In the 2020 Apple TV breakout hit, Ted Lasso, there’s a remarkable scene in the local London pub where Ted challenges the show’s nemesis, Rupert Mannion, to a game of darts. Confident that he can beat this silly American who knows nothing about British culture, Rupert quickly ups the stakes with an aggressive bet. Ted agrees and the game is on.
Rupert quickly discovers, however, that he has underestimated this bumbling “aw shucks” football coach. While Ted threw darts with his right hand in the warm-up session, it turns out he’s really left-handed. Rupert also learns something else he didn’t know: Ted grew up playing darts with his father. They played together every week for nearly seven years.
Before Ted seals his unexpected (and for Rupert, humiliating) victory, he gives one of the most memorable speeches of the show. Reflecting on how others have misjudged him his entire life, Ted says,
All them fellas that used to belittle me, not a single one of them were curious. They thought they had everything all figured out. So, they judged everything and everyone. . . Cause if they were curious, they would have asked questions.
Ted’s core lesson here—be curious—is one that I often share with my seminary students. In particular, it’s a lesson that applies to how we engage in disagreement with others. Rather than simply standing back judging “everything and everyone,” I encourage them to be intellectually curious. Why does this person believe this? What are the reasons for their view? How can I learn from this person, even if I fundamentally disagree?
But this is not just a lesson for seminary students. It’s a lesson for all Christians, particularly as the evangelical world is undergoing what is arguably an unprecedented level of fracturing and in-fighting. More intellectual curiosity would mean that we really want to understand another person’s view and why they hold it (beyond just giving us ammunition for our forthcoming rebuttal).
So, what would happen if the evangelical church expressed more intellectual curiosity with one another? I think we would discover four things:
Not Everyone Has Nefarious Motives
For years now, Christian theologians have rightly lamented how genuine intellectual debate is increasingly rare in our postmodern (or post-postmodern) world. Indeed, one might argue that, in certain quarters, it is not even allowed. Arguments have been replaced with declarations—usually statements about the goodness or badness of the other side. And these declarations are often laced with moral accusations that the other side is bigoted, or narrow-minded, or discriminatory, or what have you.
While evangelicals have typically been at the forefront of resisting such a trend, I wonder if in some ways we are now participating in it. One might argue that now it’s evangelicals that sometimes seem uninterested in intellectual engagement and are quick to make declarations about the goodness or badness of the other side. If a person disagrees with us, then that person is just a compromiser, or a liberal, or a fundamentalist, or what have you.
But this is where intellectual curiosity comes in. If we are curious, and genuinely listen to our fellow Christian, then we might discover that they are not in league with the devil or hard-hearted rebels who refuse to follow the “plain” teachings of Scripture. Indeed, we might learn that they love Jesus, want to follow his Word, and actually have arguments for the beliefs they hold.
Now, this doesn’t mean that everyone we disagree with is well-intentioned. And some doctrinal differences are so severe that they are worthy of serious rebuke. Rather, the point here is simply that not all differences fall into this category. And we need to be intellectually curious enough to discover which is which.
Issues are Often More Complex Than You Think They Are
Another benefit of intellectual curiosity is that we quickly realize that biblical and doctrinal issues are often much more complicated than we think they are. Doctrines that might seem obvious to us often have a long history of debate in the church. And there are typically well-reasoned arguments on the other side that people have never heard.
It’s for this reason that I often joke with my seminary students that their first year of seminary is when they “know” the most. When students arrive, they often think they have a decent grip on the issues at hand and just need to refine things a little bit. But soon they discover how much they don’t know. And they begin to realize—and here’s the paradox—the more they know, the more they know they don’t know. By the time they graduate, they have a more humble appreciation for the limitations of their knowledge, leading them to feel like they know less than when they arrived.
Now, to be clear, this is not an argument for some “agnostic” view of knowledge where no one can know anything for certain merely because someone somewhere disagrees. No, I believe we can have a tremendous amount of certainty about our core Christian beliefs (more on this below). Rather, the point here is that intellectual curiosity provides perspective on our knowledge and helps us realize that not everyone who disagrees with us must be intellectually inferior.
Not All Doctrines Are Equally Clear
Intellectual curiosity will lead to an additional realization, namely that not all doctrines are equally clear (or equally core). And not recognizing this principle can have unfortunate ramifications. It can lead someone to the conclusion that disagreement over any doctrine is essentially an attack on the entire Christian system and worthy of the fullest censure.
Indeed, this explains much of what we are seeing in modern evangelicalism. Even if a person is fundamentally sound on core Christian doctrines, they could be regarded as “progressive” or even “liberal” merely because of disagreements over secondary issues.
In this regard, I am thankful for the clarity of the Westminster Confession of Faith 1.7: “All things in Scripture are not alike plain in themselves, nor alike clear unto all; yet those things which are necessary to be known, believed, and observed for salvation, are so clearly propounded . . . that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain unto a sufficient understanding of them.”
Put simply, the core doctrines of the Christian faith are clear and knowable. But not every doctrine falls into this category. We should not express our view of, say, the mode of baptism with the same level of vigor and confidence as the deity of Christ.
You Are More Effective When You Understand (Genuinely and Fairly) the Other Side
Let me mention a final benefit of intellectual curiosity: it actually helps us be more effective (and more persuasive) in our debates.
I have to admit that I am regularly stunned (and saddened) by how often Christians plainly misrepresent the positions and arguments of fellow believers. While we might expect the world to operate with a “gotcha” mentality, ready to jump on any statement that could be construed in a way that makes their opponent look bad, Christians are called to be different. We should assume the best not the worst. If we don’t understand a person’s view, we should ask for clarity. And when we get that clarity, we should take them at their word.
In sum, we should just follow the golden rule when we disagree with others: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matt 7:12).
Truth be told, engaging in disagreement with fairness is hard work. It takes time, and intellectual energy, to really understand your opponent’s argument in a way they themselves would recognize. This is why so few do it. In a Twitter (X) culture, it’s much easier to use quick jabs and witty one-liners than to really try to understand what a person thinks and why they think it.
And here’s the pay off. When we are kind, fair, and even-handed with our intellectual opponents, we are actually more persuasive, both to them and to those listening. Scorched earth tactics might energize the base who is already with you, but such tactics do very little to persuade folks who already disagree.
Be Curious
The point here has been very simple: a deep intellectual curiosity about other people and their views, and a willingness to do the hard work of learning those views and representing them in a fair way, would do much to mend some of the rifts we are seeing in modern evangelicalism.
Essentially, such a posture of intellectual curiosity is just a way of putting others before ourselves. It’s a practical way to not think too highly of ourselves, and to listen more carefully to our brothers or sisters in Christ. It’s a way to think about them, not just about us.
Or, put simply, it’s a way to be like Christ: “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves which is yours in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:3-5).