Checking Our Brains At The Door
There is an alarming ignorance of who God is and what He is like, even among professing Christians. This was shown in recent poll conducted by The Barna Group.NKJV), or another translation puts it, “Sit down, let’s argue this out!” (THE MESSAGE)NIV).
According to the poll, half of Americans who call themselves “Christian” don’t believe that Satan exists and fully one-third are confident that Jesus sinned while on Earth. Further, 25% dismiss the idea that the Bible is accurate in all of the principles it teaches.”
The pollster concluded, “Growing numbers of people now serve as their own ‘theologian-in-residence.’ One consequence is that Americans are embracing an unpredictable and contradictory body of beliefs.”
So it’s time to put our “thinking caps” on.
God wants us to think, not just feel.
The Lord entreats us in Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together” (
When you become a follower of Jesus, you do not have to “check your brains at the door.” Christianity is a reasonable, even logical, faith.
That is not to say we don’t need to have great faith to follow Christ, but it is to say the teachings of the Bible quite simply make sense!
We need to think and act biblically, not emotionally
Far too many people, when stating their opinion, will say, “I think,” “I feel,” “I believe,” or “My God would never do thus and so.”
We need more “The Bible says,” because then we will learn to think, feel, and believe the right things. This is called theology, and we neglect it at our own peril.
Experience is never to be the basis for theology. Sound theology, however, is the basis for experience.
C.S. Lewis gave this warning years ago: “If you do not listen to theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones!”
We need, as Chuck Swindoll once said, “Sound theology without apology.” Because what we believe about God will affect the way that we live. As 1 Timothy 4:16 says, “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (
3 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
DAAAAAAA! GOD HELP US
I totally agree there are too many people unwilling to make the necessary adjustments to our behavior which is difficult and painful. Far too many Christians can’t or won’t admit when they are wrong. It’s much easier to just go with the flow and not rock our boat. Truth is Truth and it never changes. Our perception of truth can and does change and is affected by circumstances or our experiences. Many times our feelings dictate how we view things or truth. Over the years of being a follower of Christ my perception of truth has changed. I’m also sure that in the years to come my perception of the Truth will change. The problem lies when we allow our feelings or circumstances to be truth for us. The Truth or the Bible is the only constant. If we let ourselves to be influenced by emotions we will be flapping in the wind being tossed back and forth. God’s Word is offensive to our very nature and requires us to change. There is a purpose to why God said it’s not good for man to be alone. We need one another to watch our back and help us keep on track without our distortion of Truth. If we are left to our own devises we are in big trouble. THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.
This topic hits very close to home with my belief in the literal interpretation for the six days of creation as described in Genesis. It seems that the notion that God created the universe and all it contains within this time frame is far fetched, even for some who would claim to be Christ followers. Criticism for having a Creationist point of view may be expected to come from atheist’s and other non believing people but fellow believers need not “check their brain at the door” on this topic either. Much has been written on this topic and controversy abounds, but to dismiss our belief in God’s infallible word from Genesis, and to cave in to a world view that thinks us to be heretical, is absurd. We, as believers must stay engaged in the battle and arm ourselves with the knowledge that God intended for us to search out and then reveal his Glory for all to see. Then, we too will have the same kind of confidence in the scriptures as the Psalmist did when he said that “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. ” (Psalm 19-1) Sound theology is key and it all starts with the beginning…GOD!
The percentages are amazing. So many people want to make “their” christianity fit their lifestyle. Amazing.