Alister McGrath, an Anglican priest, theologian, and Christian apologist, is currently Professor of Theology, Ministry, and Education at Kings College London and Head of the Centre for Theology, Religion and Culture. He was previously Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Oxford, and was principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford until 2005. McGrath is noted for his work in historical, systematic, and scientific theology, as well as his writings on apologetics and his opposition to anti-religionism. He holds both a DPhil (in molecular biophysics) and an earned Doctor of Divinity degree from the University of Oxford. His The Passionate Intellect is an interesting and readable offering for those wishing to understand or defend the intellectual viability of the historic Christian faith. Scholars and clergy alike as well as informed laity will benefit from reading it. This collection of diverse essays, lectures, and presentation or talks is divided into two parts, “The Purpose, Place, and Relevance of Christian Theology,” and “Engaging with Our Culture.” The Passionate Intellect is well written in a warm, personal style but has a “take no prisoners” approach to its opponents. It is scholarly without being pedantic and witty without being trite. Overall, it’s both an enjoyable and informative read.

In 2006 the movement now widely known as the new atheism exploded on the cultural scene in an aggressive manner. In this vein, Richard Dawkins’s The God Delusion (2006) and Christopher Hitchens’s God is Not Great (2007) created a quite stir. Debate often centered on the rationality of faith and the coherence of the Christian vision of reality. For the new atheists Christianity represents an antiquated way of explaining things that cannot be accepted in the modern scientific age. For example Hitchens has declared that since the invention of the telescope and the microscope religion “no longer offers an explanation of anything important.” In large part, The Passionate Intellect (McGrath has debated Dawkins publically several times) responds to such statements and presents a view of an exciting and stimulating version of intellectual Christianity. McGrath thinks Christians can and should be well prepared to respond to any and all intellectual challenges from today’s culture (cp. 1 Pet 3:15). Too many Christians seem to feel intimated by atheists; but, the fact is that Christian thought is more than strong enough to stand up to the task of refuting them. McGrath concurs with the statement of C.S. Lewis that, “I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen—not only because I see it, but because by it, I see everything else.”

McGrath suggests the defense of the intellectual credibility of Christianity has become increasingly important in recent years, in part due to the rise of the new atheism. Christians must see themselves as standard-bearers for a vibrant faith. Accordingly, they must expand our vision of the Christian gospel. The need for a Christian presence and voice in our culture has never been greater. Apologetics, or rationally defending the faith, has become a critical task for all believers. In order to do so effectively, believers need to know the Bible, Christian history and tradition, and be able to reason calmly and clearly with doubters.

The new atheists tend to portray the Christian view of the natural world as naïve and unscientific. However, McGrath persuasively argues, that is not at all true. Some seem to want a war between religion and science. In fact, historically some of the greatest scientists have been devout Christians. A problem between the two only arises today when science and/or religion forget their place and try to do the other’s proper work. Science deals with observable phenomena of the natural world but has no authority in the realm of metaphysics or religion. Religion deals with ultimate values and purpose but is not authorized to make scientific pronouncements. McGrath adheres to the idea that true religion and true science are completely compatible. The personal testimony (included in this book) of Alister McGrath, once an atheist and himself a scientist coming to faith in Christ and becoming a leading theologian is a powerful example of that possibility.

Introduction

In Matthew 22:37 Jesus commanded all believers to love God with all of their heart, strength, and mind, and to love their neighbor as themselves, stating that the Law and the Prophets were predicated on these two commandments. Loving God will all of one’s mind can mean seeking to develop one’s intellectual capacities.¹ Four men in the Bible: Moses, Ezra, Daniel, and Paul, exemplified obedience to this principle, even though three of them lived and died before Jesus ever uttered those words. Using non-Western narrative methodology—in this case, biography—let us study what it means to serve God with our intellects. Rick Nañez’s repeated premise of the need for intellectual development along with spiritual passion is accepted as the basis for this paper.² One is compelled to agree with Donald Bowdle that “Jesus is Lord of learning …,” as well as every other area of life.³ Consequently, the greater weight in this paper will be given to the intellectual development, insofar as possible, of the lives of the biblical characters to be examined, and how that development impacted their service to God and man. These men serve as outstanding examples of combining powerful intellects with passionate piety.

Four Men Who Followed Jesus’ Command

There are two classes of education that are apparent in the lives of these four men. Moses and Daniel were classically educated in the liberal arts of their day while Ezra and Paul were theologically schooled in Judaism.

Moses

Moses with the tables of the Law, by Guido Reni, 17th century.
Image: Wikimedia Commons

Moses was educated in the best tradition that ancient Egypt had to offer (Acts 7:22). Education fit for a prince would have likely included literacy, architecture, painting, astronomy, and mathematics as these were some of the strong aspects of Egyptian culture.⁴ It also seems reasonable to assume that a prince would have been instructed in statecraft and law. A. W. Morton suggests Moses may have learned the duties of a scribe as part of his education and would have become literate in both Hebrew and Egyptian.⁵ That he rejected the lifestyle of the palace does not suggest that he eschewed his education.

In defending the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, Gleason Archer explains that there were actually two strands of Moses’ intellectual development:

He had the education and background for authorship, since he received from his ancestors that wealth of oral law which originated from the Mesopotamian cultures back in the time of Abraham (hence the remarkable resemblances to the eighteenth century [b.c.] Code of Hammurabi), and from his tutors in the Egyptian court he received training in those branches of learning in which eighteenth dynasty Egypt excelled the rest of the ancient world. From his forebears he would naturally have received an accurate oral tradition of the career of the patriarchs and those revelations which God had vouchsafed to them.⁶

The Hebrew strain could have been gained from his mother but as the biblical record does not mention conclusively that she cared for him beyond the period of his weaning (Exodus 2:10),it seems most likely that he learned the traditions of his forebears during the years in the desert.

Both strands are evident in the Pentateuch. Moses was an outstanding storyteller in the oral tradition of the Hebrews. The Pentateuch reveals Moses as an experienced leader in many areas: law, tabernacle building, dietary regulations, and many other things. Concerning law, for example, E.B. Smick draws several correlations between the Mosaic law and other legal systems known in the Middle East at the time, specifically the famous law code of Hammurabi, implying that Moses was familiar with them.⁷ One could argue that his knowledge of Hammurabi’s Code could have come from either strand of his tradition.

The Pentateuch also reveals more than one literary style. While most of it is written in compelling narrative, certain small sections are poetic (i.e. Genesis 3:14-19; 4:23-24; 9:25-27; 49:1-27).⁸ Also, the table of the nations in Genesis reveals that Moses had a grasp of history that went beyond that of the Egyptians and the Hebrews.

Moses’ passion for God is not only reflected in the man of God and great leader that he indeed became, but also in the fact that he wrote the Pentateuch. The document upon which Hebrew society would be built, it provided a solid history, statecraft, and numerous other things—God breathed into and through Moses.