Why Christians Run from Thinking Hard...

This is something that I read from Ravi Zacharias' book "Jesus Among Other Gods", and I thought that it was worth sharing.WHY CHRISTIANS RUN FROM THINKING HARDTo be honest, I wonder more about people who don't want reasons for what they believe than about those who do. I have met thousands of people who have made wholehearted commitments to ghastly "gods" and "godessess". I'm shocked that they never question their beliefs. But I find that Christians run away from debate for many reasons:1. Finding hard-nosed reasons for belief can be hard work. Did I admit that? The search for truth can be intense but rewarding. There is an old adage that says, "It is better to debate a question before settling it than to settle a question before debating it."2. Exploring questions can be hazardous to your spiritual health. That's only half-true. Entertaining struggles with faith has caused many to struggle more. But countless Christians have found that the only path to spiritual maturity is to push through their questions to find God's answers. My own intellectual battles were unavoidable in a land filled with as many gods as people.3. Maybe we won't find answers. I beg to differ. People hostile to belief in God often label faith as a mindless trap, a lure for emotions. They don't believe that faith can sustain the weight not only of our emotions but of our minds. I promise you this: You will never hear a challenging question so radically new that it hasn't already been asked and adequately answered. 4. The digital culture that surrounds us doesn't encourage reasoning. I think it is more accurate to say that new technologies emphasize different types of learning. In Asia, I recently saw a video game that required players to dance on the floor to move the controls. Phenomenal! It's just another sign that your generation will learn much more visually and numerically. But you still need to learn to work with words and ideas and to evaluate arguements and logic. 5. We aren't smart enough. That's absolutely false. I realize that we are all built with different abilities. But don't be afraid of material that seems over your head. You do have the ability to grapple with it! Don't say, "This is too hard for me." When you were younger, standing on your tip-toes to reach the cookie jar didn't make you any taller. Dealing with ideas is amazingly different. Stretching your understanding makes you that much taller-- that much smarter-- for your next intellectual reach. (p44-46)

Brother Karl:You're right; many people don't have the ability to orate like Paul or delve into the richest parts of God's Word and wisdom like Lewis; yet, God does call us to "prove all things"-especially the main tennets of the faith.Peter calls us to have an "answer (apologia: gr. "a reasoned defense") to all those that ask for a reason of the hope you have within you". How could we be asked to "prove" or "defend" if we don't use logic or reason?However, I leave this caveat: God also tells us another crucial necessity is God's power. "For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as you know what manner of men we were among you for your sake." (1 Thess. 1:5) We need His Spirit filling (Eph. 5:18) us with the "fullness of God" (Eph. 3:19). May we seek the Holy Spirit in our lives. :-)

yet, God does call us to "prove all things"-especially the main tennets of the faith.Without really struggling through truths, we will end up merely going with the flow of popular thinking, which includes a lot of heresies. And in the end it will lead to further and further off track. It is dangerous to trust in our denomination, pastor, parents, bible college… because heresies ca n creep in everywhere, and all are prone to wander. And even if they are right, we still need to do our own wrestling with ideas. Hard thinking is necessary in order to own our beliefs. Otherwise we will always be dependant on what others tell us we should believe. Second-hand faith won’t stand the refining fires. Also, I think that many “Christians” are Christians only nominally. They have learned to walk the walk and talk the talk – but are chameleons. They have become far better at copying than at thinking for themselves. Diane

I don't think the question is so much that of whether or not we can debate well, but rather the fact that many Christians never challenge their faith- they believe blindly, without rocking the boat.Now, I think this is a two-fold thing. If you're a fresh believer, and you're going to a Mormon church to "rock the boat", you're in a very dangerous place. But many of us who should be more grounded in their faith- who should be butchering and eating beef jerky, are still drinking milk and just accepting what their preacher tells them.I consider myslef apologetic in nature. I believe that it's incredibly important to have not only grounded doctrine, but also to know "why" that doctrine is. A huge part of this comes from the fact that I wasn't always a Christian.I was raided a Baha'i, which is a cult, in my opinion. I became a Christian a few years ago, and began to build my "religion" all over again. A part of what stunned me was the fact that I met and knew people who had been raised their whole lives in the Church, but couldn't show me a single scripture that said that Jesus was more than just another "good person".Blame it on weak teachings in the Church? Maybe partly. But also, where there's no hunger, there's no feasting. Many Christians become content in their beliefs, and cease to grow. Or, like Diane said, they are only Christians nominally. And, unfortunately, I think the majority of "Christians" fit into this category.

Seems to me the reason people do not want to think hard is because they think God may ask them to do something they do not want to do, thus believing that God will not hold them accountable because of their ignorance. I believe this because I have been there myself.Just my opinion...ginnyrose

Seems to me the reason people do not want to think hard is because they think God may ask them to do something they do not want to do, thus believing that God will not hold them accountable because of their ignorance.I think you are right, by not wanting to confront or think about certain things you won't be bothered by them. A friend of mine who doesn't believe in God claims he is 'too busy' to think about God.

..., by not wanting to confront or think about certain things you won't be bothered by them.It's called denial It's a way of coping, and staying sane. We can see this in others, but not ourselves. To be honest, I don't want to see the full depth of my own flaws, or the flaws of the world around me. I couldn't cope. I am thankful that God reveals these kind of painful truths to me bit by bit, as I grow in my faith, and as he knows that I can handle it. Diane

Seems to me the reason people do not want to think hard is because they think God may ask them to do something they do not want to do, thus believing that God will not hold them accountable because of their ignorance. I think you've hit the nail on the head. I know I have had that struggle. Still do sometimes. Following Jesus is not easy, but it certainly is/and will be WORTH it....... :-)