My academic training encouraged me to engage the issues, think critically, to ask questions, and to push back. I am a bona fide theological conservative, committed to the inspiration and authority of Scripture, and to the Nicene tradition. Furthermore, I remain committed to the Declaration of Faith of my church.
My vision of scholarship is informed by the apostle Paul’s dialogue at Mars Hill. Paul was provoked by the idolatry of Athens. But he did not burn down the temples, or tear down the altars. In fact, he used an inscription from one of the pagan altars to preach the Gospel. He engaged the various Greek philosophers by speaking their language, and quoting their authors. He remained utterly faithful to the gospel of Christ. Some of the Athenians rejected his message outright. Others committed to further dialogue. Some believed.
An ancient sage declared,
“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17 ESV).
In the ancient world, an iron sharpening rod was used to sharpen knives and swords. A sharpening rod had to be a harder type of iron. The point being that the hard criticisms of one person sharpens the mind of the other person. Engaging the philosophies of this world serves to sharpen the Christian mind.
Paul was a Jewish theologian who was not ashamed of the gospel of Christ and not intimidated by the philosophy of his opponents. It was his knowledge of the Jewish Scriptures and the Greek philosophers that sharpened his insight into the gospel of Christ. Likewise, the discipline of Pentecostal scholarship must be firmly established on the foundation of Holy Scripture, informed by the classical Christian theological tradition, critically engaged with Spirit-transformed minds, and address various human contexts with the truth of Christ.
We are engaged in spiritual warfare. Every general knows the value of intelligence. A warrior needs to know what is enemy is thinking. In fact, wars are won or lost on the strength of intelligence, or lack thereof. Actionable intelligence influences decisions and discerns misinformation. If we are to go into all the world to proclaim the Gospel, we must seek to understand the world of our opponents.
