The
Sin of Intellectualism
By
Daniel E. Wrigley, Esq.
One of this nation’s oldest and most respected educational
institutions is Harvard University. Harvard
was founded only 16 years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock and is
named after its first 
major
benefactor, John Harvard, a minister at Charlestown, Massachusetts that left
his entire library and half of his estate to the school.
There can be no doubt that, like nearly all
of the first 100 universities in America, Harvard was founded on the Christian
faith. A perusal of the section on
Harvard University in Bill Federer’s America’s God and Country Encyclopedia
of Quotations reveals that Harvard was founded to “train a literate clergy,”
the founders believed that “all knowledge without Christ was vain,” and that
the word “Veritas” which appears on the seal of the University means “divine
truth.”
Further support of Harvard’s Christian
foundation is evident from a speech by Josiah Quincy, Harvard’s President from
1829 -1845 wherein he is quoted as having said “Human happiness has no perfect
security but freedom; freedom none but virtue, virtue none but knowledge; and
neither freedom, virtue, nor knowledge has any vigor or immortal hope, except
in the principle’s of the Christian faith and in the sanctions of the Christian
religion.”
But, despite this Christian foundation of
the University, Harvard’s Christian moorings were loosed about the time of
America’s Industrial Revolution when its administration began to acknowledge
the French philosophy of positivism and the Religion of Humanity. It was at that time that Harvard Law School
applied positivism to the law and propagated the notion that judges should
interpret the Constitution in a manner that evolves to meet the needs of
a changing society.
This intellectual rebellion came to a full
head and boiled over nearly a century ago when Harvard defiantly threw off the “shackles
of faith” as evidenced by the message of its 1908 Class Poem entitled “Man”
which screamed of pagan intellectualism in stanzas saying things such as “Out
of the Church’s prison, the new Christ re-arisen!,” and “Mankind, the Christ,
retried, re-crowned, re-crucified; No god for a gift, God gave us, Mankind
alone must save us.”
God
or No God
A culture war then engaged between the
competing ideologies of intellectualism and faith in the Living God. As with most other wars, this culture war I
speak of is about freedom -- both sides are seeking freedom from God. But, lest any reader might be confused about
this, bear in mind that even though both sides desire freedom from God, it’s
different kinds of freedom that they want.
The freedom from God which one ideology
seeks is that which will banish a perceived fictitious authority from their
lives, thus allowing them to pursue their life interests without any sort of
moral restraint except that which they might be unable to persuade a jury of
their peers and a Supreme Court majority to reject. The freedom from God which the other ideology
seeks is that which acknowledges God as the ultimate authority in their lives
and recognizes that Being as the source from which all freedoms are derived.
In essence, these opposing ideologies are warring
over whether God really exists and if so, how that belief, or lack thereof,
should impact our social institutions. For
simplicity’s sake, I’ll refer to each of 
the
competing ideologies as the “Intellectuals” and the “Believers.”
I think you’ll know which label applies to each side.
War
Strategy
As their label implies, the Intellectuals are
no dummies. They knew that this culture war was a spiritual one and that they
could never win it by first attempting to infiltrate the Church. Strategic
planning was necessary if they were going to have any success at re-fabricating
our social structure.
But upon realizing that the composition of
legislators in Congress included nearly as many Believers as were in the
composition of the Church, the Intellectuals decided that Congress wasn’t a
very good place to start. And, neither was the executive office, as they
learned the legacy of Christian faith left by American Presidents provided
ample evidence that no candidate, irrespective of political party, would ever
have any realistic possibility of being elected President without having appeal
to Believers who filled the voting booths every election.
The Intellectuals realized that they would
have to circumvent the influence of Believers in the political process and
eventually establish a way to convert them to their way of thinking in order to
stand a chance at the ballot box. The strategy they adopted to accomplish this
dual goal was to rely on the judiciary throughout the states to remove biblical
influence from the public schools.
The judiciary was the perfect choice to
effect this change in that the Intellectuals had graduated a goodly flock of
lawyers who were filling the judiciary in states across the nation who
understood and embraced their ideology. The judiciary was also a good choice
because judges are most often appointed rather than elected and, once seated,
are not easily removed. The public schools were a good choice as the first
forum because the Intellectuals understood that not only could they
indoctrinate children to their way of thinking but also disrupt the stability
of families which were producing so many future Believers.
So, the Intellectuals sought a case in which
to begin deconstructing the public school system in order to chip away at the
Rock of Faith upon which the schools were founded. The first opportunity they
chose was to challenge a Tennessee statute which prohibited the teaching of
anything other than the Biblical account of Creation in its curriculum. Although violation of the statute only amounted
to a misdemeanor resulting in a fine of $100, the Intellectuals hyped-up the
media and used the case as a platform in which to have a national debate on the
matter of science versus faith.
In what came to be known as the Scopes
Monkey Trial, Intellectuals clashed with Believers. The trial resulted in
John Scopes being convicted. But even though Intellectuals had lost the battle,
they were nonetheless were victorious in the sense that the case escalated the
culture war to the forefront of our national conscience.
Having successfully made a crack in the Rock
of Faith, the Intellectuals went on to challenge other such statutes and issues
over the years since then. In the case of Everson v. Board of Education of
Eweing Tp., the Intellectuals persuaded the United States Supreme Court
that government monies received by a Catholic school to assist in the daily
transportation costs it incurred in getting students to its school was a
violation of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution in
that it was tantamount to an establishment of religion. It was this case that
birthed the Constitutional doctrine of ‘Separation of Church and State.’
The Intellectuals then sought to make more
of a direct hit on faith itself than what they had in Everson where
their attack was more an administrative issue. From there the Intellectuals
went on to attack school prayer and Bible reading under the mantel of ‘Separation
of Church and State.’ It was easy
picking from there as the Intellectuals went on to score victories in removing
the 10 Commandments from public schools, prohibiting prayer at football games
and graduation ceremonies, and a host of other such issues.
Battling
Back
Believers now find their families in chaos
and disarray from the advancing Intellectual rebellion to the point where they
are about to entirely lose the culture war. Although Believers have managed to
gain a few small victories along the way, they have finally caught on to the
reality that if they are ever going to accomplish more than successfully
defending the remaining vestiges of America’s Christian heritage, they will
need to adopt the same approach by which the Intellectuals have accomplished
their gain. That is, the Believers will have to reclaim the educational
territory to see that their children will not be swept away from the faith established
in them by the Church.
As witnessed by the Intellectuals
coup-de-tau, this will not be accomplished overnight, but will take a lot of
time and strategy if Believers are to be successful. Numerous strategies have
already received a lot of attention in the past few years, some of which have
already been implemented.
One such strategy is the home schooling initiative
whereby parents come to understand their Godly duty to teach their children,
not only the ways of God, but also the various academic disciplines which
are 
typically
taught in the public schools. The success of this initiative has already been
revealed by the number of home schooled students who have received national
recognition for their high achievement in standardized test scores and various
academic competitions.
Another initiative which has shown some
success is one in which parents pull their children from the public schools to
enroll them in private ones. The
Southern Baptist Convention drew a lot of attention recently when it officially
adopted a resolution declaring that its member families should immediately take
this approach and pursue other educational methods.
Without denying the efficacy of home schooling
or private schools, many Believers are nonetheless sending their children
to the public schools. There could be many reasons for this. Some Believers
may not feel that they are qualified or prepared to teach their children all
of the academic disciplines that they would receive in the public school.
But, the home schooling initiative has been around quite a while now, and
there are several conferences and conventions available from which dedicated
parents may gain confidence in their teaching abilities as well as quality
curriculum and other materials.
There could be a plethora of other social
factors which might deter Believers from pulling their children from the public
schools as well. Sadly, one such example would be the need of a single mother
or father with custody of children to use public schools and their related
programs as a sort of a daycare operation to enable the parent to work. Or, the
children themselves might object to leaving the public schools if they are
comfortable there or can’t bear the thought of severing friendships.
One thing is certain, however. In light of
the rate at which our Godly heritage is being wiped away and the social turmoil
we have in this country today which has been caused by the Intellectual
rebellion, Believers must act quickly to reverse the effects of the rebellion.
While educational alternatives for their children are the key, this country
which had once blossomed into the home of God’s children, will be no more
unless Believers seek the power of the Holy Spirit in this cause. Therefore,
Believers must turn to God’s Word to seek out answers on what to do to have an
immediate impact in the education of their children.
Godly
Wisdom is the Key
Much of the curricula in the public schools,
colleges, and universities today is only focused on the technical aspects of
knowledge and a regimented approach to teaching. While these learning
institutions may crank out graduates who are highly skilled and intelligent in
their particular fields of study, many of them nonetheless do not understand
the world around them. The reason for this is that aside from the knowledge
they may have received in these schools they have not received or learned true
wisdom.
Speaking for the Lord, the prophet Hosea
cried out to ancient Israel that the Lord was at controversy with them and that
they would be destroyed for lack of knowledge.
What do you think He meant? Did
He mean that because the Israelites hadn’t excelled at mathematics, science,
and language that their nation would crumble because of that? Hardly. The words
of the prophet were clear and understandable. They would be destroyed because
they had rejected the knowledge of God and forgotten His law.
In his 1828 American Dictionary of the English
Language, Noah Webster puts forth a rather lengthy definition of wisdom.
Webster begins by saying that “wisdom is the right use or exercise of knowledge;
the choice of laudable ends, and of the best means to accomplish them. This
is wisdom in act, effect, or practice. If wisdom is to be considered as a
faculty of the mind, it is the faculty of discerning or judging what is most
just, proper and useful, and if it is to be considered as an acquirement,
it is the knowledge and use of what is best, most just, most proper, most
conducive to prosperity or happiness.” And,
he goes on to say that “In Scripture theology, wisdom is true religion; godliness;
piety; the knowledge and fear of God, and sincere and uniform obedience to
His commands. This is the 
wisdom
which is from above. Psalm 90. Job 28.”
The Bible tells us that the wisest
man who ever lived was Solomon, son of King David and the third to sit upon the
throne of Israel. Most will remember Solomon for his judgment in the case of
two women who claimed that they each were the mother of a certain child. In his
proverbs, Solomon said that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and
tells us that we are to receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment,
and equity.
Just before the children of Israel were to
enter into the Promised Land, God spoke through Moses to say that they should
be diligent to teach the wisdom and knowledge of God to their children, and
through Solomon He admonishes children to hear the instruction of a father and
attend to know understanding.
The message is clear. All of the knowledge a person may have or receive
from today’s educational institutions is nothing without Godly wisdom to enable
someone to effectively use that knowledge for good. Children have a duty to hear the instruction
of their father or mother and the parents have a duty to teach Godly wisdom
to them.
The Bible clearly tells us that there
are different kinds of wisdom - the wisdom of God and the wisdom of this world.
Apostle Paul addresses this in his first writing to the Church at Corinth. The
city of Corinth was a little brother to Athens, which was the pinnacle of
intellectualism at that time.
Paul, himself perhaps one of the most
intellectual persons of his time, wrote to correct the Corinthians who were
self-destructing over intellectualism in the Church. In correcting them, Paul says that the wisdom
of this world is as foolishness to God and that the foolishness of God is wiser
than men. He also reveals that God will destroy the wisdom of the wise and that
the preaching of the cross, which is foolishness to those that perish, is the
power of God.
So, how was it that Solomon came to have
such Godly wisdom? Well, he was probably pretty bright to begin with, but as he
was about to succeed to the throne of Israel he humbly prayed to God for wisdom
and knowledge that he might rightly judge and rule over those whom God had made
him king. God gracefully granted Solomon’s prayer, and told him that because
his heart was so humble, He would give him riches, wealth and honor as no other
kings have had. Wow! That sounds like a
great program. Sign me up.
That shouldn’t sound like such a foreign
idea to us, however. Most readers will recall a very familiar phrase which
Jesus gave to us in His Sermon on the Mount - “Seek ye first the kingdom of
God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
So, with such a great promise, what are we
waiting for? Do we lack enough faith to think that God is unable to fulfill His
promises? I think not. I think that we may have enough faith to pull
this off, but I’m not sure that we’re willing to leave a few things behind and
make enough time to do it.
When will we turn the television off and
open the Bible? When will we pass on going to the ball game with our
friends and co-workers and stay home to teach our children not to be conformed
to this world, but to bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of
Christ?
Will tonight be the night? It’s up to you!
Dan Wrigley is a licensed attorney at
law in Illinois and Missouri. He is also Founder and Chairman of the American
Institute for Judeo-Christian Values (AIJCV), a not-for-profit ministry which
he organized to proclaim the Gospel of Christ and promote the reconstruction
and preservation of a Christian culture in America. For more information regarding
the AIJCV visit their website at www.aijcv.org or call (618) 346-4707 or toll
free (866) 245-2876. Dan can also be reached via e-mail at info@aijcv.org.
