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God has blessed the Pentecostal/charismatic movement in spite of our anti-intellectualism not because of it.

There is a benefit in being fools for God, right?

I think that the real trick is to understand the context of the statement that we are "fools for Christ." When Paul says this, he's really just parroting the wrong thoughts of the Corinthians, who thought they had become so wise. In reality, Paul was the wise one, the one willing to be misunderstood as he preached truth. Whereas, the arrogant Corinthians who thought that they were so gifted were the real fools. They assumed that because God allowed them to experience many spiritual gifts, that somehow they had merited these blessings. Having said this, we professors of Full Gospel faith need to be very careful lest we truly become fools by thinking that we are something special in light of God's special grace to us.

Paul never equates being a "fool for Christ" with ignorance, stupidity, or naïveté. While being this so-called "fool for Christ" he debated, argued, explained, persuaded, defended, and reasoned wherever he took the message of Christ.

Anti-intellectualism isn't only a Pentecostal problem, right?

In my estimation, the battle against anti-intellectualism is an ongoing global battle. Whether it's a secular society whose population says that the elite should think for them or a religious community who has fallen for old-fashioned pragmatism; whether it's evangelicals who are so busy building their material kingdom that they say they don't have time to study in order to share or defend their faith; or whether its Pentecostals who claim that the heart and head are enemies—it's all anti-intellectualism.

Though Pentecostalism has built within it some elements that make its adherents more susceptible to anti-intellectualism, I think that evangelicals struggle with the problem almost as much as we do. We have common roots in the pragmatic, revivalistic, and romantic era of America in the 18th century, so both our nation as well as our nation's homegrown movements tend to battle with the temptation to pit doing against thinking, and spirit against mind.

Where does anti-intellectualism lead in the lives of Christians, and where does it lead institutionally?

Anti-intellectualism keeps us from affecting our institutions and their various departments with solid Christian thinking. It hinders our ability to think in terms of worldview, that is, to understand the hundreds of otherwise fragmented areas of life in a coherent way. If we are suspicious of the intellect, we are hamstrung when it comes to providing well-thought-out answers to difficult questions from critics and skeptics. Anti-intellectualism can also lead to dangerous forms of mysticism and a type of superstitious faith.

I believe that anti-intellectualism tends to lead Christians into relatively superficial spiritual lives, at least, in comparison to the impact they could make if they engaged in "thinking on purpose" for the glory of God. Also, mediocrity in the "life of the mind" leads the Christian subculture to criticize, fear, and condemn the secular institutions that their anti-intellectual, evangelical, and Pentecostal parents and grandparents abandoned the generations before.

The greatest problem with it is this: It flies in the face of Scriptures, which challenge us to prepare our minds for action, to train ourselves to give good reasons for our faith, and to learn to love God with all of our mind.

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March (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50