Does Curiosity Kill the Christian?
What is curiosity? I picture curiosity as a person thumbing through books in a massive library, with winding staircases leading to more and more bookcases. A finger sliding along each bookbinding, stopping to peek inside some and allowing others to lead them to a wingback chair for further exploration.
But curiosity also sketches another picture for me: My lean, yellow barn cat with her twitching tail ready to slink inside a live-trap meant for the raccoons eating our horse food.
In Christian spheres, people paint curiosity a few different ways. In some circles, it’s praised almost as a spiritual discipline that we should partake in if we wish to know God and grow in holiness. In other circles it’s a dangerous practice where believers shouldn’t even acknowledge the words of someone they disagree with on secondary or tertiary issues.
But what if the faithful Christian can be both curious and discerning?
The Virtue in Curiosity
When I first began developing my theology and building a list of solid teachers and resources, I stumbled across a group of “discernment bloggers.” They had lengthy lists of who to listen to and who not to listen to. Some of their unrecommended teachers were valid. But over time I recognized that their system of discernment was faulty. At times their line of “discernment” could be as follows: Teacher A once spoke alongside Teacher B who one time mentioned Not-So-Great-Teacher C who one time re-tweeted Heretic D—therefore Teacher A isn’t recommended. Sometimes only one weak interpretation of Scripture or a misspoken word could get your name scratched onto their “unrecommended” list.
Meanwhile, their “well vetted” list of recommended teachers only included people they agreed with on nearly every theological point. The thought of being curious about what others believed or listening to someone who disagreed with them on a secondary or tertiary issue was almost an abomination.
For a while, I lived like them. I was hateful and ignorant, scoffing at those who disagreed with me. But God humbled me. He taught me to be curious. And without curiosity, my faith wouldn’t be where it is today.
“Without curiosity, my faith wouldn’t be where it is today. ”
The place I started as a believer, with my beliefs and the hills I stood so proudly on (outside of the gospel), has altered and flexed. Some views I once ridiculed are now my own. Some views I thought I’d never let go of, I have since waved goodbye to. Curiosity led me to strive to be more faithful when handling God’s Word. It led me to love the Lord more. It stretched me. It made me more understanding and sympathetic (though I know I still have much more learning and humbling ahead of me). It caused me to seek out what I truly believe and why, and it grounded me even deeper in the essentials of the faith.
God likewise humbled me. He showed me how great my own errors can be and how great his grace is in return. He bent me low before other believers who I once shook my head at for their interpretations. He taught me to listen with a humble ear and to be kind to those I disagreed with. He taught me that the right pursuit of truth is about his glory rather than my own. Through a willingness to be curious, God has grown me—and is still growing me—away from pride.
We need to leave room for this kind of curiosity, for when we condemn it, we’re halting opportunities for people (including ourselves) to grow and solidify what we believe. Rather than believing that only God cannot change and cannot be wrong, we start to believe that we also are immutable and infallible. And that’s a dangerous road to travel.
The Danger in Curiosity
But there’s a reason we have the saying, “Curiosity killed the cat.” I know people who have set out live-traps to catch porcupines and raccoons near their homes who have instead caught the local neighbor’s cat. The cat was too curious to consider if the wire cage was truly a safe place. I wonder if we as Christians can allow our curiosity to go in the opposite direction of virtue and goodness and instead into a different thorny path of danger and falsehood?
I’ve seen believers with large online followings recommend books by false teachers and heretics. When people tried to warn them, they condemned those people for not being “tolerant” and for being “too prideful to hear from people they disagreed with.” They criticized them for not being “curious enough.” But this is an unfair accusation. There’s a difference between closing ourselves away with only voices who fully align with us and refusing to tolerate heresy.
Paul called believers to be sympathetic toward those they disagreed with (Rom. 14) and condemned heretics by name (1 Tim. 1:19–20; 2 Tim 2:17). John called believers to love one another (1 John 3:11–18) and to not welcome false teachers into their homes as to share in their evil work (2 John 1:10–11). Jesus was patient and tender with the one of little faith (Mark 9:24) and had scathing words for the Pharisees (Matt. 23), telling people to be aware of their hypocrisy (Matt. 16:6). These aren’t contradictions within Scripture. Rather they show us how, as believers, we’re to differentiate between those who believe and teach the true gospel from those who distort it beyond recognition.
“There’s a difference between closing ourselves away with only voices who fully align with us and refusing to tolerate heresy.”
While we can find truth, beauty, and goodness among all believers—despite our disagreements with them on secondary and tertiary issues—there’s little (if any) good to be found from those who preach another gospel. For what little good may be found within their books, songs, sermons, or blog posts—is it worth it to dig through the muck and mire of heresy? Is it worth it to support their ministry and further their ability to preach lies to gain the tiny, tinged, and stained piece of truth you may find? Is it worth it to be led astray?
Even more pressing: Is it worth it to share that one good article, book, or song of theirs with the risk of a new or immature believer being led to their messages of death? It’s not a matter of encouraging our readers to read widely and diversely. We can do that without recommending false teachers. When we recommend the books of heretics, we send believers into teachings that could lead them away from Christ himself. Do we truly care more about our readers having a vast and diverse library more than we do about them knowing the One True Savior and his gospel of salvation?
We have access to an abundance of modern, old, and varied perspectives who preach the true gospel. Why waste our time trying to glean a speck of truth from a heretic when we can support our fellow believers? We can still read and listen diversely while remaining within historic Christianity.
The Faithfully Discerning Believer
So where does this leave believers? We can be curious and discerning. We can read broadly and make sure what we’re reading and sharing doesn’t warp the good news about Christ.
When we value good writing, we do the same. When we choose a novel we don’t pick just any book. We take recommendations from others, we read a few pages to see if it’s well written, we read reviews to see if the storyline is carried along well, and we discern if the content presents a true and thoughtful message. As believers, we can ask those same questions of the Christian content we’re reading, along with considering whether the author and their work are presenting truths in line with biblical, historic Christianity.
We can read the beautifully-written book by the author with a different view on gender roles than us. We can listen to the sermon by the Arminian pastor if we’re a Calvinist. We can read the article on amillennialism if we’re a premillennialist. And so on. Faithfully discerning believers are mature enough to know what they believe and still listen to the other side with grace and kindness. They have the humility to consider that they might be wrong on secondary and tertiary issues. But they also have the maturity and knowledge to recognize when someone is promoting heresy or sin.
A crucial aspect of a Christian being both curious and discerning is the structure and support of a faithful local church. This doesn’t mean you agree with your church on every single point. I don’t, but my leaders cling to the true gospel and know its importance. My local mentors stand on the important doctrines of Christianity. Having that safety net, I’m able to stretch my curiosity in a way that’s helpful.
This kind of curiosity and discernment is going to look different depending on where you are spiritually. As a new believer, I needed to first spend time setting myself firmly in the gospel. I had to understand my salvation was by faith alone through Christ alone. I had to grasp a historic view of the Trinity. I needed to know how to interpret Scripture and why we trust it—which likewise required my local church and time in God’s Word. From there, I was able to begin exploring the various nuances within those core doctrines without compromising on them.
So as we read and listen, let us discern with love and grace toward our fellow siblings in Christ, having humility to believe we could be wrong on the secondary issues. Let us rest in the sure security that the Father loves us, Christ holds us, and the Holy Spirit counsels us with the Word. And let us be faithful to the Word of God to not tolerate the twisting of its truth.
Lara d’Entremont is a wife and mom to three from Nova Scotia, Canada. Lara is a writer and learner at heart—always trying to find time to scribble down some words or read a book. Her desire in writing is to help women develop solid theology they can put into practice—in the mundane, the rugged terrain, and joyful moments. You can find more of her writing at laradentremont.com.