In the summer of 2005, my wife and I went to the Bahamas — with over 20 teenagers! I was a high school teacher at Fair Oaks Academy (formerly Bethlehem Baptist Christian Academy), and I was the Class Advisor to the Class of 2005. That meant Jane and I got to help chaperone the 2005 FOA Senior Class Trip — a cruise to the Bahamas.
One of the excursions we went on was snorkeling. I don’t swim well. So, I was told to stay close to the boat — which I did. 🙂
I knew that, if I drifted too far away from the boat, I would have a tough time getting back.
Well… as I look around the Christian world today… I see Christians drifting away from the Bible.
I’m not saying that the Bible needs to be our only source of information. King Solomon wrote 3000 years ago that the wise “lay up knowledge” (Proverbs 10:14). I agree. We should. We should lay up lots of knowledge. That’s why I’m all for reading, listening, and learning. I’ve said so (on my blog and on this page) numerous times.
That includes reading books other than the Bible, listening to lectures or lessons that are not necessarily from Christians, getting degrees from secular institutions, and so forth.
In my case, I do have a graduate degree from a Christian university (Liberty) and a graduate-level certificate from another (Biola), but I also have an undergraduate degree from a secular university (George Mason). And, over the years, I’ve read countless books, listened to countless lectures (in person and online), and watched countless documentaries — most of which are not Christian.
If you were to look at my library (and I have a BIG library – both in physical books and digital books), you’ll find Christian and non-Christian titles. And you’ll see that I often read authors who don’t share my political, social, or religious views. So…
I’m not anti-intellectual. I’m not anti-education.
I acknowledge that those tendencies sometimes (sadly) exist in fundamentalist, evangelical, and/or Baptist circles or traditions. I have always (at least since becoming an adult) tried to write and speak against those tendencies. As Christian author Frank Turek says: “Christians don’t get brownie points for being stupid.”
That being said…
It deeply concerns me that many Christians today are drifting away from the Bible in their quest for greater knowledge and wisdom. And many are ignoring or downplaying the Bible in their socio-political outlook and/or their desire to address the challenges in our world.
Many churches (and seminaries), for example, have openly embraced Critical Theory as the key to defeating racism and bigotry. As if “Love your neighbor as yourself” is somehow not sufficient. Many churches (both left and right) have fully embraced political and social activism to right the perceived wrongs in our society. I have a relative who said she goes to the church she does because she “vibes with their politics.” Really!?
Marcia Montenegro, founder and head of Christian Answers for the New Age, has written extensively about how the Enneagram (a system and movement with very non-Christian origins) has deeply infiltrated and influenced many churches and Christian ministries. I interviewed her on the subject. You can watch it at the link below…
These are just a few examples, yet they point to a trend that is all too real and all too tragic.
God’s people are often seeking out and listening to anyone but God Himself. The Christian church is too often looking outside the Bible for insights and answers.
In many ways, God’s people are drifting away from the revelation, authority, and sufficiency of God!
This is precisely what Paul warns against in his letter to the church in Ephesus:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. (Ephesians 4:14, KJV)
Again, I’m with King Solomon — Get wisdom. Lay up knowledge. And, again, I’m against the fundamentalist extremism that says you shouldn’t read anything other than the Bible or that you can’t learn anything of value or usefulness from outside the Scriptures.
What I’m saying is that the Bible is should our starting point AND our ending point. We can read and study other stuff in between, but we should start and end with the Scriptures.
And anything we gather from outside the Bible should be checked against the Bible.
For example, I read personal development and self-help books. Some of them are very helpful, but some teach some things that are clearly anti-Christian. One such book, written a number of years ago by a very prominent politician on the scene today, says you should hit back hard against anyone who criticizes you (even if the criticism is comparatively minor). That’s not biblical, and such advice should be rejected. Another book I’ve read a couple of times (which is a classic in self-help literature) talks about the author having mental meetings with historical figures that started out as imaginary and became quite real. Yeah, run away…run far away fast from advice like that. That kind of thing is opening yourself up to demonic intervention. You don’t want to go there.
I could keep going. Because I am anchored to the Scriptures (and because I rely on the Bible more than any other book), I am generally able to spot advice from other books or podcasts that run counter to the Bible. And I set that advice aside.
Unfortunately, not many Christians can do that today because we are biblically illiterate.
The book you should be reading and studying more than any other is the Bible.
Remember…
Solomon is explicit that the “beginning of knowledge” is the “fear of the Lord” (Proverbs 1:7). The same is true for wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).
Keep your focus on God. Trust in Him. Don’t lean on your understanding — or the understanding of any human philosophy or man-made movement — and certainly not something with pagan or anti-Christian origins. Stay anchored in the Scriptures.
Let God lead you and direct you. He is the only One qualified to navigate us through the storms of life.
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