Category Archives: Learning/Education

LEARNING FROM AN ATHEIST

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As I mentioned this past Friday in a post called “Atheism is Good for Christians,” there are things to learn from those who don’t believe in God.  And those things can be insightful and helpful in our relationship with God.  

I read a terrific piece on great books being published this year which led off with some very important words by Nietzsche.  Before you read it, think of how many times you criticized some author without having read them.  Also, consider how many times slow, meditative thinking seemed impractical, a veritable waste of time.  Last, note in the second paragraph of the Nietzsche quote how we Americans are so frantic that the almost equally frantic pace of Eurpopeans looks slow by comparison.  And by all means, get off the train!

In Human, All Too Human, Friedrich Nietzsche lamented, “Because there is no time for thinking, and no rest in thinking, we no longer weigh divergent views; we are content to hate them. With the tremendous acceleration of life, we grow accustomed to using our mind and eye for seeing and judging incompletely or incorrectly, and all men are like travelers who get to a land and its people from the train.” 

“The farther West one goes, the greater modern agitation becomes; so that to Americans the inhabitants of Europe appear on the whole to be peace-loving, contented beings, while in fact they too fly about pell-mell, like bees and wasps. This agitation is becoming so great that the higher culture can no longer allow its fruits to ripen; it is as if the seasons were following too quickly on one another. From lack of rest, our civilization is ending in a new barbarism. Never have the active, which is to say the restless, people been prized more. Therefore, one of the necessary correctives that must be applied to the character of humanity is a massive strengthening of the contemplative element. And every individual who is calm and steady in his heart and head, already has the right to believe that he possesses not only a good temperament, but also a generally useful virtue, and that in preserving this virtue, he is even fulfilling a higher duty.”

For those who are interested, Christopher Benson’s thoughtful reflections on important, new books, can be found at:

http://mereorthodoxy.com/a-reading-guide-for-2013/#more-125489

WOMEN TEACHING MEN…OH MY!

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A few preliminary matters…

Wayne Grudem approached me in 1992 to be the first director of what has now become the “Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.”  I said “no” mainly because my interests are far too diverse to focus on any single issue.

I lean towards a more “conservative” (or commonly called complementarian position) when it comes to gender roles.  I use the word lean by design as there are some practical implications which continue to nag.

Recently, I had an email exchange with a gracious person who holds a Ph.D in New Testament and who happens to hold a complementarian position.  We talked about my concerns, but I found his perspective less than persuasive.  Here are three issues I shared:

•It strikes me as arbitrary to allow women to teach the Bible when it comes to the written word, but not to the oral word.  For example, many conservatives used to quote Susan Foh’s work, Women and the Word of God, but they would not have someone like her preach from the pulpit.  So her book can inform the sermons of pastors, but she wouldn’t be allowed to preach.  Many other examples could be added.

•Most complementarians extol the value of women teaching children’s Sunday school, yet would not allow women to teach adult males.  Are we then saying that children have less value or that it is not so dangerous to deceive the minds of our little ones?  Jesus had some pretty tough things to say about those who lead children astray.

•Why the virtual silence about Beth Moore speaking at the Passion conference?  John Piper, whom I respect very much, has never to my knowledge raised any concern.  Why the silence not just from him, but of so many others?  My interlocutor believes things like the Passion conference are different from the local church.  Granted, one could argue there is some distinction, but I find making a sharp disjunction unpersuasive.

So what do you think?  I have read many of the answers of complementarians on these matters and they strike me as forced.

I believe women can teach mixed groups as long as they are under the authority of godly men.  I gladly admit I could be wrong, but I also find it odd that my own position is hardly ever mentioned as a viable one within the complementarian camp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL IN SUNDAY SCHOOL!

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A few months ago I filmed an episode of “Moore Engaging” at the Harvard Business School.  Preparing for that interview got me thinking…about how Sunday school classes are typically run. Strange connection I know, but bear with me.

How would it work if we ran Sunday school classes like Harvard’s case method?  I am dead serious.  People would prepare beforehand and the teacher would expertly guide the conversation. In the video below you will see how much more preparation the teacher does in comparison to the student. The Harvard business faculty are zealously committed to their own preparation so they can guide well.  

I know.  This is too intense for Sunday school.  Perhaps, but look how Paul says those of us going for the imperishable wreath ought to train.  Much more than those who prepare like crazy for the perishable one (I Cor. 9:24-27)!

Take a look at this video and see if you think I am crazy for making the suggestion.  It could bring new life to the old Sunday school!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA5R41F7d9Q

MOST MISINTERPRETED BIBLE VERSES?

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At the end of May, Scot McKnight asked his readers what they thought were the most commonly misinterpreted verses in the Bible.  Even though there were many responses, I was surprised to find most of the ones on my own list missing.   http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2013/05/31/most-mis-interpreted-bible-verses-whats-at-the-top-of-your-list/
Among an array which I hope to write about in the near future, let me mention just one: I Cor. 8:1.
The pithy “knowledge puffs up, but love edifies” is frequently slung out as a warning that knowledge is somehow intrinsically corrosive.  The conclusion many tragically make is to steer clear from acquiring too much knowledge for it will make you arrogant.  Love is where it is at.  The first commandment after all is to love God, not know about Him!
There are many problems with this line of thinking.  Let me briefly sketch out a few.  The context of I Cor. 8:1 addresses those who feel the freedom to eat food sacrificed to idols and those who don’t.  Paul warns against allowing “this knowledge” (as the ESV helpfully renders it) which gives some the freedom to eat the food to guard against being critical of those who don’t have the same freedom.  It is knowledge misused not knowledge in and of itself that Paul is warning about.
Furthermore, we know that Paul makes many appeals to knowledge and right thinking throughout his teaching on Christian growth, so knowledge per se is not in Paul’s spiritual cross hairs.  A brief, but wise summary of these is found in John R.W. Stott, Your Mind Matters (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1972), 41-42.
It would make no sense for the apostle Paul to diminish the importance of knowledge when he warns against “thinking like children” and the need to be “mature in our thinking.”   And this occurs in the same book as the misapplied verse of I Cor. 8:1 (see I Cor. 14:20)!
Our real nemesis is pride not knowledge.  Pride can tempt those who know a lot, but pride can equally tempt those who may not know as much, but are prideful about how zealous they are.  I can attest to pride’s seductive allure with both extremes.
Acquiring knowledge is viewed as virtuous in the book of Proverbs.  And knowledge is much more closely related to wisdom there (and vice versa) than many Christians appreciate, but that will have to wait for another day.
In our pursuit of knowledge (again a noble endeavor) we must remember that pride often lurks to flatter our egos, but knowledge is not our enemy.  Pride is our true nemesis and it is ever-present to entice knowledgeable Christians who look down on those who don’t think in very sophisticated categories.  It also tempts those who are zealous to look down their spiritual noses at those who are not “doing so much for the kingdom.”  As some of my Cru friends used to say, “We are the Green Berets” of American Christianity.  Many times we were encouraged to “attack hell with a squirt gun” while being warned over pursuing too much education.
We need to remember pride is one of the seven deadly sins not knowledge!

THREE PICTURES OF LEARNING

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During my radio interview with historian, Martin Marty, I shared something with him which he found helpful.  We were not talking about historical matters, but grief.  I was interviewing Professor Marty on a book he wrote about his first wife’s death from cancer.

After the interview, I realized my reflections also related to learning.

The three diagrams below represent various ways we may conceive of the learning process.

The circle emphasizes that “repetition is the key to learning” because we are always coming back to things we thought we learned.  The problem is that there is no movement forward.  True learning means that we are growing in our knowledge.  A circle depicts the repetitious nature of learning okay, but not the dynamic of progress.

The second graph shows an arrow moving forward.  It reflects progression which is good, but it fails to depict that learning involves reviewing former things we’ve learned or going back to earlier lessons and seeing fresh insight there.  Progression simply in a linear direction is not a good example of how the best learning takes place.

The illustration I shared with Professor Marty is the one which best depicts learning: the spiral staircase.  It includes the best contributions of the circle and the line.  Like the circle it reminds us that true learning means coming back to things we’ve previously learned and like the line it reminds us that we should be making progress.

BORED WITH GOD

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Consider someone I will call “Tom.”  Tom is a guy I know.  He is a nice guy who dutifully has attended church for many years.  I’m afraid to report that all Tom’s church attendance still leaves him with a pretty thin understanding of the Christian faith.  He is surrounded by opportunities to grow in his understanding of the Christian faith (as are all of us Americans), but they don’t capture his imagination.  Tom complains that he is too busy with work plus he says he has adult Attention Deficit Disorder (commonly called ADD).

So what do you think Tom does when the opportunity presents itself to take an intensive course in his field?  To take the course he must spend thousands of dollars, live away from home for several weeks, and take several months to digest a thick binder of technical information before he heads off to New York City.  He jumps at the chance with gusto and clearly has a focused determination to push himself intellectually.  Tom unabashedly tells several of us that the course will give him an edge which will most likely increase his already considerable salary.

We may be tempted to assume our day and age presents a unique challenge to learning because of ever-present media and the pull toward immediate gratification.  Consider the words of Puritan pastor, Richard Baxter, to the men in his congregation:

“Were you as but willing to get the knowledge of God and heavenly things as you are to know how to work in your trade, you would have set it to yourself before this day, and you would have spared no cost or pains till you had got it.  But you account seven years little enough to learn your trade, and will not bestow one day in seven in diligent learning the matters of your salvation.”[1]

And J.I. Packer notes this was a “working-class congregation.”[2]

Down the ages everyone has always been tempted to wander from God.  Some are more honest than others like Augustine who confessed to finding Cicero’s writings more compelling than Scripture. 

There is nothing new under the sun.  Believing that we have such unusual temptations to keep us from learning is a dodge each one of us must be honest about.

[1]As quoted in  J.I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1990), 70.

[2] Ibid., 164.