“In my pastoral ministry, I have met people who have
become intoxicated with ‘studying the deeper truths of the
Bible.’ Usually they have been given a book or introduced
to some teacher’s tapes. Before long, they get so smart they
become dumb! The ‘deeper truths’ they discover only
detour them from practical Christian living. Instead of
getting burning hearts of devotion to Christ (Luke 24:32),
they get big heads and start creating problems in their
homes and churches. All Bible truths are practical, not
theoretical. If we are growing in knowledge, we should also
be growing in grace (2 Peter 3:18).” – James Dunn
Hello my friends. Please know I am out of town this week and set this to automatically post. I won’t be checking in, so I will not be able to approve any comments that are left on the blog until I return. Laura
I’ve heard people talk about “deeper truths” of the Bible as well, and to me it sounds like a form of gnoticism: there’s supposedly a deeper or hidden truth that not everyone gets. That is so contrary to what Scripture itself says, that when we have the Spirit we have the ability to understand God’s word.
Tim
P.S. I figured I’d leave this comment even though you’re out of town. It gives you something in your inbox on your return!
Also be aware the fallacy that knowledge impedes grace or practical Christian living! James Dunn’s quote without context may lead people to think reading bible or studying a biblical book is harmful. Be careful.
Hi! Thanks for your comment. I love quotes! But one problem with quotes is that they can indeed be misunderstood b/c they are out of their original context.
But for regular readers of my blog I don’t think this misunderstanding would be a problem. A frequent focus of my blog is on reading, studying, making sure you understand what you believe, and encouraging people to think. I am actually a seminary student. A problem for us more academic folks is that we can end up missing the point – we are so focused on learning we forget about the heart and the practical aspect of faith.
But I appreciate your comment so that if anyone stumbles upon this quote and they do not regularly read my blog, that they will see your warning. As someone who encourages people to go deeper, I certainly wouldn’t want a quote to give the opposite impression and discourage people from learning and reading!