What would be better? To have children who love the Lord but didn’t go to college, or to raise kids with the most advanced degrees who no longer believe in Jesus?
Today’s liturgical reading includes Colossians 2:6-15, which presents these controversial verses:
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the universe, and not according to Christ.
I can’t write this reflection as a dispassionate observer. I majored in philosophy at Rhodes College and won the Laurence F. Kinney Prize my senior year. So, I’m biased: I think Christians can study philosophy, and it’s good for us to do so!
Still, over many years of campus ministry and involvement in church, I’ve heard numerous arguments against it.
But just mentioning the arguments against studying philosophy is a little ironic. Because, of course, philosophy is the traditional home for the study of logic, rhetoric, and the making and evaluating of arguments.
So, as soon as we start arguing about whether or not Christians should do philosophy, we’re already caught up in the exercise.
But maybe that’s a bit pedantic, and for most people, I think the concern comes from a place beyond argument: seeing their children go to college, doubt their faith, and walk away from the church. Worst case, they come home to tell their Christian parents they are stupid, prejudiced, and out-of-touch with reality.
It’s a tough trade-off, and I can see why some parents wish they hadn’t made enormous financial sacrifices to send their kids to the secular universities that they feel turned their children against them.
The secondary reason seems to be that it wastes time and energy. What value is there in reading about a philosophical defense of divine impassibility or studying the problems with eliminative materialism (to take just two chapters from Routledge Studies books)?
It seems far more practical, helpful, and life-giving to focus on Jesus. As Paul says, “continue to walk in him, being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude” (Colossians 2:6-7).
If we have Jesus, isn’t that enough - more than enough?
It is, but here’s the twist:
The active Christians I’ve met who are full-time philosophers would emphasize the same. Both those who are for and those who are against philosophy say that their top concern is to nurture a life of devotion to God and service to others!
Consider Dr. Alvin Plantinga, one of the most influential philosophers of the 20th century. He revolutionized philosophical arguments about God’s existence while remaining a devoted Christian. Reading his philosophical books kept my faith alive in college.
I want to emphasize this point because anyone who suggests that philosophy, as intoxicating as it is, can replace life with Jesus is missing out not only spiritually but intellectually. Just a few verses before this in Colossians, Paul has taught us, “In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
So, neglecting Jesus means avoiding the philosopher’s greatest source of wisdom and knowledge!
But this goes the other way, too. If we find all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Jesus, what will every believer eventually want to do?
The more we know Jesus, the more drawn we are to developing wisdom and knowledge—which might lead us into philosophy!
It’s also important that we take these verses seriously and not use them to prove whatever point we already had in mind.
In Colossians 2:4, Paul says, “I am saying this so that no one will deceive you with arguments that sound reasonable.”
The presumption is that believers will be presented with reasonable sounding arguments that would pull us away from Christ.
As C.S. Lewis put it in The Weight of Glory,
If all the world were Christian, it might not matter if all the world were uneducated. But, as it is, a cultural life will exist outside the Church whether it exists inside or not. To be ignorant and simple now—not to be able to meet the enemies on their own ground—would be to throw down our weapons, and to betray our uneducated brethren who have, under God, no defence but us against the intellectual attacks of the heathen. Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered (Weight of Glory (Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis), 58)).
Three Key Principles for Moving Forward:
First, the primary issue is not whether or not we engage in philosophy. All of us, to some extent, must engage in philosophical reasoning. Depending upon the capacity of our hearts and minds, we may do it with love for Christ or to run away from him, and with skill and care, or foolishness.
Second, when we study philosophy as servants of Christ, we’re not being led astray – we’re following Paul’s example of engaging with the ideas of his time to honor God, present the gospel, and persuade others to follow Jesus.
Finally, the solution isn’t less education but more Jesus. Imagine a world in which the award-winning leaders of every academic field were known not only as intellectually formidable but also as humble worshippers of Jesus? (This isn’t just a dream, but taking place in pockets across academia already - we just don’t hear much about it!) Their example shows us that a renewal of culture is only possible if we truly value worshipping God not only with our hearts, but with our minds as well.
Let’s discuss…
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Have you ever felt a tension between your faith and your academic studies? Can you describe a specific moment when a professor or reading challenged your beliefs?
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How can churches better support students and academics? What resources or support would have helped you in your academic journey?
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What reasonable-sounding arguments do you see leading people away from Jesus? How might we better prepare believers to engage with these challenges?