I found an interesting blog on the web from a pretty well educated Christian. The Christian in question in well versed in the history of Christianity and the Bible. He is not one of those Christians who insists that the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were written by people of those names. To me that is always a great start. It means that I am dealing with someone who actually cares about reality… for the most part any way.
The problem with Christians like this is that they often use their knowledge to gain authority rather than understanding. They then distort the facts and mislead their followers while using the authority of being well educated. I don’t think they do this on purpose; it is just that they don’t think the full context of their knowledge helps them convey the message they want to convey. In fact, that full context of their knowledge would convey the exact opposite message.
They also probably don’t think that their followers are bright enough to understand that even though the facts don’t fit their message, the message is what it is independent of the facts through faith. The way I see it, it isn’t that their followers aren’t smart enough to understand, it is that the message is flawed from the start and they are afraid that their followers will see the obvious if they convey the full breath of their knowledge.
In the comments section of this Christian’s blog, I called him out on the way he misrepresented the facts and I corrected the record. He actually agreed with me that I was correct about the facts, but then stated that he was not interested in debating the issue.
Well, shit — there is nothing to debate. He agreed with me. So if he agreed that I was correct about the facts, why did he distort that information in his blog? Why will he continue to hold the same view even though he admits that he was wrong?
Despite the appearance of valuing knowledge, education, and reason, some of these well-educated Christians still value blind faith above all else. Knowledge, education, and reason are just a way to gain credibility, not a path to actual understanding. It is no different than a Creationist getting a PhD from Liberty University, throwing on a lab coat, and calling him or herself a scientist.
On the plus side, these Christians already know the truth. They just need to realize that it is okay for them to doubt and disbelieve.
