Some Christians distrust thinking. They don't like to entertain questions of faith. And they might distance themselves from schools that don't teach precisely what they want taught. It can all add up to a belief that brainwork is bad.

We do have to keep watch over our minds. The Bible does say this:

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.' Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? (1 Cor. 1:18-20)

We need to check the context of those verses and others like them. This particular one is about 'perishing' people--people who don't believe the message of the cross. The point of the passage? For those who deny Christ, intellectual ability can actually hinder the search for spiritual truth. It doesn't rule out those who believe in Christ using their intelligence to serve the God who is ultimate truth and ultimate wisdom.

There is a better way to think about our minds: The Bible calls us to renew our minds to think like He thinks, not to surgically remove them (Rom. 12:1-2).

Be encouraged that the Bible is full of people who thought hard. Some even debated with God, yet they weren't struck by lightening or otherwise divinely punished:

• Moses questioned whether God had made the right choice in appointing him to free the Israelite slaves in Egypt (Exod. 3:11).


• Habakkuk looked at rampant evil and suffering in the world and yelled at God, "How long?" (Hab. 1:2ff).


• Nathanael freely expressed his jaded opinion about Jesus' roots (John 1:46).


• Thomas was permitted to see and touch Christ's wounds in order to believe Christ had risen from the dead (John 20:24-29).


• The Bereans took time to test even the apostle Paul's teaching against Scripture (Acts 17:11).

Zacharias, Ravi. Aren't We Just Supposed to Believe? Jesus Among Other Gods. Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 2000. 47-48.