What does it mean, then, to think Christianly? What are the distinctives of the Christian mind? There are many, of course, but five are most significant.
1. An acknowledgment of the supernatural. As has already been pointed out, a fundamental characteristic of the Christian mind is the perspective of eternity—not just life after death, but the understanding that there exists a reality beyond this world and this life. In other words:
The Christian mind sees human life and human history held in the hands of God. It sees the whole universe sustained by his power and his love. It sees the natural order as dependent upon the supernatural order, time as contained within eternity. It sees this life as an inconclusive experience, preparing us for another; this world as a temporary place of refuge, not our true and final home.
Thinking Christianly means viewing life and labor, politics and pleasure, from the perspective of the supernatural.
2. A holistic view of self and service. “Most conservative Christians today,” says Gary Sweeten, “operate with a dualistic view of life and the universe, a view that is rooted in Gnosticism and Eastern thought. They separate their thinking into sacred and secular, spiritual versus material.” But the Christian view is that of Romans 12:1-2, in which Paul urges Christians to offer their bodies “as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God”—which, he says, is their spiritual worship, and to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. Moreland adds, “Following Christ is not just a little compartment of my whole life, and as long as that compartment called piety or ‘spirituality’ is in line, I’m doing a good job; following Christ affects every part of my life, including my mind,my intellect. There is no room for a sacred/secular separation in the life of Jesus’ followers.”
3. An affirmation of truth. The secular mind asserts the individual as the judge of truth; “you must decide what’s right for you,” it says, “and I must decide what’s right for me.” The Christian mind affirms the nature and character of God himself as the measure of truth; “I am the way and the truth and the life,” Jesus said (John 14:6, NIV). Harry Blamires wrote:
The marks of truth as christianly conceived, then, are that it is supernaturally grounded, not developed within nature; that it is objective and not subjective; that it is a revelation and not a construction; that it is discovered by inquiry and not elected by a majority vote; that it is authoritative and not a matter of personal choice.
4. An awareness of evil. The Christian mind is aware of evil in the world. The man or woman who is thinking Christianly will consciously acknowledge the fall of the human race, and the continuing battle between good and evil, right and wrong, remembering (in the words of Aleksander Solzhenitsyn) that “the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being”—including ourselves. To quote Blamires again:
The Church would have us turn to the world in judgement, with the utmost clarity and power in our identification of evil, yet in full acceptance of our common guilt—and, finally, with a deeply moving message of hope. For the Christian mind cannot separate from its judgement upon the world and its judgement upon the self, its realization that the world and its inhabitants are nevertheless God’s, by him created and by him redeemed.
5. A high regard for the person.The person who is thinking Christianly will not fail to consider the human element in every equation. In contrast to the claims of Darwinism, human beings are not animals, to be exploited or engineered. In contrast to secularism, human beings are not cogs in a social machine. They are immortal souls, fashioned in the image of God. “Thus,” writes Blamires, “the Christian’s conception of the human person is a high one, his sense of the sacredness of human personality being deeply grounded in revealed theological truth.” This concept, of course, will necessarily influence a thinking Christian’s view of issues regarding life and death, science and health, and race and ethnicity (among others).
These hallmarks of the Christian mind—an acknowledgment of the supernatural, a holistic view of self and service, an awareness of evil, an affirmation of truth, and a high regard for the person—are by no means exhaustive. But they do sketch the basic outlines of the Christian mind.
The Making of the Christian Mind
The development of a Christian mind cannot be accomplished merely by reading an article, or even a series of articles. Nor is it accomplished by reading an entire book, or enrolling in a course. “A mind that is learning to function well,” writes J.P. Moreland, “is both part of and made possible by an overall life that is skillfully lived. . . . You must order your general lifestyle in such a way that a maturing intellect emerges as part of that lifestyle. If you want to develop a Christian mind, you must intend to order your overall form of life to make this possible.”
The first step in the learning to think Christianly is prayer. Make the development of a Christian mind a matter of regular, focused prayer. Enlist the prayers of others in your efforts, and pray for the development of a Christian mind in those around you—your spouse, your children, your friends, your pastor.
Second, try to approach Scripture with “unfamiliar eyes.” Wade Bradshaw suggests, “pray for a new sense of unfamiliarity whenever you open God’s Word. Ask him to let you read it, not for what you think is there, but to read it with unfamiliar eyes, to catch the surprising perspective, the new insight that might challenge your worldview.”
Third, acquire the habit of examining your own life. “The life which is unexamined,” said Plato, “is not worth living.” And Paul wrote, “Examine yourselves. . . . test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5, NIV). Regularly examine your thought and behavior, your opinions and statements, in the light of Romans 12:1-2, and in the light of the five marks of the Christian mind above.
Fourth, cultivate new habits that encourage the development of a Christian mind. J.P. Moreland suggests the following:
Often, when our energy is low. . . we go into a passive mode and turn on the television. I believe that an intellectual life is easier to develop if a person learns to limit television watching and spends more time getting physical exercise. . . Learn to use low-energy times, or moments like after work or dinner, as occasions to engage in physical exercise. Try something. After dinner go for a walk instead of turning on the TV. When you get back, sit down for thirty minutes to an hour and read an intellectually challenging book. The important thing here is to get out of passive ruts, especially those passive couch potato moments, and replace old habits with new ones that create energy to read, reflect, and be more proactive.
This will take effort, of course, but it will quickly become energizing, not draining. Active lifestyles encourage active minds.
Finally, set some goals that will encourage the development of a Christian mind, such as reading a book like The Christian Mind or Love Your God With All Your Mind every six months. Team up with a friend from church and hold each other accountable to read and discuss challenging books and periodicals, tackle specific issues, and develop new habits. Be alert for conferences, seminars, and classes that will stimulate your intellect and help you to think Christianly on various topics. Discover some of the recommended resources that accompany this article, and discuss them with your friends and coworkers.
“If we are going to be wise, spiritual people prepared to meet the crises of our age,” writes J.P. Moreland, “we must be a studying, learning community that values the life of the mind.” We must be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We must reflect the mind of Christ to our families, our friends, our churches, and our world. We must pray, in the words of the hymnwriter Francis Ridley Havergal:
“Take my intellect and use every power as thou shalt choose.”
BOB HOSTETLER
Former SA officer
USA East & USA Nat’l HQ
Copyright © 2005, Bob Hostetler, use only with permission.
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1 comment:
Hi Bob!
Thanks for this! You are an excellent and inspiring writer and I do like your concept of "thinking Christianly"!
Because of the dis-repute the word Xian has suffered in some circles in recent years (thanks to the Xian right and it's unholy alliance with the political right) I might have expressed it a bit differently myself if I were writing a similar article.
I might have described it instead as having a spiritual dimension to ones life where we are constantly aware of an eternal presence (the endless life of God)trandscending time and space in all that we do and say from day to day. A life attached only to the 5 senses is sure to ultimately disappoint and fail anyone who engages in it no matter how successful the world might call such a person. But since I too am a Xian "thinking Christianly" does work for me on a personal level.
My only other concern (which may or may not apply to your article) is that many times Xian writers try to promote the idea that at one time in the not too distant past people were somehow more "Christianly" than they are now and that the larger culture ran on Xian values which we have since forgotten, etc. etc.
To me that's a lot of bunk. Human nature has always been human nature and people have always been what people have been and it really isn't any different than what people are now.
Just because politicians may have officially made more Xian noises in the past doesn't mean a thing. Much of what we regard as Xian values from the past were really just western values that were steeply influenced by Capitalist--Puritanism which was (and still is) mistakenly thought of as being Xian when it wasn't/isn't.
The fact that little more than one hundred years ago orphans roamed the streets of the great industrial cities of "Xian" America and England is certainly at least partial proof of that!
Anyway, before I get on a soapbox I really have no time left to get on today let me one last time thank you for this very excellent article Bob. I'll have to remember the phrase
"thinking Christianly" from now on. It is a very good phrase indeed!
Daryl Lach
USA Central
"You Must Go Home By the Way of the Cross, to Stand with Jesus in the Morning!"
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