From the Bread upon the Waters Ministry of
William D. Brehm
In Luke 16:8, Jesus made a prophetic statement about Christians in general that is anything but complimentary: "For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of the light". There is a related verse in I Corinthians 1:26, where St. Paul is talking about the kind of people who most frequently become Christians:
"....not many wise according to the flesh .... are called." What this means is that Christians as a whole are frequently lacking in wisdom. Unfortunately, a general lack of wisdom manifests itself in many areas of Christian behavior. And it happens to be a very bad testimony! In Matthew 10: 16, Jesus told us "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore, be wise as serpents and harmless as doves". Regrettably, in what they do and say Christians are often wise as doves and harmless as serpents! Christians should recognize lack of wisdom as a chronic problem from which they suffer, and strive to overcome it. There is no way that the entire problem can be dealt with in one essay, but we will illustrate the problem by examining just two areas in which this lack of wisdom does harm to the cause of Christ in our time.
Christians often believe silly and often vicious rumors simply because they hear them from other Christians, or even Christian leaders, or simply because they sound good. This writer has noticed, as a pattern, that the people who are quickest to believe the kind of rumors we're discussing are often those who also reject sound doctrine (see 11 Timothy 4:3). Let's look at some rumors that have been circulating in recent years.
One of the most vicious is a rumor that the Proctor & Gamble logo is a Satanic symbol that contains the number "666". This rumor had quite a run in Christian circles in the late 70's and early 80's. Then, a number of Christian leaders and media personalities made it known that the logo originated before the Civil War, and the stars that supposedly form the "666" really stand for the 13 Colonies. That information put the rumor to sleep for a while, but this writer has recently heard that it's going around again.
Another vicious one was the rumor that the McDonald's fast food chain was donating 10% of its profits to satanic cults. This seems to be forgotten, and perhaps it died because it became known that the founder of McDonald's was a Born Again Christian! No way has the chain ever done such a thing. But understand that both of these rumors cost the respective companies a lot of business, and did a lot to discredit Christianity. Both rumors got plenty of attention in the mass media, and there are probably many unsaved people who can point to those rumors as part of their reasons for rejecting the Christian faith.
A sillier one, though less vicious, is the rumor that the building in New York City known as 666 Fifth Avenue is the headquarters of the "Antichrist" government which is supposedly already in power. The rumor insists that "666 Fifth Ave." is the name of the building, and not the street address. If you believe this nonsense, and are in New York City, go to see the building. It's on the west side of Fifth Ave. between 52nd and 53rd streets. Stand in front of the building and look at it. You'll see that the name of the building is "Tishman Building", which is clearly marked on the front of the building. Then turn around and look directly across the street. You'll see the number "663" clearly displayed above a doorway oil the east side of the street. If you then just walk a couple of blocks up and down town on Fifth Ave., and watch the street address numbers, there should be no doubt in your mind that "666" is the street address. This stupid rumor won't stand up to even the most casual investigation, but there still are Christians who believe it. And there are probably people who are familiar with that building who reject the Gospel because they've heard this rumor, and it tells them that Christians are stupid. So don't believe or repeat such nonsense.
Too much is made of the number "666" anyway. Mathematically, it has to crop up now and then anywhere that 3-digit numbers are used. This writer once lived in a town (Bay Shore, Long Island) where "666" was a local telephone number prefix! Besides, all it is in the Bible is a number that represents the name of the Beast, and he won't rise to power until after the Tribulation has started. Read Revelation 13! Never give a Biblical number any meaning but what the Bible gives it.
Learn to question rumors you hear. Never repeat them, especially if they say bad things about anyone or anything. "Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace", (Proverbs 17:28). Always ask yourself, "Is this Scriptural?" And make an effort to know the Bible well enough to be able to give yourself the right answer (see 11 Timothy 2:15). If you, as a Christian, make yourself look stupid or crazy, you are making the Christian Faith look stupid or crazy, and therefore false. You are bringing disgrace to the name of Jesus. It's time for Christians to bring back wisdom as a spiritual ideal!
The other area of Christian stupidity we will discuss is the attitude of Christians toward science. Generally, Christians tend to be oblivious, and often willfully so, to scientific matters. This in itself isn't good. We're living in a world that was built by science, and the technology and the world views produced by science are shaping our lives more and more with every passing year. We should be aware of what is going on in science just to understand the times in which we live. (See I Chronicles 12:32.)
When scientists announce some discovery that supports the truth of the Bible, the discovery will be trumpeted by Christians, who usually know nothing about it, as "scientific proof" of the Christian Faith. When science seemed to be saying that the Shroud of Turin was authentic, Christians were promoting it as proof of the Resurrection. (Since the scientific verdict changed to "fake", Christians are suddenly very quiet about it.) But let scientists announce something that seems contrary to the Bible, and Christians are denouncing the scientists as a bunch of liars and atheists (Note: you'd be surprised how many real scientists are Christians!) When a scientist publishes a book or paper that tells about a new discovery, he's staking his career on it. There is cutthroat competition among scientists for funding for research. To be proved wrong can mean loss of funding and/or loss of tenure on staff of whatever institution a scientist belongs to, and bye-bye career. It isn't unknown for scientists to lie, they're human and fallible, but it's rare!
But not everything that claims to be science is, and Christians need to be able to recognize pseudo-science. Back in the mid 70's, a book was published that claimed to be scientific, called "The Jupiter Effect". What it said, briefly, was that there would be a total lineup of the planets in the spring of 1982. The lineup would supposedly create gravitational effects that would indirectly trigger a major earthquake on earth, particularly one that would destroy Los Angeles. We know that the earthquake didn't happen, but That's only the beginning of what was wrong with the book. For one thing, there was no total lineup of the planets, just a loose gathering in about 1/4 of the sky. Even if there had been, nothing would have happened. A high school science and math major could do the calculations that show that the Jupiter Effect theory was wrong. In spite of the book's popularity, the theory was flatly rejected by the scientific community. Even astrologers, who knew the truth about the planetary lineup, were telling people that there was nothing to worry about. (Note: this writer knew the truth.) But many Christians, with their lack of wisdom in the area of science, swallowed "The Jupiter Effect" whole, because it seemed to be about the earthquake in Revelation 6:12. This incident was as big an embarrassment to Christians as the PTL Club and Jimmy Swaggart scandals (which also resulted from lack of wisdom). Many Christians were hurt by this. The whole thing could have been avoided if a few specific Christian leaders had only been well informed about science. Christians also need to know more about science in relation to the Evolution vs. Creation controversy. No one who really believes the Bible should believe in evolution. But on the other hand, it isn't necessary to believe in a literal six day Creation. The biological theory of evolution, and the geological theory of the extreme age of the earth, though related, are two distinct concepts. The theory of evolution is full of holes, but there is overwhelming evidence that the earth is much older than Bible chronology makes it seem to be. We know that the Bible says, "From everlasting to everlasting Thou art God", (Psalm 90:2), so why do we have to squeeze His work of creation into a literal week? Christians who do this, especially those who claim to be scientists, are giving intelligent, educated people honest reason not to believe in Jesus Christ. They will answer to God for it (see Luke 17:1). So will Christians who make our Faith look false.
So the "Stupider Effect" is Christians giving Jesus a bad name by being foolish when they're supposed to be wise, and thus turning people off to the Gospel. (This includes causing other Christians to backslide.) Remember the words of Hosea 4:6, "My people perish for lack of knowledge. Because you reject knowledge, I will reject you". Learn to apply I Thessalonians 5:21 to both rumors and scientific ideas: "Prove all things, hold fast what is good". In the words of Proverbs 4:5, 'Get wisdom!'