Why The History of Ideas is Crucial To Evangelism
July 30, 2009
By J. Matthan Brown
There are many who find the study of Humanities an exercise in futility; especially among evangelicals. So, it comes as no surprise that many Southern Baptists are baffled as to why students at the College at Southwestern are reading the likes of Plato and Aristotle. Akin to the early church father Tertullian, parishioners wonder what connection Jerusalem has with Athens. More pointedly, they wonder what connection the history of ideas has with evangelism and missions. These questions, when left unanswered, often lead to misunderstanding and division.
My goal in this essay is simply to respond to Tertullian’s rhetorical question–to show precisely what connection Jerusalem does have with Athens. In so doing, I hope to demonstrate why the history of ideas is absolutely crucial to evangelism. It is my ardent belief that a solid background in the history of ideas and worldview thinking creates better pastors, better missionaries, and more importantly, better evangelists.
Schaeffer’s Challenge to the Modern Evangelist
In Francis Schaeffer’s influential book, The God Who is There, he explains how North America and Europe underwent a tremendous shift in thought in the early half of the twentieth-century. This dramatic shift revolved around the very nature of truth. Schaeffer explains that there was a time when virtually everyone understood truth to be absolute—universal or objective—however the modern mind views things quite differently. The new view of truth is one of total subjectivity—one completely relative to the individual. It represents the total abandonment of the idea of antithesis—that if a proposition A is true then its converse (not A) is necessarily false.[1]
In the old days Christians could communicate the Gospel in a straightforward way that would resonate with the average individual because everyone accepted the notion of antithesis; sadly, under the new way of thinking, this is no longer the case. As Schaeffer explains:
Thirty or more years ago you could have said such things as “This is true” or “This is right,” and you would have been on everybody’s wavelength. People may or may not have thought out their beliefs consistently, but everyone would have been talking to each other as though the idea of antithesis was correct. Thus, in evangelism, in spiritual matters and in Christian education, you could have begun with the certainty that your audience understood you.[2]
Needless to say, the new shift in thought drastically diminishes the effectiveness of traditional evangelism; even straightforward statements like, “Jesus is the truth,” or “do what is right,” which used to carry much weight, no longer have any meaning. Such statements, however true they may be, are simply not understood.
To put it plainly: I am not effectively communicating the gospel in today’s society by simply pointing out that, “Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.” I have to explain what I mean when I say he is the “way,” and what I mean when I speak of “truth.” Otherwise, the hearer will not understand how Jesus leads to life. In the current generations mind, such an absolute statement merely amounts to this: “Jesus is a way, and a truth, and is one of many possibilities which lead to life.”
At this point, you may be wondering what all of this has to do with the history of ideas. Allow me to explain. Schaeffer never could have come to these important conclusions if he had not taken the time to read and understand the basic underlying philosophy of the culture in which he lived. Quite simply: the history of ideas is an indispensable component of evangelism. For it is the evangelists chief responsibility to understand how and why people think the way they do in whatever culture he is sharing the gospel message. This is because he has an obligation—a Biblical mandate—to ensure that everyone hears the message of the cross.
Paul poses the question in Romans 10:14, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”[3] If you share the gospel to a postmodern and all he hears is, “Jesus is a way, and a truth, and may lead to life,” he has not heard the gospel! To be a good evangelist is to understand the worldviews of others with the goal of understanding how to communicate the gospel in a way that they can understand.
Jerusalem Meets Athens
Perhaps no one in the Bible demonstrates this as well as the Apostle Paul. In Acts 17, Paul finds himself stuck in the ancient city of Athens—the intellectual center of Rome. While there he begins to dialogue with both Stoic and Epicurean philosophers—and before long is taken before the Areopagus to explain his “strange” teaching. (Acts 17:19,20) In Paul’s famous Areopagus speech we find a practical example of how the history of ideas connects with evangelism and missions.
Paul begins his speech by appealing to an altar erected to an unknown god he discovered while exploring the city (this gave him the perfect lead into discussing the One True God who created everything.) As Paul’s speech progresses he cleverly quotes Stoic and Epicurean philosophers and poets to communicate the Biblical worldview and introduce the listeners to Jesus (it is of significant note that Paul is able to communicate all of this and win several converts without once quoting from scripture.)
What can we learn from this story? Clearly, that understanding the ideas, thoughts, and culture of the people God has placed in our lives to minister to is of great importance. Paul had obviously taken the time to study Greek Philosophy—to such an extent that he was able to quote their own writings in an effort to make the Gospel understandable to a group of Athenian philosophers. Why did he do this? Because he wanted them to hear—understand, comprehend—the good news of the kingdom of God.
He realized he had to speak to them on their level, using a vocabulary they where familiar with, or else they would not understand the message. Indeed, it was for the very sake of the gospel that he did so. Paul later communicated this principle in a letter to the Church in Corinth: “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel…” (1 Corinthians) As Christians we are commissioned by our Lord to share the gospel with all people—by all means–and as such are obliged to follow Paul’s example.
Jerusalem Meets Chiang Mai
These ideas became crystal clear to me while on mission in Chiang Mai Thailand. My training at the College at Southwestern has given me a solid foundation in the history and ideas of both Eastern and Western traditions. However, I was a bit skeptical about the relevance of such training in Thailand. How could my training in philosophy and apologetics possibly help me reach the people of Chiang Mai? True to form, God shattered my doubts and proved me wrong.
It didn’t take much interaction before I realized that the Buddhist monks were highly intelligent. Many of them had a profound interest in studying variant philosophies and understanding other religions. Often, the first thing they would ask me to do was to explain to them the difference between Eastern and Western philosophical thought. This, of course, provided a great lead into explaining the fundamental differences between Buddhism and Christianity.
I found myself, on the other side of the world, in a completely different culture, hashing out the classic rules of logic, debating the finer points of epistemology, and discussing such varied topics as evolution and big bang cosmology. In a nut shell, God was putting my college education to good use. For many of the monks these issues presented serious roadblocks and for them to understand the gospel I had to provide them with intelligible answers. Like Paul’s study of Greek Philosophy, my training in the history of ideas allowed me to share the gospel in a coherent way to the monks of Chiang Mai.
Concluding Remarks
It seems to me that the study of Humanities is both intellectually and aesthetically enriching, and immensely practical. Those who fail to see this—especially among evangelicals—seem to be blinded to the reality in which they live. The point of evangelism is to share the good news of Jesus Christ—presumably this entails ensuring our audience understands what they are hearing. Consequentially, nothing could prepare the evangelist more than having a thorough grasp of the history, ideas, and culture of his audience. This is why the history of ideas is crucial to evangelism.
[1]Francis A. Schaeffer, Francis A. Schaeffer Trilogy (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1990), 6-7.
[2]Ibid., 7.
[3]All Biblical quotations from the ESV.
