Christ is absurd (I Cor. 1:18). There is no excellence involved in the simple
proclamation of a simple creed. It nevertheless “pleased God by the foolishness of
preaching to save them that believe” (I Cor. 1:21). The mere proclamation of, and
the subsequent obedience to, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power by which
God saves the alien sinner (Romans 1:5, 16; 6:17-18).
Now, preaching in and of itself is not foolish, and the apostle was not
endeavoring to so affirm. To preach is merely to convey ideas, beliefs, and
arguments with unanimity among those therewith involved being the desired
end. The worldly man implicitly relies, at least to some extent, on this powerful
and necessary art of persuasion in his everyday mundane affairs. Getting the
husband to pick up the kids after school, or, convincing the company to approach
the next project with your method in mind are all forms of preaching. It is not
preaching that is foolish. Conversely, it is what is preached, and the motive for
preaching it that is so scornfully held in contempt and vehemently rejected by
worldly people. Paul said, “for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness”, and that the motive for preaching the cross is “to save them that
believe”. These, the world just does not fully appreciate.
Many people, like the Jews of old, “require a sign”, or deem a miraculous event
to be the grounds for and the ensign of their salvation. They look for something
supernatural to move from within and without, causing some great change in
them to occur. Others, like the Greeks of old, esteem the pure, unadulterated
gospel to be too simple. Doubtless, the Corinthians themselves, to whom the
apostle addressed these words, were surrounded by a society which boasted of
their elaborate, highly-developed systems of philosophies, and which took pride
in their aptitude of resolving various domestic and municipal problems through
human reasoning and worldly wisdom. The neighboring city of Athens, only a few
centuries earlier, had harbored the distinguished intellects of Socrates, Plato, and
Aristotle. The Greeks, indubitably, sought “after wisdom” and not after “Christ
crucified”. (I Cor. 1:22).
A simple revealed religion
But Christianity is a revealed religion (Galatians 1:11-16). Facts are facts and
error is error. There is little to no need for great methods of thought in order to
arrive at the proper conclusion. God has revealed unto us that which He has
purposed for us (cf. I Cor. 2:6-13). Convoluted systems of human reasoning are
superfluous in light of the simplicity characteristic of the great truths vouchsafed
within the Bible’s hallowed pages. Those who take pride in their intellectual
attainments scarcely derive intrigue in pristine Christianity, for virtually every
aspect of it is diametrically opposite to that on which human philosophy is
centered – namely, humanity. When man is the center of a philosophy, opinions,
conjecture, disparity, and subjectivity are all to be reckoned with. On the other
hand, when God is the center of a philosophy, facts, evidence, unity, and
objectivity are each the natural result. Hence, God said that the intellectually and
culturally “refined” Romans who professed themselves to be “wise” “became
fools” (Romans 1:22). They had not comprehended the wisdom of God.
It's for intellectuals too
Before someone misapprehends me as saying that Christianity is for
simpletons and the unintelligent, let me offer my objection. When Paul said “not
many wise men after the flesh…are called” (I Cor. 1:26), he did not say “not any
wise men after the flesh are called”. He implied that there are, though few they
may be, intellectuals who are able to forsake their foolish highbrow pride and to
come unto the knowledge of sacred truth. True Christianity is just as much for
philosophers as it is for the pragmatists. Its tenets are as deep as they are simple.
Indeed, the gospel is more provocative and much wiser than any system of
thought mortal man can devise, for it was fashioned by the incalculable wisdom
and omniscience of God Almighty! “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than
men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men” (I Cor. 1:25). “For my
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Logic and reasoning are very much a part of the Christian religion and those
who claim that faith is simply a “leap in the dark” or that Christianity is a religion
of mere emotion and not thought are very much mistaken. Paul “reasoned in the
synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks” (Acts 18:4).
The Master Himself demands that we be “wise as serpents and harmless as
doves” (Matthew 10:16). When error is being propagated, it takes quick-witted
acuity to manifest the fallacies and to expose the sophistry of the erroneous
position, which in turn will cause the truth to be discernible for all unbiased,
concerned individuals to see.
Conclusion
The Christian philosophy is unparalleled in regard to its unmitigated
rationality and simple truth. No other religion or philosophy can compare to it. It
is a God-centered philosophy. Denominationalists who claim that a miraculous
intercession within the alien sinner’s heart is necessary for conversion, like the
Jews of old, find the true, unadorned gospel to be repugnant and too ordinary.
They want to be the center of a miraculous demonstration and for other-worldly
forces to “give them a sign” and pull them in the proper direction. The gospel way
of salvation is a stumbling-block to the Calvinists and Post-Modernists of our
day. Correspondingly, the “theologians” who rely on great human systems of
thought and not the simple gospel to have a connection with the divine are
trusting in sheer falsehood, and really are nothing more than intelligent fools.
The simple gospel is but foolishness to this sort. When either of these kinds of
people decide to relinquish their careless conceit, and to put their trust in God-
centered philosophy, they might have a chance to come out on the side of good
sense. Thus we conclude with the peerless apostle Paul, “that no flesh should
glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, that according
as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (I Cor. 1:29-31).
