A standalone study on why the love of wisdom leads to a person, not just a principle.
The big question
If you got very good at arguing for the faith, would that be enough to change anyone? Dr. CJ Rhodes closes his Philosophy 101 course with a humbling answer. He follows Paul from Mars Hill, where he out-reasoned the philosophers and won few of them, to Corinth, where he chose to come in the power of the Spirit instead. This study is about holding two things together: the learning and the burning.
Key takeaways
- At Mars Hill, Paul made a brilliant argument, and yet few were converted.
- In Corinth, Paul came not in eloquent speech but in the power of the Spirit, by choice, not by inability.
- Real persuasion reaches the head, the heart, and the habits, not the head alone.
- A good apologist needs both learning and burning.
- The search for truth is finally a search for a person, Jesus, who is truth itself.
Scripture to sit with
Acts 17:22-31. Paul reasons with the philosophers of Athens, starting from their own altar and poets. Wise engagement with the culture.
1 Corinthians 2:1-5. Paul comes not with lofty speech but in the Spirit’s power, so faith rests on God and not on human wisdom.
Colossians 2:3. In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The search for wisdom has a destination.
John 14:6. I am the way, the truth, and the life. Truth is a person before it is a proposition.
Quotes worth discussing
On the limits of argument, Rhodes says of Paul at Mars Hill, “for those philosophers, there is no evidence that they necessarily converted.”
On reaching the whole person, Rhodes says, “We can’t just reach them in their heads. We’ve gotta reach them in their hearts and in their habits.”
On the balance, Rhodes says, “We’ve gotta reach them not simply with learning, but also with burning.”
On the destination, Rhodes says truth is “found, not in a proposition or principle, but in a person. His name is Jesus.”
Discussion questions
- Have you ever won an argument about faith and still lost the person? What happened?
- Are you stronger on learning or on burning? What would grow the weaker one?
- Where do you tend to stop at the head and forget the heart and habits?
- What does it change to say that truth is a person and not just an idea?
- Where in your witness do you need to lean on the Spirit instead of your own skill?
Go deeper
This study comes from the closing lesson of the Jude 3 Project’s Philosophy 101 course with Dr. CJ Rhodes. For a related conversation, see the Jude 3 episode on why the church needs apologetics.
A closing reflection
Rhodes tells of a boy who tore open his Christmas gift, a remote-control car, and was furious that it would not move, until his father explained the batteries were never installed. Many of us witness like that boy, full of knowledge and frustrated that nothing happens. The power was never ours to supply. This week, do your learning, then pray for the burning, and leave the results to the Spirit.