Much Learning Has Made You Mad!

            Education is the process by which knowledge is acquired, and people have been seeking it for years. We’ll never stop learning as long as we live; there will always be something new to learn or relearn. Acquired knowledge changes the way we think, act, respond to circumstances and even relate to others. Knowledge is paramount to all we do.

            Society expects so much more from “learned” people, so when learned people demonstrate ignorance, the world is perturbed. On the other hand, when learned people express strange ideas that are difficult for the average person to fathom, they are quickly labeled as crazy, insane, or out of their mind.

            The apostle Paul, during one of his numerous imprisonments, was permitted to testify before Festus and King Agrippa in Caesarea. He started by outlining his former life: hatred for Jesus, persecution of His followers, and his experience on the way to Damascus to arrest Christians to be jailed. That experience led to his conversion and being commissioned to preach the Word of God to both Jews and Gentiles (see Acts 26:9-23).

            At the conclusion of Paul’s testimony, Festus shouted, “Paul, you are insane. Too much study has made you crazy” (Acts 26:24 NLT). Apparently, Paul’s story sounded unbelievable and crazy, and knowing Paul was an educated man, Festus concluded that Paul was a nut—the result of too much education. I’m sure Paul’s experience on the Damascus road was a fact that Festus could not wrap his mind around.

            Although Festus’ assessment was wrong in Paul’s case, it is true in many other situations in our society today. Evolutionists, for instance, believe our ancestors were monkeys, but the Bible says God created man from the dust of the ground, and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and he became a living person. Then He created woman from a rib from the man (see Genesis 2:7, 21-22). A man spends years and lots of money on education to obtain degrees that makes him the authority on evolution, and this is all he can come up with?

      

      Again, there are educated people who think an unborn child at any stage is not a person, and can be aborted without concern. However, God said to the prophet Jeremiah, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5 NLT). Sometimes, educated people who are bold in expressing their views come up with e ridiculous and ignorant ideas. Unfortunately, they believe in their ignorance, and lead others to the same way of thinking. Is that really education? This is an instance when Festus’ assessment of Paul would be appropriate—“much learning has made you mad.”

            The Bible says, “…a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one” (Genesis 2:24 NLT), making marriage a union between a man and a woman. How did educated people decide differently? In addition, God is truth, and therefore would not create people with homosexual tendencies and in the next breath say homosexuality is sin. According to the Scriptures, homosexual offenders will not inherit the kingdom of God (see 1 Corinthians 6:9). So learned people who insist homosexuality is okay because they were made that way should re-think it. Are murderers and pedophiles created that way? What if they make that claim? Should they be excused for their crimes? Think about it!

            Education is good, but let's get our facts straight. Researchers should be challenged if necessary; don't accept every theory that comes down the pike. Any research theory put out as fact that is contrary to the Word of God should be challenged and squashed, because God is Truth, and His Word is truth. Nothing in all creation can be truer than God’s Word. Educated people who come up with theories that are contradictory to Scripture have wasted time and money, and will be held accountable for their erroneous teaching. Indeed, much learning has made them mad!