On the other hand . . .

On the one hand, Christianity is logical. As we noted in this column last issue (Oct.13), “Word” (John 1:1) in Greek is “logos” or “logic.” We are people of The Logic.

“While the other world religions emphasized mystery and intuition,” writes Rodney Stark in The Victory of Reason, “Christianity alone embraced reason and logic as the primary guide to religious truth.”

Stark is an eloquent apologist for Christianity. He mounts a vigourous and convincing defence against those who attack Christianity and hold it responsible for the vast evils of Western society. He argues that rather than being the source of all the evil in the West, Christianity – because it is founded on reason – is responsible for the abolition of slavery, the development of science, the emancipation of women, and advancement of freedom throughout history and around the world. A modern example of the victory of reason, he says, is the explosive rise of Christianity in China.

But Rodney Stark is not a Christian. He’s an agnostic. What can account for this peculiar state of affairs? How can it be that the only religion built on “faith in reason” is not believed by a spiritually open man who is passionately committed to reason?

One answer may be that the logical gospel contains a powerful “on the other hand.” Jesus prayed, “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” (Matthew 11:25).

This is a truly startling statement. It should take its hearers aback.

Those who know of Jesus’ teachings are familiar with the fact that he turned the world upside down. In the kingdom of God the normal categories of advantage are reversed – riches, strength, birth, and social rank are not advantages but actually hindrances to entering the kingdom of God. We have heard this so many times we become immune to its impact and fail to react the way we are supposed to – “Who then can be saved?” (See Matthew 19:25; Mark 10:26; Luke 18:26.)

When Jesus then adds wisdom and learning to the list of impediments to understanding the gospel, we had better take note.

It would seem that if Christianity is built on logic, those best able to master logic should have a substantial advantage over those less able to do so. Skilled students of Scripture and experts in its applications should surely be able to grasp the Logic of God better than the common person, and definitely better than the immature mind of a child.

But that was not the case when Jesus taught. His most virulent opposition came from the most educated. Jesus made it clear in his prayer that his gospel is not the gospel of the intellectual.

And Jesus observed that fact without giving an explanation.

This fact, however, fits well with an important gospel principle: the gospel is offered to all humanity without respect to normal advantage. There is no advantage for the rich over the poor, the strong over the weak, the family member over the outcast, or – most interestingly – the brilliant over the simple.

In fact, as soon as we think that something gives us an advantage, that “something” immediately becomes a stumbling block for us.

Throughout history, Christians have been drawn between two poles. Very early and very quickly, Christian thinkers were drawn to a faith understood and articulated by their intellectual elite. This became a faith that locked the gospel away in complex, even beautiful, chambers that only the qualified could access. Those who could not grasp these intricacies were told that they should just trust the experts.

Concurrently, movements that defined Christianity by charismatic authority sprang up. They scorned logic and the inconvenient conclusions of careful study. The measure of their authority and charisma was the measure of the truth of their claims. They did not need methodical research and scholastic restrictions to make confident interpretations of the meaning of Scripture. They lived by the revelations they claimed to have received by the Spirit.

It has always been tempting to find a balance between these two inclinations but Jesus’ words do not leave room for synthesis.

On the one hand, the gospel is logic. Obviously the Logic of God goes far beyond human logic. But it is still logic.

On the other hand, this is a logic accessible to the simple and hidden from the brilliant. But it is still logic.

And the key to receiving this logic is straightforward and repeated many times: “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (See Matthew 11:15, Mark 4:9, Luke 8:8, and others.) Neither the simple nor the wise have an advantage in obeying this command.

James Toews is pastor at Neighbourhood Church, Nanaimo, B.C.