Notes to Be Developed on Belief, Sin, and Knowledge

It is time that some confusions about what it means to know, what it means to believe, and what it means to sin are cleared up.

1 – I Timothy 2:11-15 is Used To Promote False Teaching About Men and Women

Pastors and teachers in some churches argue that husbands ought to be the leaders of the household because women are more easily deceived than men.  They base this upon only one single verse from Scripture: “And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.” (I Timothy 2:14.)  If Eve was deceived by the serpent, and Adam was not deceived by the serpent, so the argument goes, then that must mean that Eve and women are more gullible and more easily led astray than men.

2 – Good and Bad Replies To Misinterpreting I Timothy 2:11-15

The above use of I Timothy 2 is both stupid and false.  Unfortunately, one of the most common arguments against this is to argue that, no, BOTH Adam and Eve were deceived by the serpent together and that is why they sinned by eating from the tree.  This is not the means to interpreting I Timothy 2 correctly.

Summed up briefly, it is absolutely impossible to interpret I Timothy 2:11-15 without the context that the Apostle Paul is writing within.  The context is that Paul is writing to Timothy who is leading a church in Ephesus near and among believers of the Artemis cult. The Artemis cult and/or its Gnostic followers taught that Artemis was Eve; that Artemis/Eve existed before Adam and is the source of life for Adam; that Artemis/Eve is the source of all wisdom; that by contrast with women, Adam and men are deceived about life and therefore commit evil; and finally that if women mix with men, they will be punished by Artemis by dying in childbirth.

For those who attempt a stupid out-of-context reading of I Timothy 2 in order to try to teach that men are superior to women, it would still be rather strange that the Apostle Paul just so happens to be countering specific Gnostic Artemis cult teachings one by one through I Timothy 2:11-15, teachings which are essentially being spread at the temple next door to Timothy’s church.  Paul is instructing Timothy that women are not to be teaching these Gnostic teachings in the church. For someone with even a minimum of understanding of hermeneutics, this is obviously not the same as teaching that women are not allowed to teach or speak in church. When Paul says that Eve was deceived, he is specifically and intentionally contradicting the Gnostic teaching that Artemis/Eve is never deceived.

3 – Unfortunate Promotion of the Idea That Deception and Error Causes Sin

Unfortunately, because modern Christians do not bother to pay any attention to history or to cultural context, they end up actually promoting the very Gnostic idea about deception and sin that the apostle Paul was literally contradicting.

Pastor Craig Groeschel, in one of his self-help books, writes: “The root of most sins we commit outwardly is the false beliefs we embrace inwardly … I’m going to offer something often overlooked that should come before we try to change our behavior.  Remember our first problem is a belief problem. Belief overflows to behavior. First we need to change what we believe. When we truly change what we believe, we’ll gladly change how we behave.”

In other words, you sin because you are deceived into believing the wrong things.

4 – There Is No Scriptural Basis for Teaching that Sin is Caused By Error

Both the Gnostics and Groeschel are wrong.  Sin can’t be the result of erroneous beliefs.  If Adam and Eve were tricked into sinning, then it wouldn’t have been sin because it wouldn’t have been intentional.  While there is certainly a deceptiveness to evil and sin (Jeremiah 17:9, II Thessalonians 2:9, Hebrews 3:13), theologically, no one can be tricked or deceived into sin.

5 – Sin Necessitates Volition

Nietzsche wrote that rebellion against God comes from the will to power.  It is with our wills that we go against the things of God. In fact, Nietzsche might have understood sin better than any Christians like Groeschel who currently teach that sin is just a belief problem (if you’re sinning, then you don’t really believe God loves you, etc.).

The capacity to will is what make us responsible for choosing good or evil (John 5:40, 7:17; I Timothy 6:9).  Some church teachers of a deterministic Calvinist persuasion will argue that it is impossible to resist what God decides to do to one’s heart or mind, that those who choose good only do so because God predestinates them to do so, and those who choose evil only do so because … well …

However, one of the reasons the Pharisees stoned St. Stephen is because he accused them of resisting what God willed for them (Acts 7:51).  See also Christ’s lament in Matthew 23:37.

6 – Knowledge Does Not Equal Belief

There is a difference between just thinking you know something and believing something.  Belief is volitional – it requires an act of will. Knowledge is not volitional – once you know something you can’t just choose not to know it anymore.

7 – There is a Reason Why Faith is a Virtue

The early church taught that Faith was a virtue.  In other words, believing rightly was a practice that needed cultivation and repetition.  It was something you were morally responsible for.

8 – Scripture Commands Us to Believe

Another reason to hold that beliefs are choices are the commands in Scripture to believe.  Scripture treats believing as a profound moral and spiritual choice (Numbers 14:11; Matthew 21:32; Mark 1:15, 11:24; John 14:1; John 20:27, 31; Acts 16:31; Romans 10:9-11).

Tentative Conclusion to Be Explored in More Detail: You Are Morally Responsible for Your Beliefs

Rather than false or erroneous beliefs being the cause of sin and evil, it is in fact a sin to assent to a false or mistaken belief.  It can be morally wrong to be mistaken in your beliefs. You are responsible for being careful about what you believe. You ought not to hold beliefs that you do not possess good reasons for.