Dear Jim,<\/p>\n
The intellectual life is important, especially for someone like yourself, who has received so much talent in that area.\u00a0 But for a Christian, it is not life\u2019s be-all and end-all.\u00a0 Remember, we are at war.\u00a0 Christ is establishing his Kingdom, and the Devil is trying to frustrate that.\u00a0 The intellectual life has to be put at the service of the Kingdom, just like everything else.\u00a0 \u201cIf you do not gather with me, you scatter\u201d our Lord pointed out.<\/p>\n
To keep you from falling into self-satisfied, judgmental, arrogant, and sterile intellectual self-stimulation, I think you should contemplate the example of the Apostles.\u00a0 They were Christ\u2019s great deputies, and although they were smart, they always kept their feet on the ground.\u00a0 Take today\u2019s saints for example.<\/p>\n
In the fourth Gospel we get to know Philip pretty well.\u00a0 Remember when he first meets Jesus and our Lord invites him, \u201cFollow me\u201d?\u00a0 Then he goes to Nathaniel to tell him that he\u2019s found the Messiah.\u00a0 Nathaniel doesn\u2019t believe him, and Philip responds with the simplest, most appropriate answer an apostle can give: \u201cCome and see.\u201d\u00a0 That shows a potent combination of good theology, common sense and a lot of faith.\u00a0 Of course, it ended up killing him in the end \u2013 after spreading the gospel in northern Syria he was crucified upside down by the Romans, martyred just like all other Apostles (except for John, of course).<\/p>\n
James (this one is not John\u2019s brother, but the son of Alpheus, a relative of Jesus, called \u201cJames the Lesser\u201d) was the same way: well-balanced, matter-of-fact, straightforward, no-nonsense.\u00a0 After Christ ascended into heaven, St James took charge of the Church in Jerusalem, and under him the Christian ranks swelled so quickly that the authorities stoned him to death in front of the Temple to try and stave off further growth.<\/p>\n
He was called \u201cJames the Just\u201d by the early Christians.\u00a0 He has some of my favorite lines in the Bible.\u00a0 In his letter he writes: \u201cFaith without works is dead.\u201d (James 2:17)\u00a0 Pretty clear, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 And then, \u201cNobody who fails to keep a tight rein on the tongue can claim to be religious; this is mere self-deception; that person\u2019s religion is worthless.\u201d\u00a0 (James 1:26)\u00a0 That\u2019s no pie-in-the-sky, touchy-feely spiritual sedative; that\u2019s gritty theology custom-designed for real life.<\/p>\n
I know this kind of practical faith is less comfortable for you than the airy theological and philosophical discussions you like to engage in at the coffee house.\u00a0 And don\u2019t misunderstand me; those discussions are perfectly fine (and can bear lasting fruit).\u00a0 I\u2019m just worried that you may get seduced by the pleasures of the intellectual life, and unplug from the more strenuous work of loving Christ with \u201call your heart, soul, mind, and strength\u201d, as the Gospels put it.\u00a0 I hope you prove me wrong.<\/p>\n
Count on my prayers,<\/p>\n
Uncle Eddy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Jim, The intellectual life is important, especially for someone like yourself, who has received so much talent in that area.\u00a0 But for a Christian, it is not life\u2019s be-all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":359,"featured_media":145992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3719],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-142453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncle-eddy"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"","pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n