Is it useless to study? Refuting anti-intellectualism in the church

I remember that before I came to the United States to study theology seven years ago, a pastor once warned me (to the effect): "Reading theology will not necessarily improve your spirituality." For a few years, I thought this statement was very reasonable, It's just that reading and studying don't help one's spirituality. Don't look that way now.

This pastor's statement is wise because his words are a fact. However, there are two interpretations of this sentence: one is an anti-intellectual interpretation, that is, as I said before, that reading is of no use to people's spirituality; the other is my current interpretation, which is this sentence The words reflect the secularizing tendencies of today's academic world, which is obvious. Because secular universities have become academic powerhouses, people tend to separate a scholar's character from his academic achievements and have little to do with it. Don't say that studying is for life, and studying for truth is very few.

So the question is, does learning and seeking knowledge really help people's spirituality? the answer is negative. Because doing learning and seeking knowledge is really helpful to people's spirituality, at least he understands some knowledge, what he lacks is the practice of what he has learned. But if you are not good at learning, if you do not seek knowledge, and if you do not study seriously, it will definitely not help your spirituality. Because knowledge is not necessarily acquired through reading, an illiterate person can also acquire it through a teacher.

There is a passage in "The Words and Deeds of the Godfather of the Desert" in which the great scholar Arthur New (section 6) asks an illiterate farmer what is right and wrong about his own thinking.

One day, Abba Arsenio asked an old Egyptian monk about the right and wrong of his thinking. Someone came to him and asked him, "Abba Arsenio, a learned man like you, with a good education in Latin and Greek, why should you ask this farmer?" He replied, "I do I've learned Latin and Greek, but I don't even know the most basic knowledge of this farmer's context!"

Anthony et al., The Words and Deeds of the Godfather of the Desert, translated by Chen Tingzhong (Beijing: Sanlian Publishing House, 2012), p. 59

The farmer was able to instruct Athenew because he had direct experience of God, and Athenew's knowledge, acquired indirectly, i.e. through reading, cannot be determined. The old Chinese saying makes sense: what you get on paper will end up being shallow, and you must do it if you know nothing about it.

The farmer’s direct experience, which modern churches call spirituality, and in spiritual traditions, is called contemplation; and the knowledge acquired by Athenew is equivalent to the knowledge acquired indirectly by studying languages at Harvard and Peking University today, and studying primary and second-hand documents. Therefore, it is not true (we will talk about this later: why is it difficult to seek truth in academics? What is contemplation?). We regard Arthur New as a man of learning, because he reads the original text and can acquire knowledge by reading the literature.

However, we have forgotten that the fact that the farmer is illiterate and does not know many languages does not mean that he is not good at learning, does not seek knowledge, and does not mean that he can achieve direct experience of God without anyone's guidance. If we read the Biography of St. Anthony carefully, we know very well that he was a very studious man. In the same way, the farmer was not a spiritual loner, but had a teacher who directed him, and everything he learned came from the teacher.

Therefore, knowledge and spirituality are closely related and complement each other. Without knowledge, a person's spirituality cannot grow, and a person's spirituality will not improve if knowledge is not practiced. The author is ashamed, I think I belong to the latter, and I have no spirituality.

The farmer's knowledge is correct, but if he is asked to read the original texts and cite the scriptures to refute some heretical and pagan views, it will be too difficult. It can be seen that it is also very important to be able to speak the language, to be able to read first and second-hand literature, and to know the ins and outs of various ideas and viewpoints.

Everyone's gifts are different. Some people have spiritual knowledge, but it is difficult for them to speak clearly. Some people not only have spiritual knowledge, but also can explain one thing clearly with reason. This requires the skills of learning. This is why the godfathers were all famous scholars at the time. Because they have mastered the skills of learning, which can be used to refute the heretical ideas of the time.

Therefore, the author has at least the following three purposes for his learning:

1. To learn is to know the ins and outs of some ideas and viewpoints, to be able to trace the origin, and to prevent one's own hearsay

The most basic requirement of learning is to trace back to the origin of the views and ideas in the field of knowledge. Therefore, all academic articles have footnotes and bibliographies. These footnotes and bibliographies affirm the efforts and contributions of predecessors on the one hand, and inform readers where their opinions come from on the other hand. Thoughts and viewpoints that cannot be traced back to the source are just hearsay and cannot stand.

Second, learning is a well-founded refutation skill, which can be used to refute heresy.

A person can admit that he does not understand, but he cannot be ignorant and despise all scholars. No matter how antichrist is a scholar's point of view, he can at least cite scriptures and prove his point of view with reason. Those who have not studied the original text, cannot read the first-hand materials, and do not know the cutting-edge scholars in the relevant fields are completely unable to refute it and have no power to fight back. That's why the godfathers who refuted heresy were well academically trained.

3. As long as the method of learning is appropriate, of course, learning will help people to improve their spirituality

Today's methodology of learning has nothing to do with people's spirituality and life. The author puts forward the methodology of studying as a human being. Only under this methodology can scholars take what they have learned seriously and put them into practice. When it is practiced in person, it will of course help improve spirituality.