1) Give further details of how the sin of anti-intellectualism is evidenced in the church.
I believe the hardest evidence is the lack of desire and willingness to put effort into diving deep into spiritual matters. We live in a society of Pop culture and experience driven mentality that wants the here and now sensation. Our churches can be swayed to put too much effort into matching the culture and move away from the "meat" of the Christian faith that comes from facing challenges to spiritual growth and investing time into spiritual study beyond the Sunday morning experience.
We need to be careful to not only offer prayer, for example, in response to life's challenges but to also seek the scripture and weigh the circumstances with evidence of truth. Or perhaps we are more emotional driven at times with matters that we need to step back and look at God in the correct image of who He is so we can better address the situation in the right perspective.
Many Christians do not know the basics of scripture. I have personally witnessed Christian individuals who have been shocked at the response that common sayings (such as treat others how you want to be treated) are ethics rooted in scripture (Matthew 22:39 "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' " NKJV). If such 'popular' scriptures are not known by most Christians then I would suspect many other details are missing from their study of the scriptures as well.
Many Christians feel ill equip to face challenges to their faith that are presented to them in the form of science or by other religions. I don't believe this facing these challenges always needs to be by knowing the "other side" but by knowing your side well and why you believe it (historical, logic and reason included).
2) How do I tend to be one anti-intellectual in regard to spiritual matters?
When I am in the midst of heavy emotions it is the hardest time for me to think intellectually and see the situations from the right perspective. I believe it is at these times that I need to step back, as mentioned above, and get my focus on God and His character (which i do through studying His Word and reflecting on how God has shown evidence of His character in my life in the past. When I do this I can come back to the situation with a clearer perspective and the outcome is always better.
3) Why is it too easy to separate the intellectual life from the spiritual?
Well it is easier to live as a vegetarian if you live in a land that has 99% vegetables. And it is easier to live in the States as a separatarian (haha, I know, not an actual word) when the land is 99% separatist between mind and spirit (Percentage used to put point across. It does not represent any actual research conducted on the subject
God (spirituality) has been taken out of our mainstream educational institutions, courtrooms, scientific fields, entertainment (for sure), and many of our homes. The talk of God and His character in public is a shunned topic or one that usually brings with it heightened emotions and irrational anger. We have a tendency as a church to "do church" on Sunday and maybe Wednesday but not integrating God into every aspect of our lives.
4) Chain mail as evidence to tabloid theology.
The URGENT. The NOW! The DON'T miss OUT... Be obedient to this simple thing and receive a blessing with minimal to now effort!
5. How have I been influenced by Tabloid theology? Why is it so common for us to be?
If I do not have a good store of knowledge to pull from when I get sucked into a catchy title I am at risk of believe things that are not sound and founded on real truth. I may accept ideas or theologies that are at conflict or completely against what I would accept if I had studied the subject appropriately instead of getting my perspective from a tabloid ad. I believe this is common for many of us because we are curious about what is being presented to us and we are bound to come across ideas that address subjects that we are not intelligent in.
6. Folk theology.
I think a great example of folk theology are the Gnostic gospels. They are actual documents written centuries ago and address topics that have familiarity with the reader though the truths are warped and manipulated. People have passed down these ideas and writing for generations, and recently the writings have gain a much larger following. I believe that is because people are approaching them with an anti-intellectual thought processes.
7. How are issues influenced by our theology?
When we get sick...do we believe we should use medicine, do we believe we should pray for our selves or only for other people, do we think all sickness is a sign of deeper spiritual matters, or do we see sickness as an opportunity to learn something, etc.
When we choose schooling for our children...should we do everything we can to put our children in private schools, do we believe that homeschooling is the best form to bring God into education, do we see the public schools as an opportunity to bring God's love into a community, do we believe God directs every family differently in this subject or do we believe all do to do as we do, etc.
When we vote...do we vote a party line because our our "religion", do we look closely at what the candidates stand for and the history, do we pray over the information we are processing, do we believe God can work in any government and therefore do not vote, do we believe that yet still believe we need to use our right to vote and do so according to our faith and knowledge that God gave to us to use, etc.
When we decide who we will marry...do we believe God has someONE for us, do we believe it is entirely up to us and He will bless any decision, do we believe we are to seek Him before we allow our hearts to be open to someone, or do we seek God earnestly after we have made our decision and hope He says "yes".
9) In what ways can you apply the lesson learned?
Think about my tendencies to respond without real thought in different situations. Change my habits that come from thoughts that do not line up with what I know to be true. And challenge myself to seek out knowledge in areas where I am lacking wisdom in.
