The 1 Reason why So Many People Want “Deeper” Content

I’ve noticed the same thing as well, Seth. They retain and live out the message better when it’s a discussion they can engage with.

I don’t personally lead an in-depth study, but one of our student leaders does, and it’s open to anyone who wants to come. They do it on another night in someone’s dorm room. We also do a retreat every semester, and when I do the teaching, it’s still a discussion, but we go much more in depth.

Thanks for acknowledging my point of view. I agree with what you said, at the end, there. I have a strong concern that the Christian community is often anti-intellectual. As one author put it:

“[E]vangelical Christianity need not be defined by the simplistic theology, cultural isolationism and stubborn anti-intellectualism that [some] have embraced.
Like other evangelicals, we accept the centrality of faith in Jesus Christ and look to the Bible as our sacred book, though we find it hard to recognize our religious tradition in the mainstream evangelical conversation. Evangelicalism at its best seeks a biblically grounded expression of Christianity that is intellectually engaged, humble and forward-looking. In contrast, fundamentalism is literalistic, overconfident and reactionary.” (http://nyti.ms/xYvnol)

It seems to me that without a strong apologetic, grounded in deep understanding of the Bible, Biblical theists (a term I prefer to the term “Christian,” which has lost any real meaning through dilution and varied application to a melange of different and often conflicting belief systems) have very little rational ground on which to stand. This is especially true when biblical theists are challenged by well-thought-out, well-reasoned critiques that are increasingly common in our internet-connected, and over-educated society.

More people, today, have access to education and information than at any time in history. As access to information becomes more democratic and ubiquitous, and as people have more time and resources to devote to education, our society will be increasingly literate, and more exposed to different ideas and philosophies. Bottom line: that means more intellectual, ideological, philosophical, and spiritual competition.

Biblical theists cannot just throw in the towel, and say, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen,” and disavow the justifications for our beliefs. I’m here to stand up for a strong apologetic, because I am one of the most entrenched skeptics you are ever likely to meet. As a classical skeptic, I believe that beliefs, not knowledge, constitute the paradigm of action in which we all engage the world around us, and, consequently, our beliefs and the justifications for them are fundamentally important.

If we cannot justify our beliefs to an increasingly thoughtful, literate, educated, and contemplative society, how can we be expected to provide them with adequate justifications to believe as we do? Our burden is not to prove we are right in our beliefs, but to provide compelling justifications for those beliefs. Meeting this burden requires more than emotions, more than relationships, more than vulnerability, more than the – from an intellectual if not existential point of view – shallow interactions we have with others. Meeting this burden means providing individuals with the tools they need to stand alone, armored in a powerful justification for believing that their beliefs bear an inherent relation to ultimate truth. With these justifications, believers will be able to withstand the assault of rational, intelligent, even brilliant critiques of their faith without resorting to the shallow fundamentalism and anti-intellectualism currently endemic to the Christian community in America.