the mind. The internet has ushered in an Age of Information and has left most of us adrift on a vast sea of facts with neither rudder nor sail. Ironically, although there is more information available to us today than at any other time in the history of humanity, we are arguably less equipped to rationally appraise and critically evaluate that information than at any other time in the history of humanity. It will take a well-trained mind to navigate successfully toward the truth in this digital environment. There are three rational skills that are especially critical for clear thinking today that are reviewed here. In the midst of the incessant informational noise that is the internet, a well-trained mind will be able to discern and evaluate 1) alleged authorities, 2) sources of information, and 3) arguments used in support of claims.