The Bible's Viewpoint
Does the Bible Discourage Freedom of Thought?
THE flames leap heavenward as the bonfire devours precious books fed to it by German officials. A scene from Nazi Germany? Yes, but it could also be a scene from the year 1199, when a Roman Catholic archbishop ordered all German-language Bibles burned.
Actually, incidents of book burning-a universal symbol of the suppression of freedom of thought and speech-have occurred in many countries and in many centuries. Often, it has been instigated by religious leaders who feared the effect that freedom of thought would have on the common man.
No wonder that many today assume that the Bible mandates rigid restrictions against open intellectual inquiry. But does it really? Does the Bible encourage restraints on freedom of thought?
'Love Jehovah With Your Whole Mind'
The Bible does not discourage the use of the mind. In fact, Jesus encouraged each of us to 'love Jehovah with our whole mind.' (Mark 12:30) His ministry shows that he had a keen interest in current events (Luke 13:1-5), biology (Matthew 6:26, 28; Mark 7:18, 19), agriculture (Matthew 13:31, 32), and human nature (Matthew 5:28; 6:22-24). His illustrations indicate that he clearly understood the principles in God's Word and the background and thinking of his listeners and that he thought carefully about how to bring the two together.
Paul entreated all Christians to render their service to God with their "power of reason." (Romans 12:1) He encouraged the Thessalonians not to let misleading 'inspired expressions shake them from their reason.' (2 Thessalonians 2:2) He had some knowledge of Greek and Cretan poetry (Acts 17:28; Titus 1:12) and military equipment and procedures (Ephesians 6:14-17; 2 Corinthians. 2:14-16). And he was observant of local customs.-Acts 17:22, 23.
Although Jesus and Paul enjoyed so much freedom of thought, they did not view themselves as the sole authority on right and wrong. Rather than reject the Bible in favor of his own reasoning, Jesus repeatedly quoted from the Scriptures. His swift and severe reply when Peter urged him to consider a course different from the sacrificial death that was God's will for him shows that he would not even contemplate that line of thinking. (Matthew 16:22, 23) Similarly, Paul told the Corinthians: "When I came to you, it was not with any show of oratory or philosophy, but simply to tell you what God had guaranteed." (1 Corinthians 2:1, The Jerusalem Bible) Like Jesus, his reasoning was based solidly on the Scriptures.-Acts 17:2
The Bible encourages the use of one's mental faculties to the full but not without all restraint. However, the burden of responsibility for keeping our thinking in harmony with that of Jehovah is placed on the individual Christian, not the congregation. Thus, when a number of Ephesians publicly renounced their practice of spiritism and became Christians, Paul did not take it upon himself to burn their books, but "a number of them who had practised magic collected their books and made a bonfire of them in public." (Acts 19:19, JB) Why did these Christians feel it necessary to burn their own books?