 Christianity encourages learning. Christians founded 92% of the first 138 US colleges. Oxford’s motto is “The Lord is my light” (Psalm 27:1). The verse “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32) is probably on more US university walls than any other statement.
Christianity encourages reasoning. Paul, a man of faith, reasoned, day after day, in Athens’ marketplace with the Epicurean (focused on what one could see) and Stoic (focused on reason/logic) (Acts 17:18). Our life’s foundation should pass through logic and reason. This will help us love God with our whole being, which includes our logical mind. Christians don’t blindly follow authority. For nearly three centuries after Christ, Christianity grew under the hostile Roman Empire. Some believe there is no way to know the truth and treat morality as a matter of opinions, traditions, or preferences. On the contrary, God gives us enough to know Him and lead a godly life (Luke 1:4, 2 Peter 1:3, Romans 1:21). To gain knowledge, some totally depend on science. We rely on science and its method of measurable data to understand the natural world. But science cannot tell us why the universe came into being, the meaning of our existence, whether hope is more valid than despair, or whether people have equal worth. We need to have certain amount of knowledge and evidence of God in our personal experience. This will help us understand the visible and the invisible. Then follow what we have found, wherever it leads. Having said that, acknowledge we can’t fully understand God (1 Corinthians 13:9, 12); and know that God will meet us in our doubts about Him. For example, Christ cured a child though his father asked Christ to help him overcome his unbelief (Mark 9:24). Christ told doubting Thomas to put his finger into His nail wounds, and his hand into His spear wound (John 20:24-29). Furthermore, beware that knowledge can make us arrogant (1 Corinthians 8:1-3). Sometimes, love can be more effective than winning arguments. If we have knowledge but not love, we are nothing (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). In conclusion, Christianity encourages reasoning, knowledge in science, and deepening our personal experience. But we should accept our intellectual limitations and know that without love, we are nothing. Summarized from a John Ortberg’s sermon at: https://menlo.church/series/thats-a-great-question#/modal/message/4870/mlo 基督教是非理性的吗？ 基督教是鼓励学习的。92％的美国头138所大学是基督徒创立的。牛津的座右铭是“耶和华是我的亮光” （诗篇27：1）。 美国大学在墙上最普及的标语可能是“你們必曉得真理，真理必叫你們得以自由”（约翰福音8:32）。 基督教是鼓励推理的。保罗天天在雅典的市场上与 Epicurean（专注于可以看到的）和 Stoic（专注于理性/逻辑）理论 （使徒行传 17:18）。我们生命的基础应该通过逻辑和理性的分析。这可帮助整体的我去爱上帝，包括我们逻辑的头脑。 基督徒不应该会盲目地听从并遵循权威。在公元后头三个世纪，当时权威的罗马帝国不断攻击基督徒, 但基督教还是大大增长。 有些人认为没有办法知道真理, 视道德为观点，传统或偏好。相反，上帝给我们有足够的能力去了解全能的祂而过敬虔的生活 (罗马书 1:21，路加福音 1：4和彼得后书 1：3-5)。明白生命目的和区分对与错是至关重要的。 有些人完全依靠科学来获得知识。我们应该依靠科学及其测量数据的方法去了解自然。但科学不是知识的唯一裁决者。科学无法告诉我们宇宙为什么产生，我们存在的意义，希望是否比绝望更有效，或者人们是否具有平等的价值。 我们需要对上帝及其做事方式有一定程度上的认识, 也要依靠我们亲身的经历。这将帮助我们理解可见到的和不可见到的。然后跟随我们发现的结果. 话虽如此，要承认我们无法完全理解上帝（哥林多前书 13：9,12）；并知道上帝接受我们对祂的怀疑和疑问。例如，基督治愈了一个孩子，虽然孩子的父亲请基督帮助克服他的不相信 （马可福音 9:24）。基督告诉疑惑的托马斯去把他的手指放入基督被钉的伤疤里，将他的手放入祂矛子的伤口里（约翰福音 20：24-29）。 此外，当心知识使我们自大 （ 哥林多前书 8：1-3）。有时爱比争辩胜利有效果。更重要的是如果我们有知识却没有爱，那我们便什么都没有 （ 哥林多前书 13：1-3）。 总而言之，基督教鼓励科学上和信仰上的知识和推理, 及鼓励我们依靠亲身的经验。但要接受我们有限的智力，和要知道没有爱，我们什么都没有。 Comments are closed.
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