This Makes Me Mad.

You know what bugs me?

Lint traps.

You know what really bugs me?

Anti-intellectualism.

If you don’t know what that means, I trust that you’ve heard it at play:

“Jesus didn’t go to seminary, why should I?”
“Seminary? More like cemetery! (Followed by snickering)”
“The disciples didn’t have degrees.”
“Me? Oh I just like to keep it simple. No fancy schooling for me.”

It drives me crazy. And I hear it all the time. It’s very subtle, but it’s out there.

It’s bad logic for so many reasons (Jesus, just like any Jewish boy in the first century, would have had extensive schooling; Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament, was one of the most educated men on the planet; Luke, who wrote Luke-Acts, was a doctor, etc.), but most of all it’s profoundly prideful. Not to mention it segregates and divides those who have done the hard work of formal seminary education (like me, for instance).

Bottom line: If school is for you, awesome. I got nothin’ but love for you. If school is not for you, realize that God does call some people to get a formal education. Sorry.

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Contributor: Justin Wise

I am a religious deviant who enjoys coffee, collared shirts, spending time with my wife and son, learning about quantum physics and creatively exploring the riches of the Spirit of Christ. Find more here: JustinWise.me
  • just so you know, in this is the predominant view in rural America - that education is not necessary... most of the churches around here do not care if their pastor even has a college education, much less a seminary degree - and certainly don't care about MDiv... what they do care about is that their pastor have a penis... apparently that particular appendage is way more important than education...

    don't mean to sound bitter - just truthful...:-)
  • Vy
    I definitely agree that you can't go wrong trying to learn more, especially when a lot of non-believers I know automatically assume that being a Christian automatically means you stop seeking out new knowledge and discoveries.

    Here's my gripe with the concept of "higher education," though (and I'm speakings strictly from an economic point of view): Everyone thinks you *have* to go for a degree where you're going to be working a fancy 9-to-5 white-collar job. I would honestly love to see more mechanics and technicians out there, but society doesn't look very kindly upon people who have "inferior" and "less intellectual" occupations (my father is an engineer and he complains about how there aren't enough mechanics to maintain their equipment).

    So yeah, being intellectual is great, but it seems like there isn't enough emphasis on technical ability and skill these days. I mean, how many of us would be able to fix our cars if it just happened to fall apart one day?

    For the record, I'm working on a BS in Healthcare Management. I would be just as screwed over if my car broke down.
  • Where did you go to seminary?
  • Scott F Oakland
    I went to a church-based institute, New England Baptist Theological Institute. I didn't know the Pastor of the church was Reformed until well after I left.
  • the logic that Jesus didn't go is ridiculous. He was the Son of God, I would sure hope he didn't need to go to seminary.
  • And nevermind the fact that seminaries didn't even exist when Jesus lived. (Which, according to some people, is a perfect example of why we should do away with seminaries today.) Sheesh!
  • Justin, I used to hear that stuff all the time. People thought I was crazy for wanting to go to seminary. My friend Jeff had a similar situation. He wrote a post on my blog about it entitled "Considering Seminary When Others Do Not" -> <a href="http://www.goingtoseminary.com/considering-seminary-when...target="_blank">http://www.goingtoseminary.com/considering-semina...
  • May bad on formatting above <a href="http://www.goingtoseminary.com/considering-seminary-whe...target="_blank">Considering Seminary When Others Do Not
  • Now I just feel stupid. What is up with intense debate not accepting link html?
  • I laughed out loud when I read this. ID is still working out some bugs, I think. In the future, you may benefit from tinyurl.com or something like that. I had to use it when I was commenting on another site's ID comments!
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