Gnosticism Reborn

My buddy Drew is flying back to Florida, so I drove him to LAX tonight. We stopped at In 'n' Out before I dropped him off. I mean, he's going to Florida for 3 months! You have to have In 'n' Out before you leave. We had a nice little chat for over an hour there. (That's quite an achievement, if you know Drew.) Most of it centered on the Philosophy department at Talbot and its students.

This week I witnessed a very discomfiting event involving a Talbot Philosophy student. I was privy to a conversation in which a professor chided a student for making some rather insulting and blasphemous comments, and the prof told him how unbecoming they were of a Talbot student. He really tore into the student. It was frightening. Drew and I talked about some other Philosophy students who seem less than fully committed to the faith. Drew himself is a Philosophy major; I'm not anti-Philosophy, I just want to air my thoughts about the dangers I see that come with studying Philosophy. Lavaris gave a very stirring defense of the study of Philosophy from a Christian perspective this week that left me quite convinced of its efficacy.

Where do I start? Here's one of my favorite quotes: "Any philosophy that ultimately ends up being all about how great and smart you are is worthless". I'm very disturbed by philosophy that glorifies its proponent and is really just for his or her glory. Imagine, "Hey I found the perfect and true philosophy: It's all about me, baby!" What pride! To some it's all about showing off how well read and learned they are. And those imbeciles who didn't get the chance to read the special books they discovered are therefore inferior in their philosophy. I know it sounds ridiculous. And yet I see people acting like that. Even at Talbot.

There are some who are just after philosophy for philosophy's sake. Philosophy has become their idol. Philosophy is king even above Jesus. They want to stay up on all the latest in Philosophy debates and fill their mind with Philosophy rather than Jesus and the Bible (though to be fair, you can be up on the Bible and Philosophy, I'm just warning against an improper balance). Drew said he heard someone a few days ago at the Philosophy House lament that they had to take Theology and Bible classes, which prevents them from full immersion in Philosophy. He failed to see the importance and supremacy of Christ who is the only true treasure trove of knowledge and philosophy.

I worry about those students who haven't come to find Jesus as the ultimate truth and feel like there's something else to be discovered. There is no mountain to climb with some mystical guru who will tell you the secret truth that you were searching for. Christ is all you're looking for! There is no special secret knowledge you have to discover. The Bible has the answers you need.

Colossians 2:3
In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge you've been looking for are found in Christ!! I was on a similar quest when I went to Philadelphia. But when I realized that Jesus was what I was looking for, I dropped it all. I dropped out of grad school and moved back to California and immersed myself in Jesus. Do you think that true philosophy and truth is found in some book by some obscure author that only 20 people have ever read? As if only those on some mystical quest for truth and read esoteric books with radical ideas will ever find truth. No, there is no secret knowledge to be sought. To think that there's anything besides Jesus to be found in life is just another form of gnosticism. The gnostics believed that salvation was restricted to a select few with special access to secret knowledge.

Matthew 11:25-26
At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure."

Yes, it makes much more sense for the truth to be accessible to all, rather than just the wise and the learned. It reflects God's character of inclusiveness and equal love of all, including those who aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer. The humble can receive faith and salvation easily. On top of that, those who take pride in themselves are prevented from seeing the truth. Ingenious! How's that for a good philosophy?? The humble are accepted and the proud rejected. Your pride is an obstacle between you and the truth. Be warned. Do not rely on your reasoning and philosophy to discover truth.

I marvel at the pursuits of some people. This goes not just for Philosophy, but for all the social sciences. I see it all the time: People think they're treading on ground never touched by man, charging into new undiscovered areas of knowledge that no one has ever seen. The novelty is a rush and a draw to delve deeper. *sarcasm alert* Oh yes, here's the secret stuff those other not so intelligent people can't understand and can't see! or "I'm glad I found the truth. Too bad for the 99.99999% who will never take that University course and find that book I found." It's a satanic deception, there's nothing there. You think what you're discovering something new, while you're missing out on the sweet truth and joy Christ offers you. He knows all and there is no knowledge worth knowing that he won't reveal.

1 Corinthians 1:18-31
18 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. 19 As the Scriptures say, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent." 20 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. 21 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. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it's all nonsense. 24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 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. 26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. 30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, "If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord."

1 Corinthians 8:1b-3
Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3But the man who loves God is known by God.

Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

And again, Colossians 2:3
In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.