Who comes to mind when you think of wisdom and greatness? What qualities do you associate with wisdom and greatness?
When I was doing my undergrad I was enamored by my professors’ knowledge and ability to convincingly present ideas. It so happened that many of my professors were fervently anti-Christian. They convinced me that all the world’s problems can be blamed on Christianity and that all problems can be solved if the world adopted their social theories. How convenient.
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As I began to study religion I drew parallels between some of the most fundamentalist religious (and even cult-like) sects and academia. They claimed to be all-wise and intelligent, even explaining away the sins that their ideas had led to in the past. My naïve-self failed to see the messianic complex that consumed many of my instructors. Who needs God when you’ve written books and have a PhD following your name?
There are many reasons I traded critical theory for Jesus. Ultimately, to be a Christian is to accept that I am not some intellectual demigod worthy of praise, but that I am a sinner in need of redemption. I’m broken. I have enough trouble running a household, nevermind running the world. I place my trust in God’s wisdom, since He not only sustains me, but sustains the universe. In Deuteronomy 4, God calls Israel a great, wise, and understanding nation because they follow not their own statutes and ordinances, but those of God. In Matthew 5, Jesus says the greatest in God’s kingdom will be those who do and teach His commandments (see verse 19).
The apostle Paul writes that “…the foolishness of this world is foolishness with God” (1 Corinthians 3:18). Has this not proven to be the case? Whenever we expel God from the public sphere we have only led the world down a path of misery and destruction. That’s not wisdom; that’s insanity.
