It was also discussed that many activist religious people misinterpret scriptures for their anti-intellectual agenda. However, we have seen how God used Moses and Paul, who were well educated and intellectual. Of course, I am not undermining other servants of God even if they weren’t well educated and their contributions, compared to giants like Moses and Paul, look like insignificant. Take, for example, Simeon and Anna (Luke 2: 22-40). These elderly saints waited in the Temple faithfully until they saw and consecrated Jesus. We shouldn’t undermine the contributions of such humble servants. It is not about title and size of the job but the commitment and faithfulness it takes that matters for the well being of the Body and advancement of the Kingdom of God.

The most troubling problem of fanatics, not only they themselves refrain from learning and renewing their mind, but also discourage their followers, intimidate, ridicule, and ultimately alienate the learned and serious seekers from coming closer to God and stay in His House. It is sad to notice them think that God signed an exclusive contract with them to represent Him where they impressed upon themselves that they must antagonize and belittle the learned and wise people. However, Part IV tried to show how God is not against learning and wisdom. Please note that I am not saying that the learned are in a better position to serve or learning alone (whether it is theology, science, philosophy, history, etc) is enough to know and serve God. It takes a call and demands to engage both the mind and the spirit (the heart).

The problem is when we fail to maintain the balance. In case of many fanatic religious people, they condemn the use of mind, and stand tall as pro heart. On the other hand, many learned people undermine the use of their heart (subconscious/spirit) and extremely depend on their mind, which in turn limits their insight about the things our sense organs cannot perceive and our brain cannot analyze. Both scenarios are unproductive. We should know that God gave us both knowing that they are critical for our successful living on earth and beyond. This is our responsibility to nurture and use all of our three forms- the flesh, soul (mind), and spirit.

We shouldn’t abuse or favor one in the expense of the other. We need the body to exist and interface with the physical world. Many people act like they are spirit beings and don’t need the body. Because of this error, they abuse their flesh and pay dare prices. For successful functioning of our mind and spirit, we need a healthy and well nourished body. We also need our mind and soul to think through, become creative and innovative, connect the invisible world with the physical, make sound decisions, keep laws, love, maintain our sanity, etc. We need our spirit (heart/subconscious) to relate with our Motherland, Heaven- the Headquarter, the invisible world and reality, and with God while we are here on mission and as Ambassadors of the glorious Kingdom! 

I also personally noticed many religious fanatics who curse those who utilize their mind for creativity and innovation and consider them inferior. Nonetheless, the funny thing is that, the same guys use the products of mind and science to preach and worship God, and still fall short of acknowledging the inventors. Whether it is the satellite, radio, TV, car, plane, and other devices and utilities they use on daily basis in their home, church, or as they travel are the products of great people who used God’s gift in their life. They traded with the talents they were given, and for me, they are faithful servants and should be rewarded rather than ridiculed!

Of course, not all Evangelicals are having this annoying personality and I don’t think also that this is a policy adopted by all Evangelical leaders. I have listened great Evangelists, Pastors, and Bishops who encourage their congregations to excel in their school, job, and business. However, the position of the Evangelical church as a whole, compared to where she had been during the era of the Reformists and Puritans, is very sad. The church that was an underdog during the early first century surprised the world and soon overwhelmingly dominated the Roman Empire. That the same church ended up, during our time and under our watch, an underdog! It is marginalized from policy formulation, and crammed within the four walls without any practical influence unlike the founders of the faith who influenced public arenas and acted like salts and lights to their generation and beyond. I miss them!!!

Let me leave you here by letting you read the abstract of one of my recent mini-research related to the topic I have been addressing in the past couple of weeks. As an academic requirement, I should carry out a research about strategic thinking and planning. I was already disturbed by the results of my quest, which I shared with you in the past couple of weeks, and thought for myself that it is a good chance to reach out and hear the perspective of others, at least, in regard to why Evangelicals don’t use their mind and think. My question was simple. I asked myself how Evangelicals- who are accused of despising the mind and refraining from thinking about the future, from various industries succeed as leaders in this very competitive world.

Accordingly, I interviewed three Evangelical leaders from church, corporation, and non-profit. The interviews revealed that the leaders have noticed the problem but they have seen improvements in recent years. Below is the abstract of the essay:

Many experts pointed out that leaders should think strategically, which has two components-insights about present and foresight about the future, to survive and thrive in this volatile and ever changing world. However, evangelical scholars such as Os Guinness and Mark Noll lamented that evangelicals aren’t using their mind and in turn don’t think. Taking these into account, this research aimed at investigating how evangelical leaders succeed unless they use their mind and approach the future through strategic thinking. Accordingly, three evangelical leaders from representative industries- church, corporate, and non-profit, were interviewed. The results showed that anti-intellectualism exists among evangelicals though there have been some improvements in recent years. Furthermore, the investigation found out that all of the leaders view Jesus as a strategist and attend churches that encourage strategic thinking and the use of mind, and in turn practice strategic thinking and planning in their personal and career life. 

Finally, regardless of what we see in the natural, there is a bright future coming, for which we all should contribute towards. Let’s pray for a revival, the rise of new kinds of congregations that have true thirst for knowledge, wisdom, and of course truth, and the source of all these- God. Let’s pray for the birth of a Christian generation, which will be innovative, creative, and smart that plays key roles in solving the challenges of the 21^st C. Let’s also pray so that the church may leave the hiding place and become part of the solution to what man-kind is facing.