Straight Answers in a Crooked Age
The quest for intellectual integrity in Christian leadership has a ways to go.
Fred Smith
July 1, 1983
Several years ago, I was talking with a former fundamentalist who had left the ministry to enter politics. I realized how far he had strayed from fundamentalism when he said, "You know, Smith, I respect your intelligence. How in the world can you still believe in the authority of Scripture?"
I knew he would argue against a rational defense, so I took a different tack. "At one time in my life, I thought about taking your position," I said, "because there was so much in the Bible I found distasteful. But then I realized it was my distaste rather than my disbelief that was causing the problem. I didn't want to believe the parts of Scripture that commanded me to act. I didn't want to lose control of my life and make obedience more important than knowledge."
He didn't change his mind, but I think he went away respecting the fact that intellectual integrity could make you submit to Scripture.
Since then I've done more thinking on the subject. If I remove the parts of Scripture I dislike, and five of my friends do likewise, the six of us could pretty well scrap the whole book through our distaste for obedience, rebellion against authority, and worship of knowledge. I know myself well enough to know I'm not God-like enough to be that authoritative. Honesty compels me to accept the authority of Scripture.
Intellectual integrity, however, is not abundant in the Christian community. In fact, I find more of it in business than I do in religion. There's a simple reason: business uses the language of figures. Politics, religion, and education don't lend themselves to bottom-line evaluation.
The Mantle of Spirituality
Take, for instance, the way we spiritualize the nonspiritual. One of the jobs of a "successful" pastor is to make the irresponsible ...
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