Should Christians Be More Skeptical?
Should Christians Be More Skeptical?
Shane Rosenthal recently appeared as a guest on the The Alisa Childers Podcast
Here’s the description for this episode, “Faith is one of the most misunderstood concepts in Christianity. Some think it’s a blind leap in the dark with no evidence to back it up. Others think it’s a force you wield in order to manifest certain realities. Still others think it’s the opposite of doubt, and something that only exists with absolute certainty. The “Humble Skeptic,” Shane Rosenthal joins the podcast to bust some myths about faith!”
To watch this episode of the Alisa Childers podcast (#190, March 12, 2023), click here, or if you prefer to listen, click here. Also, as mentioned during this episode, for a limited time we’re giving away the 20 page PDF e-booklet, What is Faith? as a FREE resource. To download your copy, use the following button:
Craig, if smart = wisdom, and wisdom is a gift that comes "from above (Jas 3:17) then perhaps we could consider "smart" as a fruit. But of course, the rest of that verse from James gets to the core of your point, "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere..."
'We do not, of course, increase the fervor of our emotions by dimming the capacity of our brains. Neither, however, will we ever bear the fruit of the Spirit if the seed of the Word is planted only in the rocky soil of our brains rather than the fertile soil of the heart.'
Per the ending thought about the relationship between head and heart, we must never allow ourselves to worship our God only from the head up; the act of worship is an all sensory engagement.
Especially in the Reformed community, we have a tendency to outwit theologically our friends and colleagues - even without the mDivs and PhDs appended to our names ... The Hortonian quote here is relevant: Doctrine leads to Doxology (From the head to the heart ...)
Citing Jonathan Edwards, RC Sproul Jr nailed it years ago in his brilliant article for Tabletalk magazine, 'Smart Is Not A Fruit':
https://tabletalkmagazine.com/article/2012/02/smart-is-not-a-fruit/