Answers
By BGEA Admin • November 4, 2023 • Topics: Bible
Q:
Why do so many intellectuals have a hard time trusting the Bible? It seems all they can do is tear it down and suggest that anyone who believes its truth is anti-intellectual.
A:
From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham
The Gospel is not anti-intellectual. It demands the use of the mind, but the mind is affected by sin, whether that mind is of superior intelligence or average. A person may be intellectually brilliant, but spiritually ignorant. “A natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; … and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14, NASB).
An intellectual mind can be turned into a first-class mind when Christ penetrates the heart. Some years ago, one of the most brilliant men in the world was reported to have an IQ of 208 with over 140 patents with a world-leading company. He even attempted theoretically to reconstruct the human brain. He became completely bewildered and shaken, however, when confronted with the complexity and utter impossibility of such a reconstruction. He didn’t know what to do or where to run. His choice was twofold: either the human brain came about by a fantastic chance or by intelligent planning. When faced with the alternative he knew he had only one choice, and he became a believer in God as it was revealed to him through Jesus Christ, whose intellect he could not surpass.
Many people of great intelligence will not accept Christ as their Savior because they cannot prove His existence, yet the plain truth is that God cannot be proved by intellectual arguments alone. If the human mind could fully prove God, He would be no greater than the mind who proves Him!
We may not understand everything in the Bible, but God will give us faith to believe. We must allow faith to go beyond our intellect, receiving His words as the inspired Word of God.
(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)
