Now that my book is available in English and Spanish, I often hear three reasons for not reading it. The first is, “I don’t read,” which I addressed in the former blog. The second is, “I won’t understand,” which is the theme of this blog. The third comment, “I’m not interested,” is the topic of the third post in this series.

People who say “I won’t understand” are usually over thirty years of age. They are certainly no less intelligent than their younger friends. In fact, they are undoubtedly wiser. But most of us are products of educational systems focused on economic pragmatism. We acquire “how to” knowledge, learning skills to get a job to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle and experience the “good life.”

Further, for quite some time, university students have not read the Great Books or understood the perennial ideas that inform our minds and conduct historically. Also, for several centuries, we were taught that religion in general―the Bible in particular―are intellectually irrelevant. Jesus, they say, was merely an uneducated peasant. We do not need to pay attention to him. He is a diversion from what is important.

In addition, we are highly distracted. Our cultures and global consumerism are factories of mass distraction. There is always a party to attend, a TV show to watch or a football game to go to. We shop―and shop endlessly―for the latest styles and gadgets. Our cultures are hypnotically demanding: do this, go there, visit them, buy that, and so on. We are addicted to activity and rarely stop to rest, think, and learn.

This is a perfect storm, fostering biblical ignorance, anti-intellectualism, and mental passivity. We do not have time nor energy to love God with our mind. And we often no longer believe we can.

By educational and cultural grooming, therefore, we easily forget that intellectual growth is an integral aspect of spiritual devotion. Read, for example, Hebrews 5:12–14:

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

For this reason, in the Postscript of my book I wrote:

Apprentice thinkers acknowledge with their whole mind, soul, and strength this essential truth: “Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deut 8:3). They build an educational infrastructure that fosters the fear of God as the foundation of knowledge. They learn the history, people, themes, and worldview of the Bible. They study the cultures of the ancient Near East and Palestine. They practice intertextual reasoning and learn to think like the biblical authors. They listen to the global Christian community and learn from the theological tradition of the church.