I'm pretty sure he's a genius. Definitely one of the most intelligent persons with whom I've ever conversed. A graduate of Berkeley and Cornell, he spends his days playing with chemicals and debating the difficult questions. He can speed-read a page faster than I can say, "Did you really read it?" What's more, he remembers every detail.
I enjoy spending time with this fascinating Chinese-American who eats deer hearts, makes music and speaks a few languages. But it's not his brains that impress me the most. It's his heart.
"Jason the Genius" is a born-again Christian. As if this isn't paradoxical enough, it was how he converted that amazes me the most. I would have guessed Jason saw the light while debating intelligent design and evolution on campus, or while reading apologists like McDowell or Zacharias. For years I've insisted that we can only reach intellectuals through reason. "The mind is their door to the heart." Jason proved me wrong.
It wasn't through philosophy, new scientific discoveries or historical evidence that Jason came to Christ. Amazingly enough, he heard the simple gospel message at a vacation Bible school as a twelve-year-old. Rather than reason it away with his sharp mind, he embraced it with a humble and receptive heart. Something clicked in his spirit when he heard the truth--We need a Savior. It can't be us. It can't be just God. It must be God becoming one of us. In an instant, it all made perfect sense and a young boy made his way to the altar.
But Jason didn't check his brains at the door. I'd love to see any agnostic challenge him on matters of faith.
Jason moved away recently and our family will miss him greatly. He is an inspiration to me, and an example of one who is truly sold-out to Jesus and trusting Him with his entire life. His is a solid faith, the stuff of devoted saints willing to go the way of the Cross. I'll never forget the night we sat around the computer with Jason, watching his idea of a great movie--a document of the suffering underground church of China. This--more than seeker-friendly, happy-clappy church is what attracts Jason. I was sobered.
Jason is living proof that what Paul wrote in I Corinthians 2 is true: the things of the Spirit (God's Spirit) can only be discerned, understood, known, through our spirit--not our intellect. The wisdom of God is foolishness to man. And it is with "the heart"--not the mind, that one "believes unto righteousness" (Romans 10:10). That explains why people all over the world--of every shape, size, color and intelligence quota--are finding out that Jesus is indeed "the way, the truth and the life."
We will miss you, Jason. Keep the faith.
I enjoy spending time with this fascinating Chinese-American who eats deer hearts, makes music and speaks a few languages. But it's not his brains that impress me the most. It's his heart.
"Jason the Genius" is a born-again Christian. As if this isn't paradoxical enough, it was how he converted that amazes me the most. I would have guessed Jason saw the light while debating intelligent design and evolution on campus, or while reading apologists like McDowell or Zacharias. For years I've insisted that we can only reach intellectuals through reason. "The mind is their door to the heart." Jason proved me wrong.
It wasn't through philosophy, new scientific discoveries or historical evidence that Jason came to Christ. Amazingly enough, he heard the simple gospel message at a vacation Bible school as a twelve-year-old. Rather than reason it away with his sharp mind, he embraced it with a humble and receptive heart. Something clicked in his spirit when he heard the truth--We need a Savior. It can't be us. It can't be just God. It must be God becoming one of us. In an instant, it all made perfect sense and a young boy made his way to the altar.
But Jason didn't check his brains at the door. I'd love to see any agnostic challenge him on matters of faith.
Jason moved away recently and our family will miss him greatly. He is an inspiration to me, and an example of one who is truly sold-out to Jesus and trusting Him with his entire life. His is a solid faith, the stuff of devoted saints willing to go the way of the Cross. I'll never forget the night we sat around the computer with Jason, watching his idea of a great movie--a document of the suffering underground church of China. This--more than seeker-friendly, happy-clappy church is what attracts Jason. I was sobered.
Jason is living proof that what Paul wrote in I Corinthians 2 is true: the things of the Spirit (God's Spirit) can only be discerned, understood, known, through our spirit--not our intellect. The wisdom of God is foolishness to man. And it is with "the heart"--not the mind, that one "believes unto righteousness" (Romans 10:10). That explains why people all over the world--of every shape, size, color and intelligence quota--are finding out that Jesus is indeed "the way, the truth and the life."
We will miss you, Jason. Keep the faith.
6 comments:
*tears well up in eyes*
I find it curious that you mention in the post that he didn't "check his brain at the door", yet you freely admit that his faith has nothing to do with his intellect. In fact his conversion experience is simply the act of instantly believing something that made him feel good. I would be very interested to hear what intellectual arguments he may have.
Anonymous,
I never said Jason's conversion was "the act of believing something that made him feel good." Rather, as I said, it was a spirit response (feelings are associated with the realm of the soul; the spirit responds to God apart from feelings). This is about revelation. But that certainly does not negate the importance of understanding with the intellect why we believe what we believe. Check out www.reasonablefaith.com, for starters. Thanks for the comment. :)
To be blunt I fail to see the difference. You hear something, and it speaks to you. I can understand that, but the fact that what your hearing connects with you in a deep meaningful way, a way that just "makes sense" inside says nothing about the truth value of what you are hearing. People can, and do, make these sorts of arguments, and have a "Spirit response" for just about every faith on Earth.
You directed me to Reasonable Faith, I have been there. I spend a lot of time reading and listening to the apologists. I'm afraid I have very little respect for Dr. Craig. We are talking about a man who believes in the the infalibility of scripture. A man who I have heard argue that the true victims of the massacres of the old testament were the poor Isrealite soldiers who had no choice but to bludgeon and stab to death the women and children of those nations that the Isrealites destroyed to make room for themselves in the holy land. A man who has argued that the problem with Atheism is that it has no ultimate standard for morality, yet contends that his ultimate standard, God, is bound by no moral compunctions. Whatever God says is moral because God says so. If God kills your child then that's that, and there is no moral argument you can make against him. (He has actually argued this.) You might as well choose a hurricane as your ultimate moral standard. Frankly Dr. Craig frightens me.
Dr. Craig & the infallibility of scripture: if he believes that it would be because he has found ample evidence for it's being an accurate recording of historical events (through archeological findings, manuscript dating, etc.)
Lee Strobel has a decent take on "God and the Killing of the Innocents" in ch. 4 of The Case for Faith. Further, if you study the OT, you realize that those other nations (all the "-ites") were offering Hebrew babies to their gods, taking them as slaves, raping their women, etc. They were terrorists. God instructed Israel that if any were left to keep reproducing, they would forever be a problem. (hmmm)
And no, God does not murder children. We live in a fallen world where bad things happen to everyone. But God is just; Satan has it coming to him. In the meantime, God has deeper purposes for us in suffering. "His ways are higher than ours."
Keep seeking, my friend. I myself will never stop. :)
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