Kevin Steyer
In my studies I am required to read various authors who think strange thoughts. The most prominent in this category are pagan philosophers like Plotinus who I read this week. In his Enneads he was going on about “The One” and how this One is being beyond being such that it is actually non-being. The way we become united to The One is by unknowing, a mystical state where we are not even thinking that we are not thinking, and therefore our souls experience The One. I am actually not entirely sure I got that right, but that is the gist of it.
Unfortunately, strange thoughts are not limited to pagan philosophy, although they are often influenced by it.
Men and women in the Christian tradition have very often thought strange thoughts. In my class on Medieval Church history, I recently read from some mystics, who attempted to merge the teachings of Plotinus with the Bible, and the result is that God, rather than being He who “dwells in inapproachable light,” (1 Timothy 6:16) must now be approached in darkness, whatever that means. Their merging of philosophy and Christianity inevitably resulted in widespread confusion in Christendom by their reversal of the Scripture’s teachings. Later, the theologian Schleiermacher was to be led astray by Kant. The more recent theologian Bultmann was led astray by Heidegger. Today, many Christians are being led astray by Eastern philosophies, thinking that it is trendy to be a sort of Buddhist, or perhaps genuinely drawn to the teachings. Just think of how popular practices like breathing techniques, meditations, incenses, yoga, and the like have become.
In academic biblical studies it is fashionable to say that Paul distorted the original message of Jesus, and that idea is permeating through churches and you can buy books that say that in Barnes & Noble. That idea is a fashion that somebody one day invented out of thin air. Nobody thought that for at least the first 1,600 years of the Church. But it has decimated both academic theology and the life of many churches because a Bible divided against itself cannot stand. One theologian asserted with full confidence that John chapters five and six are in the wrong order. He also invented that out of thin air, with not a single manuscript supporting his claim. If we start believing that kind of nonsense, why not think – again with no evidence – that other parts of the Bible are in the wrong order, or worse, just wrong? Strange thoughts and, indeed, dangerous thoughts. We must avoid them: “Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings” (Hebrews 13:9).
Thinking strange and dangerous thoughts goes against the Scripture’s urging that we “stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is” (Jeremiah 6:16). Recently I watched a two-part documentary called “American Gospel.” It showed how popular the appalling “Prosperity Gospel” has become, and how far from the truth such men as Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, and even, though on a slightly less problematic plane, the popular rising star Todd White have swerved. It also spoke of the so-called “Progressive Christianity” with the wishy-washy “Gospel” of Rob Bell (author of “Love Wins”) and Richard Rohr. Not only was I infuriated at the plethora of false teaching in this country, but I myself began to crave like I hadn’t in some time the simple Gospel and the simple truths about Jesus. In the midst of a sea of strange and dangerous thoughts, we must “ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is” and cling to that old way. Why not read Spurgeon? Or Jonathan Edwards? Or the Puritans? If you do, you will find your heart warmed by the rich truth of the Gospel.
Most of the errors cited above are not ones that most Bible-reading, praying evangelicals are likely to fall into. Although, before you relax, just look at what happened to most of the mainline denominations in this country that one day were faithful to the Scriptures, and we are reminded of the wise example of the pious man who saw his neighbor sin and said to himself, “He fell today, and I may fall tomorrow.” The law of entropy does not just apply to the hard sciences. Our lives tend toward disorder. Our minds and our hearts tend toward disorder. This is why we are so often urged by the Holy Spirit to be vigilant, to think, to search the Scriptures “to see if these things are so” (Acts 17:11). These are actions! We must actively do them. If we drift, we drown.
But even if we do not fall into obvious errors like some cited above, often the strange thoughts are a lot more subtle, and these are thoughts we might more easily fall prey to. In Galatians, Paul is furious because Christians have fallen into the trap of believing that they have to keep certain Jewish laws in order to be saved. Do we ever fall into a similar trap? Do we rely on our works even one bit? If so, we do well to remember the warning of Spurgeon, which I paraphrase, “If even one stitch in the garment of my righteousness is my own, I am ruined.” And even better, read Galatians again and again and remind yourself that the Gospel is entirely about what Jesus did for you, not about what you do for Him: this is “the truth of the gospel” (Galatians 2:5) which is so precious to believers.
We can’t afford to think strange thoughts. They are too dangerous.
What strange thoughts are you thinking? What books are you reading that are making you think unbiblical thoughts? What podcasts are you listening to that are altering your view on things in a way not in line with the Scriptures? What ideas have you invented that if you stop to think about, are in contradiction to the Word? What friend do you have who causes you to think less of Christ?
What are you going to do about those things? All of our thoughts must be in submission to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
God’s Word says: “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4). Christ is your life, if you trust in Him! He is your life! Why would we infect this glorious thought, this glorious truth, with empty philosophies, with Eastern meditation techniques, with errors of various kinds, with wishy-washy liberal “Christianity”?
Cling to the truth, and remember the powerful words of Paul: “We cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth” (2 Corinthians 13:8). We also ought to think nothing against the truth, but only for the truth, because it is the Truth – Jesus – who sets us free. If Jesus has set you free, cling to Him, as He is revealed in the Word, and reject every strange and dangerous thought.