By Alfie Cooper, Nottingham High School, England
Note to Reader
Since the term ‘cerebral-christianity’ contains the word ‘christianity’, I wish to avoid any unnecessary confusion and explain that this term is not intended to reflect or represent any accurate expression of Christianity, hence the lack of capitalisation. Furthermore, this term should not be confused with other expressions such as ‘intellectual Christianity’ or ‘academic Christianity’ since these are distinct from my definition of ‘cerebral-christianity’ used in this essay.
A most dire threat faced by the Catholic Church is the spiritual peril aggravated by ‘cerebral-christianity’, a fallacious mindset that threatens to further infiltrate the minds of our theologians unless the Church addresses this crisis with utmost attentiveness. Cerebral-christianity is best described as a mindset that grows from a Christian’s healthy interest in theology, but gradually develops into a fixation towards advancing their theological study. This leads to an addiction to satisfy their yearning for knowledge that consumes much of their religious contemplation until they become Christians of the mind but not of the heart. As a consequence of our fallen nature, we can only balance so many duties until one naturally takes priority; therefore, when a theologian dedicates every waking moment in study rather than performing charitable acts, going to Mass, or spending time in prayer, their academic pursuit of God consequently becomes an idol of worship. Neglection of various aspects of the Christian life not only starves the theologian of fruits reaped by their theological study, but also risks creating an illusion of salvation assurance, for although the theologian has immersed themselves in the Christian religion, they do not truly know it. This mindset transforms theological study into an entirely secular practice, removing all personal connection to the Divine until theology becomes a mere field of interest on par with any other academic subject. Although this attitude can certainly grant a thorough understanding of Catholicism, cerebral-christianity will not draw a theologian closer to God but deliver them unknowingly into the snares of idolatry.
Although condemnation of cerebral-christianity has declined in modern times, the Fathers of the early Church discovered its tripwire and cautioned their fellow Christians to mind their steps. In his analogical criticism of cerebral-christianity, St. Augustine explained that a man who knows not the height or number of branches on his tree, but praises God for the use he has of it, is better than the man who measures and counts its branches but does not own it, nor praises its Creator. (1) In this sense, a faithful Catholic with a very limited understanding of theology is far wiser and more admirable than the theologian who studies the complexities of Catholicism but does not open their heart to Christ. Although it can be argued that such a person can still support the Church with their expert knowledge of dogma and eloquent defences of our Catholic faith, they cannot have assurance of their salvation if they do not live the life that they promote. St. Athanasius makes this distinction in his account of the Life of Antony where he explained, “the working which derives from faith is produced by feelings in the mind, while dialectical argument depends on the skill of those who are setting it forth.” (2) This comes in response to the pagan philosophers who travelled many miles to witness the wisdom of St. Antony, a man with no formal education but could gather huge crowds of people that yearned to hear him speak. When Antony confronted them, even the pagan philosophers agreed that “the working of faith was more effective than discussion and that this offered an accurate knowledge of God.” (3) This suggests that even the most beautiful articulations of theological rationale are still less effective than “the working of faith”, implying that a theologian’s dialectical arguments must complement good works if they are to live the fullness of the Catholic faith. Eusebius of Caesarea referred to this when he explained that the Apostles “proclaimed the knowledge of the Kingdom of Heaven through the whole world, giving very little thought to the business of writing books. The reason for this practice was the ever-present help of a greater, superhuman ministry.” (4) Thus, the Apostles acknowledged that without their Christian virtues and awe-inspiring works, even their profound theological understandings written in books would be insufficient. Wisdom, no matter how sagacious, can be easily corrupted in this fallen world, for not even Solomon, whom God had said “I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you” (5) could be protected from idolatry when he rejected God and placed his faith in his mental faculties. That is why St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans, “it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.” (6)
Scripture suggests that honest prayer prevents the hardening of one’s heart, effectively cleansing an individual’s mind from the detrimental effects of cerebral-christianity. St. Paul explains to the Philippians that “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (7) Therefore, a personal dialogue with God that is rich in petitionary prayer and thanksgiving will provide the theologian with “the peace of God”, a defining aspect of Christianity that cannot be wholly embraced by our theologians if they do not submit both their “hearts and minds” to the Lord. Not only will this direct them towards the face of God, but will likely provide the theologian with their desired answers since God said to Jeremiah, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” (8) In this sense, the theologian should not believe in the false dichotomy that they must forfeit their intellectual theological pursuits to embrace Christ, as it is written in the New Testament, “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (9) God will not ignore the pious theologian’s petitions for answers, instead the theologian may be met with a further refined intellect and clarity over their study, credited to their decision to trust in the wisdom of the Lord rather than their own fallibility. With these acknowledgements in mind, the Church must spread caution to its scholars against the covertness of cerebral-christianity and urge theologians to honestly question their motives, for it is written, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are holding to your faith.” (10) Additionally, the Church must emphasise the role prayer plays against cerebral-christianity and encourage theologians to keep Christ in their hearts throughout their academic journey and pray for the assistance of the Holy Spirit to guide them.
Whilst our scholars must be wary of adopting cerebral-christianity, it should be explicitly clear that the Catholic Church does not intend to deter individuals from pursuing their interest in theology. Academic theological writings can still be written with incredible dedication without the author developing cerebral-christianity and leaving God behind in the process. An example of this can be found in Pope Benedict XVI’s introduction to his first volume of the Jesus of Nazareth series, he explained that his writings were “an expression of my personal search “for the face of the Lord” (cf. Ps 27:8),” (11) demonstrating that advanced theological exploration can arise from piety and still thoroughly enrich our understanding of the Catholic faith. This mindset differs completely from cerebral-christianity because here, the theologian’s search does not come from the mind but from the heart, for the psalmist did not write ‘My mind says to thee’ but instead wrote “My heart says to thee, ‘Thy face, Lord, do I seek.’” (12) Furthermore, St. Augustine demonstrated that the publication of a theological work can indeed be an incredibly virtuous course of action. After the sack of Rome in 410 AD, surviving pagans blamed the Christians for the devastation, and so to prevent an unrighteous breach in the walls of Christendom, Augustine wrote his City of God. In his opening paragraphs, Augustine explained “I have taken upon myself the task of defending the glorious City of God against those who prefer their own gods to the Founder of that City…The task is long and arduous; but God is our helper,” (13) so through his heart’s passion and humility, he proved that he could defend Christianity without embracing cerebral-christianity for he acknowledged the necessity of God’s assistance in all his work. Whilst Augustine’s victory derives from his heart’s passion to protect his brethren from unfounded accusations, St. John Henry Newman is noted to have written his Apologia Pro Vita Sua from a place of deep sorrow since “he was only too well aware that the ‘pain’ of writing would be ‘a mental child-bearing.’” (14) This shows that whilst cerebral-christianity can be expelled with piety demonstrated by Pope Benedict, or humility demonstrated by Augustine, it can also be blotted out by occasionally abstaining from topics that provide the theologian with the most pleasure, instead opting to explore a divergent field of Catholic theology that will reduce the risk of idolising study. Ultimately, the Church must remind our theologians that each step taken in study must be made with God in the heart, for it is written in the Catechism that “this search for God demands of man every effort of intellect, a sound will, ‘an upright heart,’” (15) for without these virtues, our theologians will not fill their human capacity for God.
The Church has taken little formal action to raise awareness of cerebral-christianity amongst Catholic academics which has turned this issue into a silent crisis that leaves each theologian vulnerable. Our broken human nature has left our academics in the darkness, unaware that their innocent and pious interest in theology could develop into a compulsion that loses sight of the theologian’s primary purpose: to glorify God. They risk descending further into a state of idolatry, unknowingly worshipping the studious life instead of the Lord. For this reason, the Church must encourage all Catholic theologians to examine their devotions, pray constantly, (16) perform good works, and occasionally fast from studying the most pleasurable topics, as this will resist cerebral-christianity. Despite these necessary cautions, the Church must take utmost care to prevent future theologians from abandoning theology because of concern that their personal relationship with Christ could become damaged, for with the guidance of the Church and their own caution, they should have no fear. Ultimately, cerebral-christianity should not be left in the dark; it must be urgently dragged into the light for all theologians to see. The Church must publish guidance for our scholars so they can build barricades against this fallacious mindset and prevent its festering for a moment longer.
Footnotes
1 Augustine. Confessions, trans. R. S. Pine-Coffin (Penguin Books, 1961), p.95.
2 Athanasius. Early Christian Lives, trans. Carolinne White (Penguin Books, 1998), Life of Antony p.57.
3 Life of Antony. p. 57.
4 Eusebius. The History of the Church, trans. G. A. Williamson (Penguin Books, 1965), p. 86.
5 1 Kings 3:12 (RSV Catholic Edition)
6 Romans 2:13
7 Philippians 4:6-7
8 Jeremiah 33:3
9 Matthew 7:7
10 2 Corinthians 13:14
11 Ratzinger, Joseph. Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration, trans. Adrian J. Walker (Image, 2007), p. xxiii.
12 Psalm 27:8
13 Augustine. City of God, trans. Henry Bettenson (Penguin Books, 1972), p.5.
14 Ian, Ker. Introduction to Apologia Pro Vita Sua, (Penguin Books, 1994), p. xv.
15 Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd edition (Vatican Press, 1997), I.I p.15.
16 Cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Bibliography
Life of Antony is taken from:
Athanasius. Early Christian Lives. Translated by Carolinne White, Penguin Books, 1998. Augustine. Confessions. Translated by R. S. Pine-Coffin, Penguin Books, 1961. Augustine. City of God. Translated by Henry Bettenson, Penguin Books, 1972. Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2nd edition, Vatican Press, 1997.
Ker, Ian. Introduction to Apologia Pro Vita Sua. Penguin Books, 1994.
Pamphilius, Eusebius. The History of the Church. Translated by G. A. Williamson, Penguin Books, 1965.
Ratzinger, Joseph. Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration. Translated by Adrian J. Walker, Image, 2007.
This essay followed the prompt: You are a representative at the Third Vatican Council and have 1,500-2,500 words to explain an issue that you believe needs utmost attention in the Church today. What will you say to the Council Fathers?