How Can I Avoid Worldly Thinking in My Studies?

Ask Pastor John

Desiring God

John Piper, Unknown, 163859, Pastor, Ask, Theology, Desiring God, Religion & Spirituality/christianity, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Questions

4.8 • 3.8K Ratings

🗓️ 25 February 2022

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How can Christians pursue education without being taken captive by worldly thinking? Pastor John reflects on Paul’s warning against “philosophy” in Colossians 2:8.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Happy Friday, everyone.
0:05.7	We are back to talk about education, specifically.
0:09.4	How do we pursue education in this world without getting taken captive by the thinking of
0:14.6	this world?
0:15.6	It's a question we get often from students navigating higher learning and wanting to
0:20.4	do so with discernment, both in non-Christian and in Christian schools, even James.
0:25.6	One listener asks it this way.
0:28.0	Hello, Pastor John.
0:29.0	I'm a Christian studying philosophy at a secular university.
0:33.0	What steps can I take to do, as Colossians 2.8 says, and avoid being taken captive by
0:37.5	philosophy and empty deceit according to human tradition, according to the elemental
0:42.3	spirit of the world and not according to Christ?
0:46.1	And the question comes from Michael as well.
0:47.8	Hello, Pastor John.
0:48.8	I am about to begin my senior year as a philosophy major, and I am currently working on an
0:53.3	honors thesis on Christian compatibilism.
0:56.7	As I have felt God lead me to study philosophy and take great delight in what I study, I also
1:01.8	recognize the Colossians 2.8 challenges the study of this discipline as a whole.
1:06.6	While I esteem the word of God above all else, I also believe that the study of philosophy
1:10.8	can be used for the church.
1:13.2	The question that I would like to ask is, in your view, what is the role of Christian philosophy
1:17.3	and where should one take care in the pursuit of this discipline?
	...

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