Fear Factors: Five Barriers to Intellectual Growth
William E. Brown, June 2, 2006
Christians once dominated the world of thought, education, ideas, and research. Think Milton, Herbert, Chesterton, Eliot, Donne, Greene and Endo in the world of literature; Augustine, Aquinas, and Anselm in philosophy; Handel, Brahms and Bach in music; Newton, Kepler, Pasteur, Faraday, Maxwell and Carver in science. The sheer excellence of their intellect set them apart and commended the Christian worldview to an unbelieving world.
But in the succeeding era the influence of great Christian thinkers faded to the point that in 1963 Harry Blamires lamented, "There is no longer a Christian mind." He pointed out that there remains a Christian ethic, a Christian practice and a Christian spirituality but "...as a thinking being, the modern Christian has succumbed to secularization."
The reasons for this surrender are many but the solution is found in reclaiming the lost aspiration of intellectual development. God makes it very clear that Christians are called to nurture the life of the mind. The greatest command is to love God with our hearts, souls and minds (Matthew 22:37). We escape conformity and become transformed by the "renewing of our minds" (Romans 12:2). In fact, being renewed in the spirit of our minds is the preliminary step to "putting on" Christ as new creations (Eph. 4:22-24).
As we tackle the huge challenge of confronting issues in the public square, we must retool for intellectual growth at the personal level. But first, we need our bearings.
True intellectual growth is not merely accumulating more data. The emphasis on simply knowing facts reduces learning to trivial pursuits. There is a real danger in becoming like those who are "always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth" (2 Timothy 3:7). True intellect is making connections, seeing the worldviews and values behind ideas and behavior in the world around us. It is knowing what we believe and why. It is also knowing what others believe and why. Where are the points of contact? Where are the points of conflict?
Thinking deeply and broadly is not highly prized in society as a whole or among Christians in particular. What keeps us from developing intellectually? I asked this question on my weblog and was surprised at the responses. Readers from around the country chimed in with their thoughts:
"Mediocrity is celebrated, and hard work is seemingly not appreciated. There is an attitude: Why strive for more academic achievement, when I can achieve my dreams where I am at right now?"
"Intellectual growth isn't valued in our culture. One who attempts to learn and grow is often ridiculed."
"Biases and presuppositions, and being unwilling to challenge your own views."
"Barriers to intellectual growth? TV."
"I have found that one of the big barriers to intellectual growth is that life is so 'daily.' I would LOVE to have time to pursue interests and take a college class or finish my degree, but life as it is for me right now requires that I work to contribute to the family income. Our brains DO get tired, and we have a hard time pursuing intellectual growth after a long, hard day."
"Our society has created and encouraged quick solutions."
"We may find ourselves setting our sights so intently upon our dream job or perfect future that we forget the importance of having a beautiful, fully-developed mind."
These responses highlight what I consider the five major barriers to intellectual growth. These factors are interrelated and arise from personal and cultural values.
The Information Factor
This factor has two forms. The first is too much information. We are overwhelmed with so much information that we cannot sort through its meaning or its importance.
Current research has discovered that each year over 5 exabytes (5 x 1018 bytes) of new information is created. That's over 800 megabytes of information for each person in the world. Just the amount of electronic information produced each year would fit into 37,000 Libraries of Congress if it were published in book form.
This flood of information is so overwhelming it is disheartening and causes many to give up even trying to learn. Like drinking at a fire hydrant, it does not seem worth the effort.
The second form is too little information. Indoctrination replaces education. Some believe all we need to know is a little slice of information: that slice that explains or supports my own view of the world. Why should I waste my time with what I believe to be false?
Many Muslims believe that all they need to know is the Koran and Islamic interpretations of culture, just as many Christians believe all they need to know is the Bible and Christian literature. This silo approach to learning limits our contact to ideas and interpretations that actually might be helpful.
Overcoming the information barrier requires a commitment to true learning and an admission that we cannot know everything. Almost everything taught in school today can be accessed free. Teachers realize that their role is less about passing on information and more about helping students organize and evaluate the information they receive. How they make sense of it all is the crucial component in growing intellectually. Thinking worldviewishly helps us see broadly and deeply. As a result, there is no fear of "out there" because exposure to the world of ideas allows us to understand our own views in context, just as studying a foreign language helps us understand English grammar and syntax.
An interesting example of this is seen in a story from the life of Major John Skidmore during a time when he was struggling with his own intellectual development. He asked his good friend, Oswald Chambers, for help.
"What do you read?" Chambers asked him.
"Only the Bible and books directly associated with it," Skidmore replied.
"That's the trouble," Chambers said. "You have allowed part of your brain to stagnate for want of use."
Later, Chambers wrote to him, "My strong advice to you is to soak, soak, soak in philosophy and psychology, until you know more of these subjects than you ever need consciously think. It is ignorance of these subjects on the part of ministers and workers that has brought our evangelical theology to such a sorry plight."
The ideal is to be like Daniel and his friends in Babylon to whom "God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning" (Daniel 1:17). This knowledge not only emboldened their commitment to God but it gave them a leg up in the secular palace: "In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom" (Daniel 1:20).
The Influence Factor
Much of contemporary culture prizes the shallow values of appearance, fashion and fads. The path of intellectual growth has (unsurprisingly) few benefits in society at large. Peer pressure can be devastating to intellectual pursuits. What others think of us often directs us away from behaviors that are not held in high regard. Not long ago I heard a young woman refer to someone as, "...really smart, but he's not a geek." She made it sound as though he was an anomaly. Who wants to be smart if it marks me as a geek?
The only way to overcome this barrier is to celebrate and value intellectual pursuits. This, of course, begins in the home and must be confirmed at school. But to take root as a cultural value, it must also be embraced by peers. Creating an environment where there are significant rewards for intellectual pursuits helps youth encourage each other and develop the motivation to invest in what it takes to learn well.
But even adults need positive peer pressure to motivate them to grow. Gary is a friend of mine who had begun a breakfast fellowship with two men in his church. Both were highly successful professionals - one an attorney and the other an accountant. As they ate, Gary and the accountant talked about a book they had been reading and how it related to areas of philosophy and literature they enjoyed. The attorney kept quiet as he listened to the exchange.
Finally, he laid down his fork and shook his head. "Guys, I have never felt so stupid in my life. I've studied law for my entire adult life. I know it inside and out. I thought I was educated but this morning I have not understood one thing you have said ... and I want to."
That morning was the beginning of a new chapter in his life. He began a study into areas of intellectual growth and faith that had been neglected. The influence of these other men he respected provided the motivation he needed to recognize and act on his needed area of growth.
The Intrusion Factor
Sometimes life is just too busy and we are easily diverted from intellectual pursuits. Leo Tolstoy recalled his early married years as such a distraction: "The new circumstances of a happy life completely diverted me from any search for the overall meaning of life."
Beyond the cares of life, the noisy background of an entertainment saturated society can drive us to distraction. Expressions in popular culture are usually visceral, appealing to our hearts rather than our heads. With hundreds of television channels, iPods, cell phones and the internet, there is never a moment when we are without entertainment and conversation unless we choose. Teenagers spend on average 8.3 hours everyday accessing information technology.
Growing up does not change us much. Studies show that each month the average American adult:
Watches television over 130 hours
Listens to the radio 90 hours
Talks on the telephone over 16 hours
Adults who are on the internet (over half of the population) average over 120 hours a month on-line.
But these diversions are only a symptom because the intrusion factor cannot be blamed on technology. Such distractions have always been our experience. In the seventeenth century, Pascal described certain people who were, "...diverted from thinking of what they are, either by some occupation which takes their minds off it or by some novel and agreeable passion which keeps them busy, like gambling, hunting, some absorbing show, in short, by what is called diversion."
The reality is that all expressions in culture - movies, songs, television programs, books - have at their very core a worldview. "Test everything" the Apostle Paul tells us (1 Thessalonians 5:21). By constantly engaging our culture with an active mind (1 Peter 1:13), what was once a diversion can become a catalyst for growth - a broader view and a deeper understanding.
The Intimidation Factor
This is the real fear factor. Outside information is an enemy to be fought or avoided. Terrified of ultimate questions and overwhelmed by a sense of meaninglessness, some people will choose to avoid the search and seek out entertainment. Still others are afraid to learn something that might disturb what they believe to be true. I have heard, for example, several people say, "I don't want to see The Da Vinci Code movie because I am afraid it will hurt my faith."
This is the fear of the unknown. Ignorance is a better, easier life. Philosopher Thomas Morris summarizes, "If you are afraid of what might be out there, you may not want to peek out from under the covers at all." Or, as John Lennon sang, "Living is easy with eyes closed."
Many people feel the need to limit the type of information they are learning or else they will experience a loss of control. The idea is that I have already decided what I'm going to believe and I don't need anymore information. Why waste time learning?
Many lack confidence in their ability to process ideas and concepts antagonistic to their own beliefs. They are unable to give an answer for the hope within them (1 Peter 3:15).
Like other types of fears, this fear can be overcome by confronting the reality of the source and recognizing that we are not alone in our struggle for truth. Living is not easy with eyes closed and true life only begins when fear is overcome by confidence and truth; or, better, confidence in the truth. Reading good books and listening to speakers who discuss the challenges to Christianity can provide direction in thought, and instill a sense of confidence and awareness.
The Indifference Factor
Indifference is the factor we should fear the most. It is not only at the root of all the others but it is a symptom of a pervasive ennui that has no convictions and shrugs off all commitments.
"Who cares?" is the answer to the ultimate questions.
To be indifferent to important issues is actually praised in American culture. An attitude of detached uncaring is cool and courageous. There is even a popular rock band known as "Maximum Indifference." As Bon Jovi sang in their 2000 anthem to passionate indifference:
It's my life
And it's now or never
I ain't gonna live forever
I just want to live while I'm alive
It's my life.
This is no small matter. Pervasive indifference to the issues that make us human has the potential to erode civilizations. Nobel laureate and holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel declares:
The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it's indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference.
And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.
There are no guarantees to overcoming the barrier of indifference. No one can make another person care for anything. It is a personal choice. In fact, all of the barriers I have discussed require a commitment, a change of heart, a decision to act.
In the latter years of my university studies, I entered a period of serious doubt. As a new Christian, I was beaten down by the constant attacks in the classroom and the temptations in the dorm room. My doubt was aggravated by the narrow-minded examples I saw among Christians and non-Christians alike. At first, I was overwhelmed with my lack of knowledge and I just did not care to take the effort to get involved in the fighting. I was afraid of what I might find; afraid I would fail. But something I read - I cannot even remember what - turned me on to a search for truth. I honestly confronted my doubts.
Who was Jesus really? Was believing in Christ worth it? Was the Bible true? Was it inerrant? Was Christianity just one of many acceptable choices? I wanted truth with a capital "T." And most importantly, I did not want anyone telling me what to believe. I wanted to know history, philosophy, Greek and Hebrew. I wanted to know world religions.
Looking back, it seems rather arrogant. It was a difficult time - but it was freedom. Graduate studies, travel, discussions, debates, arguments, and thousands of books later, I continue the study I began so long ago.
I found that truth was not only knowing facts but also knowing a Person.
The study continues.
No regrets. No reservations. No fear.
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. William Brown is the President of Cedarville University in Cedarville, Ohio. Dr. Brown speaks and writes on issues related to education, culture and worldviews. He is the executive producer of re:View films, an innovative curriculum for youth groups and Christian schools to teach discernment of today's entertainment culture.
