(Mis)Quoting Phil Johnson

I despise both anti-intellectualism and intellectual snobbery with equal fervor. --Phil Johnson

And just in time for the return of Blogspotting. Ok, ok. I didn't do it on purpose. But I just couldn't remember the exact words Phil used, so I did misquote him a few times on the quote above. But, I finally resolved to find it, and took a Sunday afternoon to track down the quote I've been using in conversations for the past few months.

That quote, and the larger context (which you'll read in a minute), are at the heart of what he's trying to do--he's trying to help serious believers who are not academics to understand Biblical truth. It's also at the heart of why I enjoy Phil so much, and why his work is helpful to many. (BTW Phil, I do hope that at some point you get back to Jesus and the OT Law--fascinating subject, and perhaps a bit less emotionally charged that the cessation debate.)


"For the record, I make no pretense of being an academician. I have no impressive degrees and am too old to earn any. I'm happy with that. My interest in doctrine and Scripture is not in any sense "academic." Nor do I demand that my commenters register any academic credentials before being permitted to post here.

Personally, I'd much rather read a great, classic sermon or commentary on the Sermon on the Mount (even from someone at the academic level of Bunyan or Spurgeon) than the typical 21st-century theological journal article by some well-trained but spiritually ambiguous "scholar."

In case anyone is unclear about this: I don't have very a high degree of confidence in the postmodern approach to academics. I despise both anti-intellectualism and intellectual snobbery with equal fervor. And hopefully the blog reflects that. My goal, actually, is to keep it stylistically at the opposite end of the spectrum from the typical theological journal, while maintaining the deepest possible respect for and commitment to biblical and theological truth as objective concepts."

(Quoted from this post.)