| the spiritual life | and the intellectual life |
| but between | |
| the sinful nature and its thought-patterns and ideas, | and the new nature redeemed by Christ, with its thought-patterns and ideas. |
"For my thoughts are not your thought, neither are my ways your ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."
It does certainly not mean that specious claims to some kind of personal super-spiritual revelation from God, which obviates the need to grapple with understanding the text of Scripture, for instance, is superior to the results of hard thinking, diligent research and competent analysis.
Isaiah is here comparing the righteousness of God's thoughts with the evil of wicked people's thoughts: it is not an opposition of thought with Spirit. The thoughts of God are righteous, that is, not fickle, unreliable or powerless, as is the case with the wicked.
Nowhere in Scripture do we find the idea that thinking is unspiritual, not least because the Scripture does not use the idea of the "spiritual" in this way.
The "spiritual" in Scripture refers to that which is under the guidance, empowering and control of the Holy Spirit, as opposed to the "natural," that which arises from human rebellion against God. Both the "spiritual" and the "natural" describe the character of the activity concerned, not with its focus or task. Thus the "spiritual" is that human activity which is in subjection to God, while the "natural" is that human activity which is in rebellion against God.
So if thinking is a human activity, carried out by the creatures that God has made, then it is not something which is intrinsically unspiritual. This would imply that God's work of creation is in conflict with the work of Christ in redemption. This arises from the view which developed early in the history of the church, that there is a dualism of two realms, the natural and the spiritual. God was active in the natural realm (creation) only through the spiritual (grace), thus producing a hierarchy of God's acts and a dualism in human experience which denigrated one realm in favour of the other. This distinction arose because the work of God in redeeming his creation (grace) was interpreted as a category of activity separate from the creation, rather than seeing the creation as the subject of God's redemption. That is, redemption is the renewal of the one and the same creation: it is not a substitution for that creation.
This classical contrast between creation and redemption has shaped much of our theology, but it is inadequate to deal with the reality of God's saving power. It is important to realise that redemption in Scripture is always redemption of God's fallen creation. Thus redemption is the restoration of what has been disrupted and distorted; it is not its replacement with something else. The new creation of which the New Testament speaks is not a substitute creation in place of the original, but the renewal of the original creation to restore it to its true nature.
In the Scriptures we learn that all of creation is brimming with the activity of God and especially the activity of the Holy Spirit. We have only to think of Genesis 1:2 where the Holy Spirit is showing concern for rocks and water! Thinking is a creaturely activity, one which God himself (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) has created in us, and thus it cannot be "unspiritual" to think. Indeed, God seeks to direct and empower our thinking by the renewing and discipling of the Holy Spirit.
However, thinking is often seen as the exercise of human powers in the attempt to arrive at truth, a truth which is independent of God. Such a view arises from a humanism which exalts human activity in rebellion against God, as there is no truth apart from Christ, who alone is the truth, and only through his work can truth be known. If we see thinking as something which is "natural," that is, part of a realm in which God plays no part and has no interest, then obviously this will be in conflict with spirituality, which will be seen as something "totally other" and unrelated to human endeavour.
One passage from the New Testament that is used to argue against the exercise of thought is Colossians 2:8, which reads:
"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."
H M Carson: "The word philosophy here is obviously linked closely with the phrase vain deceit, for the definite article precedes only the former word. Hence the phrase is descriptive of the philosophy. It is empty for it is void of real truth. It is empty of vital power, for the dynamic of the gospel is absent. It is empty of hope, for it leads away from the light of God's presence into the mists of man's speculation. It is deceitful because of its attractive presentation which seduces the minds of those who are drawn away by it, and which conceals its own utter barrenness."1
F F Bruce: "The spiritual confidence-tricksters against whom they are put on their guard did not inculcate a godless or immoral way of life; the error of such teaching was rather a blend of the highest elements of natural religion known to Judaism and paganism; it was, in fact, a philosophy. It is not philosophy in general, but a philosophy of this kind - one which seduces believers from the simplicity of their faith in Christ - that Paul condemns." 2
J B Lightfoot: "Clement had a right to contend that St Paul does not here condemn "philosophy" absolutely. But though "philosophy" is not condemned, it is disparaged by the connexion in which it is placed. The word indeed could claim a noble origin; for it is said to have arisen out of the humility of Pythagoras, who called himself a "lover of wisdom." In such a sense the term would entirely accord with the spirit and teaching of St Paul; for it bore testimony to the insufficiency of the human intellect and the need of a revelation. But in his age it had come to be associated generally with the idea of subtle dialectics and profitless speculation; while in this instance it was combined with a mystic cosmogony and angelology which contributed a fresh element of danger. As contrasted with the power and fulness and certainty of revelation, all such philosophy was "foolishness." It is worth observing that this word, which to the Greeks denoted the highest effort of the intellect, occurs here alone in Paul. The Gospel had deposed the term as inadequate to the higher standard of knowledge it had introduced." 3
E F Scott: "Philosophy is mentioned nowhere else in the New Testament, and in this one reference it is coupled with specious make-believe or vain deceit. But it would be wrong to take this slighting as implying a contempt, on the part of early Christianity, of one of the noblest occupations of the human mind. Philosophy in Paul's day had run to strange extravagances, as it has occasionally done since. The men who made the loudest claims to be "philosophers" were often charlatans or visionaries who mistook their wild fancies and obscure jargon for profound thought." 4
What Paul is teaching is that the philosophy which was a threat to the Colossian church was to be rejected. That philosophy was one which Paul describes as
The problem we see in many interpretations of Colossians 2:8, which have frequently been used as arguments against any form of academic work, not just philosophy, is that the understanding of the nature of philosophy is one which arises from the mind of the sinful nature which is an enemy of God. No wonder then that we cannot do philosophy as Christians when we accept a definition of philosophy which must inevitably lead us away from Christ. If that is what philosophy is, then we must flee from it as a danger to our faith.
But if we consider the Scriptures carefully, and examine in the light of Scripture just what it is that philosophy does, then we can come to a different definition which not only allows but demands the cultivation of the mind in this way. Philosophy can be understood as the academic, theoretical, analytical consideration of the structures and relationships of things in this world. This means that philosophy seeks the most basic ways in which things function, the ways in which things are related, the nature of societal relationships, and so on. A formal definition given by a Christian philosopher who takes such an approach is: "To philosophize is to discern the structure of creation and to describe systematically, i.e. in logical order, what is subject to that structure."
So if we understand philosophy to begin with the created structure which God has brought into being, and discern from that in the light of Scripture what we can of that structure and its functions, then we have begun to develop an academic Christian thought-pattern which is subject to Christ and which is able to be empowered and renewed by the Holy Spirit. It is a way of thinking which is seeking to be subject to the law of God, rather than a rebellious rejection of God, as we see in most academic life.
And one of the fruits of Christian philosophising is to come to an understanding of the true structure of human life, of the true significance of thinking, and of the true nature of academic work. Thus in Christ we can indeed see all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden, and through his redeeming and enlightening work come to an understanding, with the help of a Christian philosophy, of the possibility of renewing and redeeming every area of academic work in Christ.
Thus thinking, as a created human activity, is not opposed to spirituality; unless of course, that spirituality is one which is not true to the creation which God has made, and thus ultimately is not true to the Creator.
The spirituality of thinking is one way in which we can talk about this valid human activity. It focuses on the source of power and authority which gives thinking its validity. What must be realised is that all thinking is always spiritual. What is not often realised is that the spiritual nature of our thinking is what guides our thoughts and leads them into various paths.
Spirituality and thinking are not opposing activities, as though some people can be spiritual, while others can only be thoughtful. Every human being thinks and thus is integrally involved in the problem of the spirituality of thinking. It is not a matter of thinking or not thinking, it is a matter of thinking responsibly or thinking irresponsibly. We need to take as careful stewardship of our thoughts as we do of other aspects of life. However such stewardship of our thoughts has often been reduced to a minimally ethical stewardship. Such an approach condemns lustful or greedy thoughts, proud or envious thoughts. It fails to consider what is involved in analytical and critical thought. By critical thought I mean careful assessment of the validity of ideas, logical cohesiveness and general coherence. It is not meant to indicate censoriousness but evaluation and appraisal. The result of critical analysis may be complimentary for a job well done; it is not necessarily fault-finding.
But thinking is a human activity, and human beings are spiritual beings, in that they are self-directing and have as their primary relationship their dependence on God and the calling they have received from him. The human calling is to care for and responsibly develop the creation. Part of that responsibility is the need to care for and develop our thinking - which is also created by God. Failure to care for our minds is as destructive as a failure to care for our bodies, our rivers, our air and so on. Pollution of the mind is worse than pollution of the earth, not because the mind is superior to the earth (there is no way we can play one part of creation off against another: God loves everything that he has made), but because the pollution of the mind is invisible and incredibly subtle, and thus usually unrecognised.
By pollution of the mind I do not mean "ethical pollution" as for instance with the immoral thoughts mentioned earlier (although that is certainly involved). I mean to emphasise the pollution of our minds with alien ideas, alien structures of thought, alien beliefs. These alien ideas, structures and beliefs all pollute us and make us impure before God, because they arise from spiritualities which are shaped by rebellion against him.
Spiritualities shape our thought because as human beings we are spiritual, and any activity of a spiritual being takes the character of the spirit which guides it. Thus thought is spiritual because it is human, and to be truly spiritual is to be truly human. Any view which diminishes our humanity is a defective spirituality that is in rebellion against God and seeks to distort and corrupt his creation.
If all thinking is spiritual, then we must be aware not only of the spirits which shape our own thought, but also those which lie behind the ideas which are at work in academic, political and social life. Is it really true that all unemployed people are dole bludgers? While most people would dismiss this idea as out of touch with reality, if that is all we do, we have failed to realise that behind such assertions is not a lack of information on job losses and redundancies, this is plentiful enough, but a perception of the nature of reality, shaped by a spiritual commitment and spiritual power, which prevents those who hold such ideas from recognising their lack of validity. It is only by the breaking in of a stronger spiritual power (not necessarily the Holy Spirit - the spiritual forces of evil vary in strength) that such a hold can be broken.
One of the most powerful spiritual forces at work in Western civilisation, and in New Zealand as much as anywhere else, is the spirit of anti-intellectualism. We must attempt to unmask and expose this spiritual power, which is directly related to our thought life. It is in fact one of the most powerful and important spiritual forces against which we must do warfare, for not only is it an evil power that seeks to nullify the creation of God, by deceiving us into surrendering our thought life, but it is the key to many other problems facing society and the Christian church.
Anti-intellectualism is the idea that careful thought is not necessary to life. It aggrandizes the practical at the expense of the theoretical. Such all-too-frequent comments as "I'm only a simple Christian, not an intellectual" indicate the widespread nature of this disease of the mind. What is being said in such statements is that thinking is an area of life I have abandoned to the devil: I see it as a trap which will endanger my walk with God. The unChristian nature of this view is I hope obvious.
An interesting translation of 1 Peter 1:13 appears in the NIV. There we read: "Prepare your minds for action." The point to be made here is not the practicality or otherwise of thinking, but the fact that all human activity, whether it be thinking or building bridges, theorising or painting a house, is human action of one sort or another. Thinking is not inaction, it is a different kind of action. Seeing the practical as superior (or inferior) to the theoretical is not correct, as it opposes one form of human activity to another and tries to form some kind of hierarchy. However, it must be stressed that God relates to us as whole people: there is no privileged access for the mind or the arms and legs or the voice or any other part: we come to God as human beings, with all that we are as human beings. We cannot leave part of our lives intact, isolated from the redeeming work of God, without the result being the distortion and disruption of every other area of life. As one Christian scholar once said:
"There is nothing as practical as a good theory."
If we are to think in this way, we will find that the way we see things will radically alter. No longer will the criterion we use be merely human norms and standards, it will instead be the criterion of the truth: Jesus Christ. Thinking spiritually will produce thought that is informed and given content by the newness that comes in Christ, as well as by the orderedness of his creative activity in bringing all things into being and sustaining them by the word of his power.
© Copyright: Christian Faith and Action Trust, 1997.