In Intellectual Neutral - William Lane Craig

The Problem of Infancy–Introduction

I've been thinking a lot again. Oh boy, here we go… (Note: I've discovered how lengthy and deep this topic can go, so I will have to split it up into a few blog posts.)

Today in the western church, we are consumed with the problem of infancy. Perhaps some would call this problem “Carnal Christians,” or “Lukewarm Christians.” I see them as the same thing. So what is an infant? Let’s see how the Bible defines it.

Hebrews 5:12-13- “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."

Ephesians 4:14- “So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”

Colossians 2:8- “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to the elementary spirits (or “principles") of the world, and not according to Christ.”

By these verses, infancy is lacking Biblical knowledge which results in the believer getting taken captive by deceitful schemes by human cunning. What are these schemes? Let me list a few:

Relativism 

Liberalism (political, biblical, economical, or educational) 

Marxism  

Pragmatism 

Secular Humanism 

Darwinian Evolution 

Environmentalism 

Feminism

For the past few decades, the western church has asked, “Why do so many of our young people lose their faith when they go to college?” or “Why are people so ashamed and unskilled to share their faith?” Scripture gives us the answer. They are infants, they are tossed and turned by every wave of doctrine, and they are overtaken by deceptive philosophy. Simply, believers are ill equipped. An hour sermon once a week is not enough to grow them into maturity.

How then do we grow into maturity? Hebrews 10 gives us the answer:

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:23-25

Therefore,

“Let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.” Hebrews 6:1

"Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature" 1 Corinthians 14:20

Learning is fer Dummy's

           
     I’ve been reading Augustine’s “On Free Choice of the Will” almost all day today. And obviously because I’ve read about a third of one of his classic works, I am now an expert. So I would like to share my elite knowledge with you surfs (kidding).

       
    Augustine develops that all learning is good, and in fact no one can “learn” evil. In his later works he develops the idea of “original sin,” which is where we get that doctrine. So in fact we don’t have to “learn” how to do evil, but how to do good.

               
   I’m sure that you’ve heard this before.  A common analogy in the church is “you don’t have to teach a baby how to be bad, it already knows how to be a stealing, lying, cheater that only desires what is in his/her best interests. You have to teach it how to be good.” What I hadn’t contemplated before is the second part, we have to be taught how to be good. In fact, without being taught, there is no way that we can learn to be good. First comes teaching, and then comes learning. When we learn, we act; because we understand that we ought to act in a certain way.

             
   What I instantly thought of is, why are so many people in the church still refusing to be Spirit led, and cling to sin more than to Christ? The answer is simple, it is not the pastor (though sometimes it is) because he is teaching the Word, (2 Timothy 3:16) it is the people sitting in the pews. The average church goer, literally, is unwilling to learn. If they were willing to learn, they would not do evil. For “it follows that doing evil is nothing more than turning away from learning.” (Augustine 2)

                 

Works Cited

Augustinus, Aurelius, and Thomas Williams. On Free Choice of the Will. Indianapolis U.a.: Hackett, 1993. Print.
ESV Bible