CS Lewis in one of his books(I forget which), made a list of famous smart people from history that he preferred to join rather than the gloomy one of atheists or materialists.

If anyone could come up with that list, that would be kind of cool to have handy.

I think Thomas Aquinas and Pascal were on it.

Relic: Let me give you just a brief list, with brief descriptions (not doing all your work for you;-)), going backward through the saints' days  and commemorations of the Church year:

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Not only a social reformer but a theologian in the liberation theology mold, who got his doctorate from Brown University...he was a lot more than the compelling preacher of popular memory.

Adrian of Canterbury: Adrian was a North African of Berber descent, a scholar who was renowned not only for his knowledge of theology but for secular academic disciplines as well, who was sent to Dark Age Britain with his friend Theodore, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who set out to create a system of higher education in sacred and secular subjects. They established a college in Canterbury that became an important center of learning in Europe.

Dorothy Sayers, another one of the "Inklings" (along with Lewis, Tolkien and others), was a woman of letters who, while being known for her detective fiction (featuring posh detective Lord Peter Wimsey and gal pal Harriet Vane) and works of Christian apologetics, also crafted a well-regarded translation of Dante's Divine Comedy that she felt was her greatest work. She was also a strong advocate for women's education and independence.

Thomas Merton, the famous Trappist contemplative, wrote numerous works on Christian mysticism and social justice, as well as poetry and hagiographies (lives of the saints). He was also a keen student of Eastern contemplative practice, particularly in the Buddhist tradition.

Dionysius of Alexandria was a bishop in the early Church who found value in studying pagan scholarship -- this at a time when some in the Christian community wanted to shun all things pagan -- and who used the discipline of rhetoric to formally debate pagan opponents; he was also one of the first Christian academics to critically analyze Scripture, and also worked to develop a unified, systematic Christian theology.

Luke the Physician, author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, was not only a doctor, but a very sophisticated storyteller. His Gospel is notable for his sense of himself as narrator; with attention to historical detail; with interactions between people fleshed out in a contemporary manner.

William Tyndale, translator of the first English Bible (and coiner of many well-crafted phrases that found their way into the KJV) was also a theologian.

Dag Hammarskjold was a gifted diplomat and distinguished General Secretary of the UN who got his professional start in the banking world, helping develop the economic underpinnings of modern Sweden. He was also a thoughtful person of faith whose spiritual diaries show great complexity and depth of thought.

Hildegarde of Bingen was a medieval nun who defied the narrow boundaries of what was expected of women in those days, as well as a sketchy formal education, and created very complex works of theology and music as well as spiritual autobiographies of her own faith experience...and she was a fearless reformer unafraid to speak truth to power.

I can keep going if you want.;-) You'll note I haven't even touched on "smart Christians" in our own immediate time.

Lewis and Tolkien were members of 'the Inklings' (along with several others)  They were also friends with TS Eliot, who is another 'smart christian'

Ok, wow.  Where to begin?

Desiderius Erasmus

Phillip Melanchthon

Origen  (a great read: katà Kélsou)

William Tyndale (spoke SEVEN languages so fluently one could not tell which was his own)

Copernicus

Galileo Galilei ("God is known by nature in his works, and by doctrine in his revealed word.")

Bonhoeffer

Soren Kierkegaard

... the pastor of my youth was pretty intelligent; extremely well versed in Koine Greek, Latin and studied Hebrew in Jerusalem.

:)

Since Ash Wednesday is next week, and since I put him on my list, here is a link to T.S. Eliot's poem:

Ash Wednesday

John Polkinghorne: Physicist/Anglican theologian.

Katherine Jeffers-Schori, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church in the USA, has a doctorate in oceanography as well as in divinity.

Sara Miles

War journalist (served in the Salvadoran jungles as well as in the Philippines and South Africa) Born athiest, converted to Christianity in mid-life.

Author (Jesus Freak: Feeding Healing Raising the Dead and Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion)

Founder of a massive food pantry that feeds thousands each week (they have been responsible for financially establishing 11 other food pantries.)

All around smart cookie.