Does God Like it When We Learn?

by Mitchell Schultz

In my (admittedly brief) life experience, the modern American layman holds a vague idea that Christianity and intellectualism are fundamentally incompatible ways of life. Most non-believers – and even some believers – point to the seeming dichotomy between the Judeo-Christian creation story and the scientifically reviewed and supported Theory of Evolution as a definitive sign that faith in a God and serious intellectual thought are incompatible. Describing Creationism as in direct conflict with Evolution is the second wholesale rejection of science, after the Galileo Affair (the church’s rejection of heliocentrism) between 1610 and 1633. This dichotomous relationship, where each seems to reject the other without compromise, has continued to propagate within churches in recent years. There is a concerning trend in certain sects of Christianity of rejecting Christian intellectualism outright in favor of an imitative culture, where popular opinion takes precedent over critical thought.

This historical dichotomy between faith and intelligence is often used to justify widely accepted Christian interpretations of the Bible. 2 Corinthians 5:7 says that the Christian “live(s) by faith, not by sight.” This verse appears to directly reject one of the core tenets of the scientific method: observation. Since faith is, from Hebrews, “being certain of things we cannot see,” rational explanation is devalued. A lack of understanding is not ignorance, but a necessary part of the equation for faith (not seeing). This interpretation of the verse denounces the seeking of a rational explanation for faith as antithetical to faith itself — because a faith that is completely irrefutable is not faith at all. Additionally, sin itself, the very enemy of perfection and goodness, originated from Eve’s desire to “be like God, knowing good and evil,” according to Genesis 3:5. Eve’s desire to be knowledgeable eclipses her reverence for God, and she disobeys in pursuit of knowledge, believing that her own ability to deduce life directives surpasses God’s, and rupturing God’s perfect plan for humanity. Eve’s disobedience to God has informed the modern idea of the pursuit of knowledge in Christianity, inextricably linking knowledge with temptation and  sin. This implicit condemnation of knowledge is crucial in influencing the modern divorce between Christianity and curiosity.

The great philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche observed similar ideas to this cultural rejection of knowledge as a virtue in his refutations of Christianity. He argues that the systems of ethics observed by most world religions are no more than reflexive reactions to their own positions of weakness. For example, he claims that Christianity espouses that “the weak are weak; it is good to do nothing for which we are not strong enough.” Essentially, Nietzsche argues that given that Abrahamic religions originated from the traditions of enslaved Israelites, and the Israelites would have pent - up resentment at their captors, it makes sense that they would imagine up a God that asks His followers to refrain from struggle, with the promise of eventual, divinely executed vengeance. He lists the prized Christian virtues of humility, charity, and obedience as examples of natural positions for a weak people, and proposes that the reason.  Why Christianity is so enticing is because weak people naturally lean towards the behavior that Christianity praises. In so doing, Christianity becomes a self-selecting religion of members that follow because they simply have no other option. Instead of arguing whether Christianity is good or not, he simply says that it doesn’t matter, because Christians are not strong enough to choose any other way of living. Conversely, the strong men and women of history, Nietzsche argues, have the agency to be either conquerors or conquered, and therefore choose the option that is more beneficial to them — conqueror. Knowledge is power, and the more accumulated knowledge a person has, the more difficult it will be for them to submit to Christian teachings of humility, deference, and obedience. This is also why Christians tend to reject new ideas: the act of onboarding new ideas tests the very structural integrity of their beliefs. A compelling reason to stray from Biblical teachings can only be defeated by a more compelling reason to keep it — or a total avoidance of reasons to stray in the first place.

Up to this point, the defense of the Christian Intellectual seems to be fraught with peril. If accumulation of knowledge increases the difficulty of obedience to God, as is suggested by the story of the fall, why should the Christian pursue knowledge? Why should the intellectual be Christian? I posit this: knowledge is directly proportional to agency. The informed man is aware of many of the philosophies and principles that are present in his life. If the completely ignorant man is a Christian, what credit is that to him? That is all he knows to do. He has never known another philosophy, so he lives a Christian life almost by default. God gave humanity free will so we could choose Him, and our ability to learn of alternatives to Him is part of the process that allows us to have choice. Humanity would still be in the Garden if God had either not created the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil — or simply prevented us from discovering it. We would be in paradise, because God would have given us no commands that we had the agency to disobey. What kind of paradise is this? We would be like microwaves, which “live” in perfect harmony with us because of their inability to disobey. Knowledge provides humans with the option to both recognize and deny sinful actions. This was the birth of human agency. This is the good gift of our free will.

Since knowledge, and by extension curiosity, the impulse to seek knowledge is clearly a gift of God, designed for our good, we are right to exercise it. Learning about the world, and the things in it, is like studying the paint strokes of a multitude of Monet masterpieces. There is a familiarity and intimacy to be had with a creator by studying his creation. This is precisely why we are curious beings. We are designed for knowledge. However, Nietzsche is not wrong: when given power through knowledge, humans tend to be corrupted.

If agency, and by extension curiosity and knowledge, were a bad thing, as evidenced by the total destruction caused by the Fall, then Nietzsche would be right about the human tendency to only do what is in his own best interest, within his own ability. Since this is simply human nature, there would be nothing we can do about the absolutely corrupting nature of power. We would always act in self-interest, and as we grow more intelligent, we would devise more devious, cunning, and serpentine ways to exploit our fellow man. What can be done about this? How can the Christian Intellectual expand his horizons while keeping his path straight?

The answer, as usual, does not come from us but from above. The Bible categorizes what we think of as intelligence into two camps: knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge, as discussed above, is what Eve sought out, a means to agency. This agency is good but easily corrupted without guidance, and we default to our own self-serving, sinful tendencies that Nietzsche insightfully points out. It becomes clear that an intercessory force is needed. Wisdom presents an entirely different dimension. In 1 Kings 3, God appears to Solomon in a dream and says, “ask for whatever you want me to give you.” Solomon’s response, famously, is a request for wisdom, but the Greek word, בִּין, or bin, transliterated, is more similar in meaning to “discernment.” Solomon asks for “a discerning heart, to govern (God’s) people and distinguish between right and wrong,” according to verse nine. Where Eve seeks to know about the things that are good and evil, Solomon asks to distinguish between the two. This is what wisdom is. To this point, if God is all that is good, wisdom is the ability to discern God’s good plan for what we have been given. This includes our material blessings, as well as the gifts of knowledge and agency. The only way to utilize our agency in a way that preserves its original, good intent is to submit it to God willingly. Solomon’s request to submit his own ideas of right and wrong to God pleases Him so much that he heaps additional blessings upon Solomon, making him rich and powerful, and giving him a long life in which to enjoy these things. God is pleased by his pursuit of wisdom.

Wisdom is the key to unlocking the full capacity of the gift of knowledge, since a divine discernment the only thing that can direct us through the contradictions and complexities of the world we live in without falling into malicious selfservice and idolatry of knowledge itself. A world of wise, discerning Christians does not conform to Nietzsche’s observations of Christianity and humanity, since the wise Christian has depth of knowledge of alternatives to Christianity, and therefore the agency to choose them, and yet, still does not conform to these self-serving ideologies. The wise Christian is able to discern the path that leads to life from the many paths that leads to life from the many paths that lead to death.

Christian intellectuals are distinguished from others by their connection to and intimate knowledge of God’s creation, the laws that govern it, art that His people have created, and systems of governance and reasoning that have inklings of His true Justice. They are also differentiated by their ability to distinguish godly from perversions of His creation. Therefore, they can see a clear picture of what is right and what is wrong, distinguishing between the two. This process is ultimately driven by God, because alone, we will fall to our selfserving desires. In James 1:5, James promises that “If any one of you lacks wisdom, ask for it, and it will be given to you.” In a similar vein, I would like to echo Paul’s prayer for the Philippians for modern Christians and budding Christian Intellectuals. “This is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.”