We Keep The Intellect (Albert) Chained Up In The Basement.

[JAG**]

We Keep The Intellect (Albert) Chained Up In The Basement.

By JAG

October 12. 2021 

 

"You reject the contributions of the Intellect"__Professor Bobby Brainy 

 

Oh no sir, you are incorrect. I do not disassociate myself from the Intellect.

No Sir Ree Bob, no not at all.. Why the Intellect is part of my family. He's an

arrogant little banty rooster much of the time, but he's family. So we all love

him. However we have to watch him with the eyes of a hawk because he's

dangerous to himself and to others.

 

A long time ago the Smith Family had Aunt Bertha come to live with them

after her husband died and tweren't long before Aunt Bertha went crazy

and became known as the Crazy Aunt. So the Smith Family they kept her

chained up in the attic because she had bit two of their young children on

four different occasions. The Smith Family ought to have found a better

way to control Aunt Bertha but they couldn't think of one, and back then 

there  were no  insane asylums in their part of the country ~ so up in the

attic lived their Crazy Aunt.

 

So?

 

So Intellect is a member of our family and  he's a "Crazy Aunt" but we love

him and we keep him around at all times and we wouldn't even think about

putting Intellect in the attic. No Sir Ree Bob, we keep him chained up in the

basement. But we bring him out now and then so he can  strut about and

"play Einstein". He likes to call it "playing Albert" . Many times Albert (his 

real name is Albert) can make a very useful contribution to the global

conversation, but much of the time Albert is a self-seeking arrogant 

know-it-all who incorrectly assumes he has wisdom because he had 

the ability to memorize huge data dumps of material and then parrot 

it all back to his professors at examination time.

 

They gave Albert a degree back before he came to live with us, but 

Albert has the wisdom of a four year old child and Albert is dangerous

so we keep him on a chain in the basement. We fixed it up real nice

for him down there. Spent $25,000 too. Albert's rooms in the basement

are much nicer than our rooms upstairs.

 

Last year Albert wrote a book titled: "Why Everybody In My Family Is 

Going To Hell Except Me." Of course Albert doesn't believe Hell is real.

He told us we'd have to read his book to find out why he put the word

Hell in his title. But we never got around to reading it.

 

Albert is, at the present time, not regenerated. Albert sneers at us when

we tell him he must be born again (John 3:3) and that he must believe

in  Jesus as his Savior. Albert says that the solutions to human problems 

are to be found in Science and Secular Humanism, not in Jesus, God, or

the Bible.

 

We gave Albert a new NIV Bible last year, but he told us he took it "into the

bathroom and disrespected it." He wouldn't tell us what he meant by that

and we never did know if Albert really did that, or was only trying to rattle

our cage. We never saw that NIV Bible again.

 

Albert sneers at Colossians chapter 2. In Christ are hidden all the 

treasures of wisdom and knowledge so don't let anyone "deceive you by 

fine sounding arguments . . . [and] see to it that no one takes you captive 

through hollow and deceptive philosophy."

 

Pray for Albert, that he will come to repentance for the intellectual pride of

his heart and that he will repent of it, and put his faith in the Lord Jesus as

his Savior before its too late, and his fallen corrupted intellect becomes the

road that takes Albert to the perish of John 3:16 instead of to the Eternal

Life of John 3:16.

 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever

believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

 

Thoughts?

 

[]

[Riverwalker]

Proverbs 3:5 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

 

1 Corinthians 2:14

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

 

1 Corinthians 1:27

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;

 

Romans 1:22

Professing to be wise, they became fools, 

 

When you know enough to know you don't know it all, wisdom begins

[Starise]

Several different ideas seem to be combined in the OP. I'm not sure I'm fully getting all of it. I separate mental imbalance from intelligence, or maybe the idea that intelligence and mental issues go hand in hand. I have heard that creativity and eccentricity are sometimes associated together. Eccentricity is a close brother to mental issues sometimes.

The whole idea of being locked up in the basement or attic as a solution escapes me. If it were reality this would be serious business.

Many times I see intelligent people attempting to use their intelligence to explain away the validity of God. Now THIS is insanity. It's akin to using what the creator gave you to disprove Him. There's a serious contradiction in there somewhere.

[JAG**]

Follow up , , ,

The OP is a brief non-rhyming piece of fictional poetry written from
the viewpoint of an Evangelical Christian. If one will give the OP a
charitable reading and make an honest attempt to "see the point",
then one will have no problem understanding the point.


You don't have to agree with my point, in order to understand
my point ~ which point is that Secular Humanism and Secular
Intellectualism is inharmonious with traditional Biblical Christianity.

Its obviously a brief work of fiction because a human intellect cannot
live in a basement and could not have the name Albert. The piece also
contains some subtle humor and most likely would cause some Bible
believing Evangelicals to grin or at least smile at the antics of "Albert."

The last three paragraphs in the piece present the standard Evangelical
Christian call not to trust in the power of secular intellectual argumentation
and for repentance followed by faith in the Lord Jesus as Savior.

Best Regards,

JAG

[JAG**]

3 hours ago, Starise said:

Several different ideas seem to be combined in the OP. I'm not sure I'm fully getting all of it. I separate mental imbalance from intelligence, or maybe the idea that intelligence and mental issues go hand in hand. I have heard that creativity and eccentricity are sometimes associated together. Eccentricity is a close brother to mental issues sometimes.

The whole idea of being locked up in the basement or attic as a solution escapes me. If it were reality this would be serious business.

Many times I see intelligent people attempting to use their intelligence to explain away the validity of God. Now THIS is insanity. It's akin to using what the creator gave you to disprove Him. There's a serious contradiction in there somewhere.

Thanks for your comments.

Please see my "Follow up" post just above.

Best Regards.

 

JAG

 

``

[Starise]

12 minutes ago, JAG** said:

Thanks for your comments.

Please see my "Follow up" post just above.

Best Regards.

 

JAG

 

``

I gathered it was fiction. I am sorry I didn't quite get all of it initially. I agree with you 100% brother about secular humanism which is the bulk of teaching most college students are getting in secular colleges. 

I give generation Z the benefit of the doubt though. They can see through all of that if they truly look searching these things out.

[Sower]

On 10/12/2021 at 9:59 AM, JAG** said:

 

 

"You reject the contributions of the Intellect"__Professor Bobby Brainy 

 

Oh no sir, you are incorrect. I do not disassociate myself from the Intellect.

No Sir Ree Bob, no not at all.. Why the Intellect is part of my family. He's an

arrogant little banty rooster much of the time, but he's family. So we all love

him. However we have to watch him with the eyes of a hawk because he's

dangerous to himself and to others

Our intellect is from God, a gift. So is our imagination a gift, from God. Neither is bad. How we use God's gift decides the good or bad. I get the point of the little poem, and I enjoyed it. However I would say, there's a lot of non intellectuals that never developed childlike Faith also. The difference is intellectuals take pride in their ignorance of God.

"We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark, the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light"

[Daniel Marsh]

On 10/12/2021 at 3:45 PM, Riverwalker said:

Proverbs 3:5 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

 

1 Corinthians 2:14

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

 

1 Corinthians 1:27

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;

 

Romans 1:22

Professing to be wise, they became fools, 

 

When you know enough to know you don't know it all, wisdom begins

 

Friend, Jesus to told us to love God with our Mind.

Often when discussing Jesus with cults of the mind science type like Christian Science,  I get that nonsense.

"

Four Reasons to Reject Anti-Intellectualism

1. We don’t live in overly intellectual times.

Some ministries have a tradition of seeing intellectual pursuits as worldly. The attitude is that Christian teaching should act as a corrective influence against this form of worldliness by warning often against intellectualism.

But I often wonder what world they’re looking at. It doesn’t seem to be the one I live in. Twenty-first century society in the West has many problems, but are we suffering from an overabundance of sound reasoning, solid facts, and precise communication? Is our educational system too thorough? Are students spending too much time reading great books or are their critical thinking skills overdeveloped?

In politics and social policy, do our debates often get bogged down in too much detailed analysis? How often do we actually debate at all?

Looking at conservative churches, do we find an excess of biochemists, philosophers, neurosurgeons, astronomers, and physicists? Are churches plagued with too much rigorous thinking about what Scripture means and what it demands in the times we live in?

Intellectualism might have once been a kind of worldiness in our culture in the past, but today, the dominant attitude of “the world,” is one of intellectual laziness, emotion-driven belief, and decision-making based more on group-loyalty (a.k.a. tribalism) than on a diligent quest for truth.

So Christian ministry doesn’t have an intellectualism problem to fix. If there is any reason to emphasize “heart” over intellect in Christian ministry, “the world is too intellectual” can’t be it.

2. The intellect and the “heart” aren’t really alternatives to each other.

There’s a kernel of truth in the old “head belief vs. heart belief” contrast. It’s possible to acknowledge that a conclusion makes sense but not actually embrace it as truth. It’s possible to acknowledge that an idea is true, yet attach no personal importance to it. It’s easy to accept something as true but fail to accept how that truth relates to who we are and how we live, then accept those implications, and act.

But none of these problems are actually failures of elevating intellect over “heart.” They really aren’t “head vs. heart” problems. They can’t be, because Scripture shows us that our emotions, affections, and values (“heart”) are so intertwined with our reasoning, analysis, and gaining of knowledge (“head”) that a good bit of the time we can’t really tell where one ends and the other begins.

The most common word for “heart” in the Old Testament is the Hebrew lev. In Proverbs, the lev feels the whole range of emotions (15:13, 15; 13:12; 14:10) and makes choices (3:1, 5; 5:12). But it also understands (2:2), devises plans (6:18; 16:9), studies (15:28), teaches (16:23), and ponders (23:7). So when Proverbs 4:23 warns us to diligently keep our hearts (lev), it’s calling us to guard (natsar) our entire inner man—including both the intellectual and the nonintellectual.

The most common word for “heart” in the NT (kardia) shows a similar pattern. Along with its connection to a range of emotions and attitudes, the kardia thinks (Matt. 9:4) understands (Matt. 13:15) questions (Mark 2:8, Luke 3:15), ponders (Luke 2:19)—even reasons (dialogismos, Luke 9:47).

Since the Bible reveals that our intellectual and non-intellectual capacities are complementary, trying to pit them against each other to produce a winner is foolish.

3. The Bible doesn’t teach that the heart is trustworthy.

Scripture not only shows us that the intellectual and non-intellectual within us are complementary and intertwined, but it also warns us about both them in roughly equal measure. Whatever we understand the “heart” to be, it’s certainly not more reliable than the brain.

• In Mark 7:20-23, the heart (kardia) is a source of all sorts of defiling behavior.
• In Acts 5:3-4, it’s the heart of Ananias that Satan fills so that he lies to the Spirit.
• In Acts 8:20-22, Simon’s heart is what has evil “intent” (v.22) and drives him to think incorrectly (v.20).
• In 1 Kings 11:4-9, Solomon’s heart (levav—clearly,  his affections) eclipses his wisdom and turns him after false gods.
• In Jeremiah 17:9, the heart (lev) is deceitful and sick.

4. Not all knowledge “puffs up.”

Pride of knowledge is a real problem, but so is the pride of any other possession. Whether we’re proud to have more knowledge than others or more land, money, friends, experience, or good looks—it’s all the same.

And some knowledge clearly isn’t pride-inducing at all. Consider knowledge of the gospel, for example (1 Tim. 2:4): knowing that we’ve grievously wronged the God who made us, that all the good we could do in a thousand lifetimes wouldn’t even begin to merit God’s forgiveness, and that only His own righteousness graciously credited to us can make us acceptable to Him is humbling knowledge!

So it’s not surprising that the New Testament often speaks of the importance of knowledge and, therefore, of intellect.

Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?” (Mark 12:24)

For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. (Rom. 10:2)

Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering. (Lk 11:52)

[W]e have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, (Col. 1:9)

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. (1 Cor. 2:6)

The Bible is anything but anti-intellectual. In the beginning, God created us as thinking beings in His image and gave us work for our minds (Gen. 2:19). Jesus commanded His followers to be mentally sharp (Matt. 10:16), and the apostle Paul urged us to “take every thought captive” to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). Drawing our conclusions about truth, error, right and wrong based on intuition and feelings—without disciplined attention to knowledge and clear thinking—isn’t Christian; it’s a worldly capitulation to the lazy sentimentality of our times."

https://sharperiron.org/article/bible-anti-intellectual

 

---

 

 

[Daniel Marsh]

https://www.equip.org/article/anti-intellectualism-church/

http://www.equip.org/PDF/JAF2394.pdf

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451499603/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=jonatha05-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0451499603&linkId=c25176a6bdd9c9c97a7b30a99eb62340

Joshua 1:8
Always remember what is written in that book of law. Speak about that book and study it day and night

Psalm 119:15
I will study your instructions. I will give thought to your way of life.

Paul was a Scholar.

Acts 26:3
Verse Concepts
especially because you are an expert in all customs and questions among the Jews; therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.

Ezra 7:6
Verse Concepts
This Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a scribe skilled in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all he requested because the hand of the Lord his God was upon him.

Philippians 3:5
Verse Concepts
circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee;

Acts 7:22
Verse Concepts
Moses was educated in all the learning of the Egyptians, and he was a man of power in words and deeds.

Acts 5:34
Verse Concepts
But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the Law, respected by all the people, stood up in the Council and gave orders to put the men outside for a short time.

Romans 2:18
Verse Concepts
and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law,

Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Scholars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Alive]

When these sorts of subjects come up, I usually recall the Logos of God, the Word, Christ, God.

That word means variously the rational logical reason for all things when applied to Jesus Christ--God.

We were made in His image to be rational and logical thinking and reasoning creatures....when we think about that gift. It really is amazing.

A hammer can be used to drive a nail or break a vase...its not rocket science.

Pun very much intended.