Part 1: Of what Help is Intellectual Curiosity?

This is a series of blogposts that reflect on some of the topics in the forthcoming book A Curious Faith: Love, Loss and Living.

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In the book A Curious Faith: Love, Loss and Living, an underlying theme is intellectual curiosity. The other day we were talking with my fiancée in person when viewing the sample copy, and she noticed the dedication had the words: “to those with intellectually honest questions. . .” And we wondered, does this word even exist? :) I kind of had to explain myself and my curiosity in placing those words side by side.

An article by Psychology Today observes that intellectual curiosity is a trait that we develop as kids and over time, as society gets more stratified we somehow become set in our ways. The article describes an intellectually curious person as “one who has a deep and persistent desire to know.” On the other hand the article observes the peril relating to this trait. The story of Isaac Newton is given, whereby he placed a wedge between his skull and eyes in order to investigate the reality of eyesight. Now this shows that even the most intellectual amongst us have under sight. It seems that this curiosity has its limits, because the human nature is limited, even in its abilities.

In my journey, I held on to the view that the institutions I belonged to (school, church, society) reigned a leash on my curiosity. Given our love for tradition as African people, the fear could have been that curiosity could disintegrate the whole fabric of our view of the world. While being true, deep and persistent knowing can help us to refine the things we hold on to the most while retaining the principles behind them in a manner that is robust and relatable in changing contexts.

How does this relate with the knowledge of God? It seems that God has endowed man with a mind and capability to know things, hence our development of useful technologies, social interactions and problem-solving frameworks. But if we are to take the words “intellectual honesty” seriously, we see here a moral argument: How are we to gauge our curiosity morally? Can it be honest? If it is to be, it would have to be honest all the way from the motive, to the means and to the end. Scripture on the other hand shows us that sin has blurred the entirety of the human being. Therefore, even his rational ability is compromised. Romans 1 shows that the nature of man has evidence of the existence of God yet his sin nature separates him from a true knowledge of God. Man can know truth, but his sin nature suppresses the truth.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (Rom. 1:18-23)

Though the intellectual curious person knows the truth, he suppresses this truth of God by his sinful nature. This remains the hindrance to true knowledge of God. Further for those who make this intellectual curiosity their God, there is an alarm:

For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what was preached [i.e. the Cross] to save those who believe . . . But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong. (1 Cor. 1:21, 27)

What to make of intellectual curiosity then:

1. It is a trait that God has instilled in all human beings as “imagers of God.” Since God himself displays creativity in his work of creation and his sustenance of world history and affairs, then similar abilities are inherent in man.
2. Sin as a distortion of what is good has marred this intellectual curiosity, such that it sometimes falls short of its true design and capabilities. The effect is that it can end up exhausting someone as they grope to find meaning.
3. God uses simple things to show that true knowledge and power is not based on intellectual prowess (for instance, the message of Cross, which is central to salvation of mankind equates all men, simple or sophisticated).
4. God’s plan to restore all things (entire creation in Romans 8) shows that for the believer, his or her intellectual curiosity can be used for the purposes and glory of God (Col. 3:17, 23). This is our calling as believers, that we have a license and a mandate to exercise intellectual curiosity for the purposes of flourishing humanity and glorifying God.

Before I came to the true knowledge of God, aside from being intellectually and psychologically fatigued, I visited a Buddhist temple and I was enslaved in a life of partying and drug imbibing. My intellectual curiosity ended up exhausting me. However, God’s grace towards me has enabled me to see ways I can use it for good. It has taught me to ask better questions, to pursue rigorous study to serve others and to question the non-essentials for the extension of his Kingdom. All these I believe are of help to each one of us. 

For the believer specifically, I think intellectual curiosity could help in several ways:

• It can help the believer to dig deeper into scripture and find answers to questions that they grapple with based on certain scriptures, and additionally, find joy while doing the same. This can help with one's spiritual formation and growth.
• It can develop interesting ways in relating with God through enjoying a variety of spiritual disciplines.
• In understanding how others are different from us, we can have a mutual respect for each other and hence build on the unity of the Church.
• It can help to answer skeptics and those who attack Christian belief. Certainly, it begins with a heart that sets Christ as Lord in their life (1 Pet. 3:15). 
• It can help us to creatively develop several ways to serve God and do ministry.

For more details on this journey of intellectual curiosity, watch out for the book launch on Friday May 27^th. Here is an excerpt of the book.