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hristianity has a long history of association with learned people and free-thinkers. Jesus’ first followers were convicted by the depth of his knowledge and wisdom, and the Pharisees learned to dread his quick-witted evasion of every rhetorical trap they set for him. Paul admonished the early Christians to uphold a standard of examination and skepticism that most would consider excessive, instructing them to “test all things; hold fast to what is good” (1 Thess. 5:21). For thousands of years, some of the world’s greatest minds have proudly identified themselves as Christians. However, even a brief examination of contemporary cultural references to the Christian faith presents a very different picture. Christians are widely reviled as being closed-minded and hopelessly ignorant. Jokes about Christian stupidity abound and are fast becoming an old standby for comedy shows. In one episode of Family Guy, a main character converts to Christianity after watching a televangelist network, immediately morphs into a zealous anti-intellectual, and is seen participating in a book burning, where she throws a volume called Logic for First Graders into the flames. It would be easy for Christians to shrug
Faith & Reason
Because “the Bible Says So” Isn’t Enough
tians chose to step out of the intellectual arena entirely. This extremely reactive response has done more harm than good. “Some of it is our fault,” Duffy says. “We haven’t engaged. Instead, we retreated for a long time. We gave up the public forum, and we didn’t care to have a debate. Our answer was ‘the Bible says so,’ and for a culture that doesn’t believe in the Bible, that’s just circular.” But what can be done about it? How can Christians remain uncompromising in their beliefs while also engaging a secular community convinced that Christianity is, at best, a comforting superstition? “For one thing,” Duffy asserts, “Christians need to prepare themselves.” They also need to learn how to begin a dialogue with the secular community. “Christians want to start with Jesus and the cross. But as C.S. Lewis said in Mere their shoulders and dismiss this disturbing shift Christianity, that’s often too many steps ahead. as a sign of cultural depravity and growing hostilSometimes we have to start with the possibility of ity towards the gospel. But while Christians have God, or even the possibility of truth.” always been persecuted in one way or another, Churches also need to step up to the plate persecution traditionally arose and start providing first-rate when corrupt, powerful people felt HOW CAN educational resources to their threatened by the liberating mes“Churches need to do CHRISTIANS members. sage of Jesus. Today, at least in the a better job of training people. I REMAIN UN- don’t think we can rest on an old United States, it more often results COMPROMISfrom the average joe thinking that paradigm of training and discipleChristianity is for idiots. ING IN THEIR ship,” says Duffy. As the unofficial What is the source of this BELIEFS “apologetics director” of Village toxic misconception? The disagreeWHILE ALSO Baptist, he has seen firsthand ment of many Christians with the need for better teaching in ENGAGING the scientific consensus, particularly the church, and he has seen the A SECULAR amazing results when such teachconcerning issues such as evolution COMMUNITY and the age of the earth, is a major ing is made available to believers. contributing factor, but Kevin Duffy, There’s a lot of work to CONVINCED minister of evangelism and discipleTHAT CHRIS- be done, but he is optimistic. ship at Village Baptist Church in FayTIANITY IS, AT “I’ve seen a growing interest in etteville, N.C., says that the idea that particularly among BEST, A COM- apologetics, Christians are anti-intellectual is not young people. The primary way to FORTING impact culture is through the colentirely without basis. He has run SUPERSTIacross quite a few believers who lege campus, so when we equip seem to live up to this unfortunate TION? our high school students, they go stereotype. “Honestly, to some exon to make big changes. When tent, the charge that Christians are anti-intellecChristians learn what they believe and are willing tual is true,” Duffy says. “We often aren’t willing to to engage, we have tremendous impact.” work very hard to learn about what we believe.” Christians today are facing the consequences of a slow but steady withdrawal from the intellectual community. While Christian thinkA North Carolina State ers and scientists were once at the forefront of University graduate and the latest intellectual developments and debate, freelance writer, Tabitha some ideas—Darwinism in particular—so alienMiddleton has a passion for ated the Christian community that many Chrislanguage and logic.
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