Stoopid Christians

Is there a direct correlation between faith and intelligence? There seems to be an underlying movement to prove that there is. And in some very recent studies, the results are not flattering to those of us who are believers.

Last year, a number of news headlines asked, “Are You Smarter Than an Atheist,” after a landmark study by the Pew Research Center found that atheists were more knowledgeable about world religions than Christians. More recently, articles have begun to appear suggesting that “Being Christian Harms Your Brain” due to a report in the Scientific American suggesting that people who claim to be Born Again Christians were more likely to have brain atrophy (shrinkage).

There certainly appears to be an agenda behind these “findings.” The world loves to portray Christians as narrow-minded, ignorant dolts. By doing so, it belittles the religious beliefs and practices of those who follow Christ. And by proclaiming, “The more intelligent you are, the less likely you are to be religious,” the world writes off Christianity as an archaic form of mind control, reserved for those who are too stupid and unsophisticated to think for themselves.

If you think about it, attacking the intelligence of Christians is a pretty subtile move—because how can we really defend many aspects of faith with facts? For many people, this type of discouragement is enough to force them to “keep their religion to themselves” or shy away from Christianity altogether.

But be encouraged—this type of attack against our faith is not new! In fact, in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he acknowledges, “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.” (1 Corinthians 1:18) The very nature of our belief is supernatural—above the human experience or understanding.

Our faith is not based on the analysis of a collection of data. It is through the Spirit of God that we became believers. And we understand that in following Christ, we have nothing to prove to the world—our goal is to please the Creator of the universe.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. (1 Corinthians 1:25)

I’d rather be stupid for Jesus than wise in the eyes of a sinful world!