Philosophy and Faith.

Recently I have been thinking a lot about two things I love: my faith and my philosophy. The internship that I have been involved with for the past five weeks has challenged me in many ways, the most significant being how much I value these and which I value more.

Now, if you're a Christian and you're reading this, then you're probably aware that if the two were presented in a Sunday School class the obvious answer is that faith is more important. While this may seem obvious in Sunday School, it is far from obvious in my life. These past five weeks I have realized how important it is to me that I sound philosophical and that I present my beliefs and understanding of the world in persuasive ways so that anyone who hears me does not judge me as unintelligent. 

Well, this past week my pride in philosophy became even clearer to me, and I am horrified. As someone in my old youth group used to put it, I was "God-smacked".

If you don't know me, I'm a philosophy major and have been considering going to graduate school in philosophy. After this week, I've lost most of that interest. Here's why.

I re-read one of my favorite passages in the Bible: 1 Cor. 1-2. 

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. 1 Cor. 2:1-5

After reading this I was immediately convicted of my desire to speak "plausible words of wisdom" instead of Christ and him crucified. I get so wrapped up in making sure that my intelligence isn't questioned, that I lose sight of the only truth that I need to know, which is Christ's sacrifice.

So, like Paul, I have resolved to know nothing except Christ and him crucified. I no longer want to debate issues that are irrelevant to this truth. Wisdom doesn't come from man's intellect, but from God. I choose to reject the wisdom of men, because I already have the mind of Christ. (1 Cor. 2:16)