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As Moreland points out, all aspects of our heart, soul, and mind play a role in the true worship of an all-holy God. He does a great job giving reasons why we need to make sharpening our intellect a priority. God has given us brains, so why should we not use them? At the same time, this does not put the mind at the top of our priorities and relegate everything else to a secondary status. I think Moreland tries really hard to show that he wants to avoid a Gnostic mentality. (I see some reviewers before me did not see this, but c'mon, give a break here. The entire premise of his book is stressing how the mind has taken a second-class status with too many Christians. What else was Moreland supposed to stress?)
My only complaint is that the book does bog down in several areas. For instance, I don't think it was important in the heart of his book to take five pages and dedicate them to giving a "brief lesson in logic." I've studied logic, but I predict that these five pages would confuse the average layperson. Instead, he should have simplified such a section or else eliminated it and referred the reader to additional resource material. For this and several other "bogged down" areas, I might hesitate giving this book to someone who might be an "average" thinker, even though I might want to convince him that he needs to "love God with all his mind." The book's English is also choppy in several areas and could use a good revision. If we're trying to convince the Christian church, we need to realize that much of the population is currently feeding on sugar-coated eschatalogical "rapture" literature and other fictional nonsense. We don't need to scare them away from thinking--perhaps I'm off track, but I'd love to see a simpler book written for "Joe Christian" at 1st Baptist. Either that or revise this. Except for these minor complaints, I love this book. It proclaims 1 Peter 3:15-16 and says what I've been both thinking and preaching. Thus, every Christian, including church leaders and pastors (yes, even "senior" pastors!--see the last chapter), needs to study Moreland's challenge to the church.
This question captures the essense of this readable and profound book. In it J. P. Moreland explores the intellectual life of the Church; the history of intellectualism (or lack thereof) in the Church; and the scriptural basis for why it's important for Christians to develop healthy, active, critical-thinking minds. And he offers some challenging and intriguing ideas for renewing the intellectual life of the Church (No senior pastors!!??).
As an active member of an evangelical church for close to twenty years who has much to learn about the history and theology of the Christian religion, J. P. Moreland's book has challenged me to spend more time studying God's Word and mastering the evidences for my faith so that I can be a more effective witness for Jesus Christ. This book has encouraged me to love God with all my mind (Mark 12:30).
This is an important, convicting, and helpful book for any Christian who sincerely desires to grow in their relationship with our Lord and Savior.
Moreland takes 10 chapters divided into four sections to develop the concept of the mature Christian mind, a mind that loves God to the utmost. One special chapter of interest covers logic, a discipline that is lost on all but a few Christians, but crucial for developing a reasoned apologetic. In Section Three (chapters six through nine), Moreland describes how the Christian intellect is relevant in evangelism, apologetic reasoning, and worship within the church. I also enjoyed the final chapter which covers a plan for developing the Christian intellect within our churches.
I highly recommend this book and give it an 11 on a scale of 12. As I suggested previously I would also read Sire's book shortly before or after reading Moreland, depending on which you read first. Let us continually strive for the Mind of Christ!
Semper fi & agape--Ed D.
