Two Ways to Think

There are fundamentally two ways to approach any concept, and only two. We can start with God and His Word, or we can start somewhere else; and the "somewhere else" usually boils down to ourselves. 

I recently read an article on the Pyromaniacs blog that contained the above line. It is exactly on point.

 Thinking like a Christian, and thinking like anything else, are two fundamentally distinct processes. They are as different as night and day, and as irreconcilable as left and right.

I have been thinking of writing on the subject of Christians who struggle with humanistic science and the Bible, and this article is an excellent thought on the subject. Topics that come to mind that cause confusion and even division in the Christian community are things like evolution, earth age and cultural issues.

In evolution, science tells us that the Earth is millions of years old and that man has been around for 140,000 years. It tells us that man evolved from simple life forms that evidently magically appeared themselves previously. However, as Christians, should we believe scientists who are just as fallible as the rest of us? Shouldn't we believe the One who created everything when He tells us directly in His word that everything was created in six 24-hour days? Why do we want to believe so-called experts over God's own words? It is in man's sinful nature to do everything possible to exclude God from our lives and the universe. That means ALL mankind seeks to do it, even the Christians. However, we are changed if we have God dwelling in us through His Spirit. We have access to the truth that is God's word. We are to set aside foolish thoughts and focus on God and His Word as the source of knowledge and understanding.

I Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

If you find yourself believing in such things that are in total contrast to God's Word, stop and consider the source. Did such expert opinion come from man or God? Who is always right?

More importantly, this needs to be applied to "christian" writers, theologians, pastors, teachers, etc. I think we as Christian put more emphasis on learning about God from writers than from the Bible. There are many, many good Godly writers and leaders and just as many or more of those who have "left the reservation". No matter who we read or watch, we need to compare their message to God's Word. It doesn't matter if it is John Piper or Rob Bell, they all need to have their work measured against the ruler of the Bible.

Personally, I haven't read any of Rob Bell's writings, but have heard more than enough controversy about him. So I can't speak with confidence about him or others in the Emergent movement. I lean more towards writers like Spurgeon, Lewis and Tozer, but I am old-school.

So, how do you do your thinking?