Ive created sanefaith.org as an outlet to speak about a growing concern I have with church culture. I perceive a trend at least in evangelical circles to downplay the role that scholarship and rational thought should play in the Christian Faith. It is a trend that I believe is causing real harm to spiritual growth, theology, public perception, and, as a result, evangelism.

I think we have neglected one of the responsibilities of a Christian. Specifically the one Peter gives us in 1 Peter 3:15.

always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.

We are not just commanded to give a defense. We are commanded to be prepared to give a defense. If that is one of our commands then our faith should not be irrational or opposed to intelligent thought. The whole point of being prepared means to have your arguments carefully researched and prepared before you launch into the debate. Arguments that should be backed up by scholarship. And if that defense is to be done with gentleness and respect then they should take into account an understanding of the barriers to faith that your audience has.

We live in a hostile world

One need only watch mainstream media or read sites like Lesswrong.org to see the effect that irrational faith and poorly thought out arguments have on public perception of the christian faith. Its true, we should expect opposition from the world since it is fallen. That doesnt mean we have to give them free ammunition though. There is nothing more disheartening to me than seeing a public debate where the Christian is losing, and hes losing because his argument is wrong. Making an argument when you havent done your research and carefully considered your position is inexcusable and Ill argue even a form of sin, in some cases, on the part of the Christian. Being reviled because you believe in God is something to celebrate. Being reviled because you cant construct a clear and carefully considered argument for why you believe in God is not something to be celebrated. Dont mistake one for the other.

Blind, irrational faith hurts our witness

That hostile world we live in makes it hard enough to maintain our witness. The constant temptations we are bombarded with, the cultural pressure to conform, the frequent ridicule we receive, all tend to push us in one of two directions. We want to react with either an Us vs Them or a Run and Hide approach to the world. That Us vs Them approach makes us confrontational and dismissive of the other persons perspective. Then we let that attitude comfort us when we cant explain rationally why we have the hope that we have. When you do that, you come off sounding mentally incompetent. You can be spotted a mile away. And your witness will be tarnished as a result.

In fact it doesnt just hurt your witness. It hurts all christians witness. Its exhausting to go in to work and have to explain why the latest antics of Westboro Baptist Church are not only antithetical to the christian faith but are also indicative of people who have not thought through their faith, are not growing, and thus shouldnt be considered representative of mature Christians in the faith. Lets not even mention how hard it is to even find public examples of people who are representative of mature Christians in the faith. We shouldnt be making it any easier for CNN and FOX to find the crazies to represent us.

A lack of scholarship is dangerous

Your spiritual growth is your responsibility. Not your pastors, not your bible study leaders, not your sunday school teachers, not your parents, not your spouses, not your deacons, and not your favorite christian authors. God holds you personally responsible for how much you grow. Growth requires bible study.

You cant correctly interpret scripture unless you can put it in context, the context of the rest of scripture, the context of its historical setting, the context of the audience it was written to, and even an understanding of the original language it was written in. If you rely on the scholarship of others and they get it wrong and you dont recognize it then you will be just as guilty as they are. If you follow someone that you havent vetted properly then you risk bad interpretation of scripture and bad theology as a result. Vetting your sources is a part of your responsibility.

This is not to say that you should drop everything and go study ancient Greek and Hebrew. It does mean that you can leverage the work of those who did study Greek and Hebrew. Understand what and why they say what they do and apply that knowledge to your own interpretation of scripture. There are plenty of resources. Learn how to evaluate them and use them. Your spiritual growth is on the line here why wouldnt you want to?

We can do better

If you care about how the christian faith is represented then there are some steps you should take. Start keeping silent when you dont fully understand the issue. Research scripture before you follow someone else, because groupthink is a terrible way to form an opinion. Use a concordance and read more than one opinion on what the original language means. Do some due diligence. Assume that link or news article, concerning something you are passionate about, didnt tell you the most important pieces of information. Reserve your judgment until youve heard the oppositions response. Make it your goal to know what you believe and why. Treat the world with gentleness and respect, as a people lost, not a people you are at war with.

Its time to stop

• Stop excusing poor logic and fad theology.

• Stop hopping on the latest bandwagon without checking things out first.

• Stop arguing for the right things without researching your arguments.

• And please, Stop celebrating blind and irrational beliefs in the name of Faith.