The Place of Christian Scholarship

I am reading Jen Hatmaker's book, Interrupted: An Adventure in Relearning the Essentials of Faith.  I had never even heard of Hatmaker until three or four days ago when a trusted friend who is serving with her husband in Africa in medical missions mentioned on Facebook that she was reading Interrupted.  Then she posted a link to Hatmaker's blog and the post there concerned a trip the author took recently to Haiti and her impressions of the experience.

I was hooked.  (If you care to check it out for yourself, go to jenhatmaker.com)

I just came across a quote she included in Interrupted from Soren Kierkegaard - the sort of quote that makes you go "hmmmmm":

"Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly.  My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined.  How would I ever get on in the world?

"Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship.  Christian scholarship is the Church's prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close.  Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God.  Yes, it is even dreadful to be alone with the New Testament."

As one who is hoping to soon be teaching at a seminary, I am quick to notice that Kierkegaard does not say this evasion of the New Testament is the ONLY place of Christian scholarship, merely that it seems to be the main outcome.  In Haiti - and elsewhere - there is a great need for training in theology and the right handling of Scripture...

BUT can we deny that at heart what Kierkegaard is saying here is too true?  Christian scholarship CAN function in a Moses-type role for God's people.  I mean the down-side of Moses' role - the one where the people gather at the foot of the mountain and say, "Moses, you go up and speak to God on our behalf.  We'll stay here and wait for you to bring back news."

What would my life look like TODAY if I "pledged myself to act accordingly" to ANY ONE of the following:

Do not worry.
Do not judge.
Seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness.
Follow me and let the dead bury their own dead.
You cannot serve both God and money.
Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field.
Go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice'.
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

I find myself praying that God would "ruin" my life.  Give me the will to obey, Lord.