daily java

Daily Java:

When they heard Paul speak about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said, “We want to hear more about this later.” That ended Paul’s discussion with them, but some joined him and became believers. Among them were Dionysius, a member of the council, a woman named Damaris, and others with them. (Acts 17:32-34)

I was disappointed when I went back to college at the age of 35.

I have always loved open and honest discussion with intelligent people. It is a joy. people have divergent ideas and they sit and discuss them.

When I went back to school, I could see that atmosphere in my mind. We would discuss and talk and argue and laugh and all the things you always thought of college as being. We would discuss literature with well-informed people and in general, have a great time.

The reality was totally different. And extremely disappointing.

When I went back to school, I went to a conservative Christian college. In my mind, I figured I would get a good education. I already had a non-accredited degree and wanted a “real one” to go with it.

However, the school turned out to be so closed minded that it was hard to talk about anything. I found out quickly that, in many ways, I was better read than the English teachers, I had a broader knowledge of history than the history professors, I had preached far longer than the preaching professors, and so on.

It was not that I was smarter, and I don’t mean to say that, but somehow, I had gained a much broader viewpoint than those whose job it was to have a broad viewpoint.

And it was not that I didn’t learn anything. I learned Hebrew, and a few higher critical things that about the Bible I didn’t know. Some other stuff.

But in general, the college experience and the large amount of money I went into debt for was not worth it. I suppose that for a young person just leaving home, it might have been good. Maybe. But as a 35 year old father of two who been a pastor for eleven years, it was worthless.

For one thing, there were no great discussions. There was listening, taking notes and giving back what had been said. There were no open minds, there was no interplay and indeed it was not all that welcomed. Since I was of an age with all the professors, I turned out to be the oddball.

Again, it is not that I was all that smart, it was that it turned out to be nothing like I expected. I left disappointed and in debt.

When Paul came into Athens, he thought that this would be great. He was an educated man in a city of educated people. In 17:21, it says in a parenthetical expression:

It should be explained that all the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seemed to spend all their time discussing the latest ideas.

In other words, they were lovers of fads, pretended to have open minds, but when it came down to it, their minds were closed to all but what they themselves wanted to think.

So, after a brilliant discussion of the Unknown God and a lot of back and forth and talking, contemptuous laughter was all he got. Yes there were some who joined him, but not many.

Athens was a place like many universities. They thought of themselves as open-minded, but when it came down to it, they wanted to hear nothing that really mattered. What they really liked was the argument, not the knowledge.

And nobody can be more closed-minded than an educated person who thinks they know it all.

I believe it surprised Paul. This was not what he expected. The town was so smart, it was dumb. Romans 1:21-22:

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.

He came away with few if any real followers of the Way.

I also think that is why he said, in 1 Corinthians 1:18-25:

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

No more would he come in and engage in academic discussions, in great discourse, in intellectual debate. From now on, he would bring the cross of Jesus and talk only of it.

After all, it is God who saves, who draws, who moves the heart – not our own intellectual ability. After all, it is God who saves, who draws, who moves the heart – not our own intellectual ability. As Jesus said in John 6:44:

For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me,

If we could talk people into the kingdom, there would be no reason for the cross.

But the cross defies logic. And that is the way God wanted it. Where is the logic of a man dying? Where is the logic of God coming down as a man anyway? And on top of it, where is the logic of God’s son coming down to this world to only spend three years talking in one little tiny country to one small group of people with only twelve main followers and then being killed? What is the point of that? There is no logic in that.

And the point? The point, of course, is that it is God who saves, not our intellect and our ideas of logic.

To his surprise and his sadness, Paul found that out. Just because people are educated, doesn’t mean they are smart.

A hard lesson to learn.