The Pentecostal movement in the early twentieth century had a strong anti-intellectual element. Many Pentecostals saw themselves as going back to the church of the New Testament and thought they could ignore eighteen centuries of church history. They saw how scholars departed from the simple truths of the gospel and, in many cases, ended up rejecting the faith because of their supposed intellectual sophistication. Did not Peter and John astound the ruling authorities in Jerusalem because their only claim to knowledge was that they had been with Jesus and had the Spirit, being otherwise "unlearned and ignorant men" (Acts 4:13)? Did not Paul say that God "will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent" (1 Cor. 1:19)?
In this book, Nanez carefully shows how God expects us to use human reason in understanding his Word. Moreover, we need solid intellectual understanding in order to defend the gospel from its detractors and to present the gospel in a positive light. While more and more Pentecostals and charismatics are going to college and university, they either have to battle being stereotyped as anti-intellectual, or they apply their minds to a program of academic study but don't engage their faith on the same intellectual level. Nanez brings out the need to read widely in order to understand the Bible and Christian doctrine. He also offers many gems from great church leaders of the past, who were champions in defending the faith against intellectual opponents.