IQ & Christianity Correlation?

[Edward]

I just wondered if there was a correlation between being a Christian and one's IQ. Are they generally high, low, or no relationship at all?

So post your IQ and we'll see what we see. Please keep it light people! Personally I do not feel as if there will be any pattern emerge. It doesn't take a high IQ to have faith. Just want to see for fun.

Moderators, if you feel this is a bad idea, or would degenerate into foolishness, feel free to close it. I don't want to stir anything up, but thought that it could be fun to see if there's any possible correlations in general to being one who seeks God.

I'll start. My IQ is 136.

 

[Knotical]

I would have to say there is no correlation as Christianity has people of all different intelligence levels.

I can't say definitively what my IQ is, but I would say it is above 130.

 

[BornAgain]

I do not think there is any correlation between Christianity and IQ's...

If you have discernment and faith and are led by the Holy Spirit you do not need a high IQ level, you do not need a degree to learn and understand scripture.

There are a lot of knowledgeable people with high IQ's and are book smart but where is their common sense?

 

[farouk]

I do not think there is any correlation between Christianity and IQ's...

If you have discernment and faith and are led by the Holy Spirit you do not need a high IQ level, you do not need a degree to learn and understand scripture.

There are a lot of knowledgeable people with high IQ's and are book smart but where is their common sense?

BornAgain:

Yes, this is true, often.

Also, in the New Testament, Paul says that the Lord Jesus of God 'is made unto us wisdom...' (1 Corinthians 1.30)

There is a sense in which knowledge acquired by a sanctified mind can be for the glory of God and the benefit of His people.

 

[BornAgain]

BornAgain:

Yes, this is true, often.

Also, in the New Testament, Paul says that the Lord Jesus of God 'is made unto us wisdom...' (1 Corinthians 1.30)

There is a sense in which knowledge acquired by a sanctified mind can be for the glory of God and the benefit of His people.

Farouk,

That is true and reminded me of the following scriptures.

1 Timothy 2:4 (KJV)
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

God's good will to all men is here expressed, and he desires that all should come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved.

Acts 10:34 (KJV)
34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.

God loves all men and Christ died for all, there is one and the same plan of salvation for all.

 

[Carolyn]

1Co_1:26-29 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and god has chose the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; And the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things whih are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence." God can use simple child like people with tender hearts to bless millions. Corrie tenBoom reached more people with her simple testamonies, her true life illustrations and simple parables. But Paul was well educated and was sent to peoples who would look up to those qualities Peter was a simple man who was used to bring 2000 to Christ at Pentacost. But he spoke by The power of the Holy Spirit.

I know 3 geneticists with multiple doctorates who I could not follow in a conversation. All were ardent Christians. One was dyslexic and an oral learner only . There is often a difficulty among highly intelligent people to not rely on the Holy Spirit but on their own intellect. My last pastor was like that; When he exorted he was inspired. When he taught in his own strength he was really boring. He was not called to teach but to exhort.

 

[Edward]

I totally agree with you all and what you have posted. I thought it would be a fun thread, but I am certainly not challenging the wisdom of the Word or saying that we should rely upon our own understanding or anything of the sort. Perhaps it was not a good idea for a thread.

 

[BornAgain]

I totally agree with you all and what you have posted. I thought it would be a fun thread, but I am certainly not challenging the wisdom of the Word or saying that we should rely upon our own understanding or anything of the sort. Perhaps it was not a good idea for a thread.

Hi Edward,

It is a thought provoking question to think about though and had some funny scenarios thinking about it...it is always good to think and you had a good idea!

 

[evenifigoalone]

I have no idea what my IQ is.

I don't think there is any connection to Christianity and high IQs, though. God can use anybody for what they are, intelligent or not.

 

[Rollo Tamasi]

I know when I took an IQ test, I managed to spell my name correctly.
They give you points for that.
But some great Christian (I forget who) once said, "the greatest thinkers in the world are Christians".

 

[evenifigoalone]

I'd suppose that could be true, but more because they may eventually find their way to God. That said, that could also keep them from God, because they may think they don't need God.
Most people who are Christians are your average people, though.

 

[farouk]

I'd suppose that could be true, but more because they probably eventually find their way to God. Most people who are Christians are your average people.

questdriven:

If I may say so, from your many comments here, you seem to be a very intelligent lady.

But you are right: it is not intelligence that brings people nearer God; Paul says to the Corinthians: 'The world by wisdom knew not God' (1 Corinthians 1.21); he then commends the vehicle of 'the foolishness of preaching' for those who hear and gladly receive the Gospel.

Blessings.

 

[evenifigoalone]

questdriven:

If I may say so, from your many comments here, you seem to be a very intelligent lady.

But you are right: it is not intelligence that brings people nearer God; Paul says to the Corinthians: 'The world by wisdom knew not God' (1 Corinthians 1.21); he then commends the vehicle of 'the foolishness of preaching' for those who hear and gladly receive the Gospel.

Blessings.

My dad thought so, but I'm not sure. Sometimes I seem to be a bit slow.

True.
Christians who are great thinkers can be excellent apologists, though. Like C. S. Lewis. I love his books. He was an atheist before he was a Christian.

 

[farouk]

My dad thought so, but I'm not sure. Sometimes I seem to be a bit slow.

True.
Christians who are great thinkers can be excellent apologists, though. Like C. S. Lewis. I love his books. He was an atheist before he was a Christian.

questdriven:

Well, a lot of college students read C S Lewis, and I think you said you're planning to go to college yourself. (Art, was it?)

But anyway, in the same chapter where I just quoted a verse from, Paul also says that the Lord Jesus 'is made unto us wisdom'. By faith, this is the real sort of wisdom to pursue, not just theoretical wisdom.

Blessings.

 

[Vanguard]

We did several IQ tests last year for fun, as I entered my MA program (it was a philosophy class).

On the Henmon-Nelson test I scored a 135.
On the Stanford-Binet test I was at 143.

However, there are deviations within these tests. They can also be culturally biased. They are also very controversial and subjective.

Just because someone scores high on a written test, doesn't mean they can walk and chew bubblegum at the same time.

 

[farouk]

Interestingly, when the former Indian Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi visited Great Britain, she asked to meet leading intellectuals: a spokesman for Oxford University denied that there were any intellectuals at Oxford.

(In other words, boasting of one's intellect was apparently a social no-no at Oxford...)

 

[evenifigoalone]

I imagine they would be. One I came across an IQ test online made you do a lot of math questions and you were rated by how fast you did them. But there are a lot of intelligent people who aren't necessarily good at math, aren't there? Online ones probably aren't very good ones, anyway. IDK.

 

[farouk]

I imagine they would be. One I came across an IQ test online made you do a lot of math questions and you were rated by how fast you did them. But there are a lot of intelligent people who aren't necessarily good at math, aren't there? Online ones probably aren't very good ones, anyway. IDK.

questdriven:

Flair in arts and languages, etc., can't be measured by such grading, anyway. Or not that I know of. Being musical, as you are, often involved highly developed sensibilities; from Bach chamber music to heavy metal, muscial knowledge involves a wide range of appreciative skills (as you as a hard rock / heavy metal woman would know). BTW, there are more posts on the other thread, too, about metal.

So I'm sure that IQ tests have their value, but they certainly don't tell the whole story.

Blessings.

 

[Vanguard]

Hey, I'm a hard rock/heavy metal fan myself! I also play Bach, Vivaldi, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Mozart, Chopin, Lizt, Tchaikovsky, Strauss and Copland if the mood fits!

Even better, playing my drums to "Classical" music (I use the term loosely) is rather fun (thanks VaDrums for the idea).

TAMA + Sabian AAX, FTW!

 

[evenifigoalone]

My dad once told me that some rock songs actually borrow a few melodies from classical music, and maybe change them up a bit or something. Not sure if that's true or not.