Why I am "anti-intellectual"

Who says you have to choose?

 

"My Father in Heaven has blessed me with an unquenchable desire to know. To seek out and understand, to teach the glories of his Word and world to those less fortunate than I. Ignorance is bliss, maybe, but in the wonderful wisdom of His will, I have been denied this common curse.

I cannot unsee what I have seen. I do not have the luxury of ignorance to guide me in my life anymore. The church is the greatest sustainer of ignorance I have yet to encounter. As I walk through it I am struck by the childishness of the people, the simplicity they exhibit. At times I long to have again what they have now! Only to fit in, to be of a simple mind again, and not walk this road alone. But in the end, that would be like a man who can now see preferring instead his blindness. I prefer the color of the empty road.

The world is an amazing and complicated place. The Word of God is an amazing and complicated book. Both will confuse you to death. Those who do not see burn one in favor of another. That is not an option for me. Who am I to condemn a work of God to the fire? As God is the author of both, I have to hold one in my right hand and one in the other. I have to accept both no matter how confusing it may seem or how much guessing I may have to do. I am sure in my heart that my God is faithful and true, not one prone to duplicity, as those who do not see will have me believe.

The Word and the world are complicated. I embrace the challenge. I will glory in the magnificent creation my Father has put me in and pity those who do not see what wonders my God has created. Any who wish to see I will gladly help them. Those who refuse, I, ever praying, will leave them to their unrealized misery."

from: Thursday, August 19, 2010 OUTSIDETHEBOX

 

Yeah, I don't see how they can be considered antithetical.

 

Never mind.

 

This is the pronouncement of a mortal man, why base a stance on what IMO is a misuse of the word "intellectual"?

We are made in the image and likeness of God.

Man has Intellect, Emotion and Will.

To be "Intellectual" simply means to exercise one's God given intellect.

Therefore those who diligently study God's word are the most intellectual people on earth.

Starting with the most basic reasoning of the intellect:

Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.​

Don't let the thoughts of the intellect of the doubter cloud your own mind.​

HankD​

 

Are you speaking of the Bible as originally presented by GOD to His chosen penmen, or a translation thereof?

 

The only people who fear "intellectuals" are people who are not sure of what, or who they believe.

 

I don't think I am the only one to see the extraordinary arrogance, air of superiority, and outright blindness of the man who would write the way the above author did.

Yeah...leave me outside with the "stupid" Bible-beleivers.

 

The word is "-phobe".

And all that may well be so, but to call oneself "anti-intellectual" is nothing more than an irrational (and ill-advised) reaction. It smacks of either (1) fear of finding out what you have cleaved to is not true (and your carefully constructed world might crumble), (2) an unwillingness to seek out the truth even if it leads you contrary to what you have always thought, or (3) a lack of discernment.

Intellectuals (and those with whom we disagree) are not the enemy. They may challenge our "status quo" and hence make us think, but the enemy is the Devil.

 

The Devil is an intellectual. Ha! I think what our brother is fighting against, and I join him, is exalting man's reasoning above the knowledge of God. And I know you would not do that. But submit all your reason and wit to Holy Scripture, making it subject and obedient to the knowledge of GOd.

 

The godless, the atheist, the fool who thinks himself wise, will always consider the child of God, who looks at the awesomeness of the night sky, or the earthy beauty of a flower, and thinks, "What an amazing God we have!", to be non-intellectual and simple. One cannot be intellectual if one doesn't accept science to be their god, and only that science, of course, which is in agreement with the intellectual of their stripe. You must bow to their 'consensus', or you are just a religious zealot to them.
I thank the Lord that he uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise! I'll be a fool for Christ anytime, and yet twice as wise as the wisest of the devil!

 

Totally off topic--but here goes.

I enjoy observing the night sky with binoculars and telescopes, as well as without any optical assistance. Are there any other Christian amateur astronomers reading this forum?

Please, don't post that I am doomed because I like to observe the night sky, or other such stuff.

However, if you like to observe the night sky, please send me a post.

...Bob :0)
Frankfort

 

I have no problem being both a Christian and an intellectual. After all, they are not exclusive of one another. We are called to read and know God's word, are we not? One cannot do that without knowledge and intellect... the very thing that makes an intellectual.

I realize that some are defining an intellectual as you are outlining, but that doesn't make it the ONLY definition.

 

The "faith" parta me tells me that GOD is able to preserve/present His word to anyone ANY WAY HE JOLLY WELL CHOOSES. And He is NOT limited to any one version in any one language. After all, HE made all languages.

God, of course, has 100% knowledge of every subtlety and nuance in every language now used, or used in the past. And He did NOT retire in 1611. He still superintends His word, making it available in TODAY'S languages.

While GOD has influenced people to make translations of His word, we must still remember that every translation is man-made, a product of God's perfect word handled by imperfect men. And I believe that we have these translations available to us by God's will and grace.