On Intelligent, Well-Educated, and Wise Christians

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“His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort.” 2 Peter 3:16 (Peter, writing about Paul’s epistles)

I’ve been reading and meditating on Romans 7 and 8 lately and the thought struck me how intricate and closely reasoned Paul’s argument is. Not to mention how long it is. Understanding it requires close attention to detail, deep thought, and persistence.

And then my attention turned to the audience Paul is writing to. These are not uneducated people Paul has in mind. No, they must be highly educated, cultured people who expect clear and coherent reasons for what they believe. They are, after all, residents of Rome.

How is it, then, that modern Christians have sometimes come to be regarded as ignorant obscurantists? Even to the point where believers wear their ignorance as a badge of honor.

I spoke one time at a church where my detailed attention to Scripture was actually mocked. It simply wasn’t “spiritual” to be so “intellectual.”

This disdain for education hasn’t always been this way. For centuries, the most educated and respected person in any Christian community was the minister.

I grew up attending public schools in Los Angeles. And yet the most intelligent, well educated, and successful people I knew were the Christians at my church. I had amazing role models who highly valued education. So it is no surprise to me that, out of a high school youth group that numbered around 40, I can think of only one fellow teen who did not go to college.

When it comes to men’s ministry, and especially to Christian men mentoring boys, we need a renewed emphasis on the importance of getting an education — and keeping our education updated. For loving God certainly requires that we love him with all of our (educated) mind.

This post first appeared in NewCommandment.org.

Since 2003 New Commandment Men’s Ministries has helped hundreds of churches throughout North American and around the world recruit teams of men who permanently adopt their widowed and single parents in their congregations for the purpose of donating two hours of service to them one Saturday morning each month. We accomplish this with a free training site called New Commandment Men’s Ministry

Learn how to mobilize your men’s ministry to meet every pressing need in your church here.

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Learn how to form teams of men for every widow, single mom

and fatherless child in your church at NewCommandment.org.

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