Love God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul – J.P. Moreland

J.P. Moreland has done us all the favor of writing this wonderful, devotional read. This simple, readable volume is insightful, relevant, and quite thought provoking. Moreland develops his thesis that the mind is especially valuable and ESSENTIAL to the Christian life. His case is made rationally, and is thoroughly scriptural. The introductory notes of Dallas Willard make it clear that those who care the most about character development and our devotional life in Christ (i.e. – Richard Foster, Dallas Willard, Donald Whitney, etc.) must give attention to the life of the mind.

As readers progress through this section, they will also note how carefully Moreland outlines the deterioration of intellectual Christianity in Western history – and the parallel between it and the deterioration of the Church and its influence both in society and the world. I agree with this assessment, and commend for further study Mark Noll’s The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind for a more detailed study of these issues. It seems that, for Moreland (and the biblical authors), development of an ability to think rationally and reason is vital to the health of individual Christians, and the life of the Church more generally. With him (and Paul), I heartily agree that genuine spiritual transformation takes place through the impartation of spiritual truths by the renewing of the MIND (Romans 12:1).

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Philosophy of Religion – Hasker, Peterson, Reichenbach, & Basinger

I read significant portions of this textbook for a class I took with Dr. Greg Welty. There is no need to comment in detail on this volume as it is an anthology of articles from various scholars from various times. A few quick thoughts, though…

It is significant that my professor, a Calvinist, uses a book whose editors are all staunch open theists. Thus, we read articles from various positions and critiqued them from the Scriptures and with reason, not a biased agenda. In fact, we read a number of articles from atheistic, Jewish and Islamic philosophers in addition to Christian thinkers (both Protestant and Roman Catholic). Particularly helpful was Alvin Plantinga’s discussion of reformed epistemology. This is an area in which I hope to do further study and how it plays out within apologetic evangelism.

I’m thankful for the opportunity to study philosophy of religion with a strong scholar like Dr. Welty. He was academically demanding, but also thoroughly pastoral in explaining the practical implications of our understanding of basic philosophy. On a more personal note, he was quite encouraging to me as I’m preparing to pursue doctoral work in this field. For those of you who still need to take Philosophy of Religion, I highly recommend taking it with Dr. Welty.

Baptist Faith and Message 2000: Critical Issues in America’s Largest Protestant Denomination - Douglas K. Blount & Joseph D. Wooddell

I really like Dr. Blount – enough to seriously pursue him as a Ph.D supervisor.  This book which he edited along with Joseph Wooddell analyzes each of the various articles of the Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) 2000 and seeks to explain not only the content of the document, but also discusses why changes were made from the 1963 edition of the confession.  In his essay on the Scriptures, Wooddell explains why certain key changes were made with respect to a Christological hermeneutic and a Christological doctrine of bibliology.  Particularly helpful is Blount’s essay on the doctrine of God and the statement from Southern Baptists against open theism, as well as the insertion of key words to ensure orthodoxy in theology proper and Christology.  Another excellent essay regarding current issues in Southern Baptist life is Dr. Malcolm Yarnell’s explication of the article concerning the church.  Having spent a considerable amount of time with him in Oxford, this essay is the Cliff Notes of the Cliff Notes concerning his thoroughly biblical view of the local church.  As a follow up to this essay, read John Hammet (SEBTS) on the ordinances of the church (baptism and the Lord’s supper).  Also, for those interested in soteriological aspects of the BF&M, check out Al Mohler’s article, then see how it plays out in Keith Eitel’s piece on evangelism of missions.  A great book for those interested in current events within Southern Baptist life, and how the confession of our faith plays a role in the life of churches that make up the Southern Baptist Convention.

Strict Biblicists often want to make everything in the Bible normative for today. They teach that the Bible is to be interpreted literally, and they generally go on to denounce theologizing biblical texts beyond their surface meaning. However, they generally don’t go far enough with their own conclusions (sarcasm). If they were more consistent, they would see that most of the Bible was not written for us. Interpreting the Bible by strict historical-grammatical principles will realize that what Paul had to say to the Philippians has nothing to do with us, because we aren’t part of the church of Philippi. Furthermore, John’s shorter epistles were to the elect lady (not me), her children (also not me), and Gaius (you guessed it – not me). In fact, none of Paul’s letters were written to me, nor was 1 Peter, any Lukan literature, and I’m not Jewish, so I get to chunk Hebrews. Thank goodness! This makes my life so much easier! Coming back to reality, we have to be careful when we tell others to interpret the Bible literally. Let’s help people understand how to do this well – by teaching them theological hermeneutics.

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Regarding strict Biblicists (those who argue that if it isn’t explicit in the surface reading of the text – according to their individual interpretation), I have a few thoughts to offer. These are those who do not allow for doctrinal development, but instead make the obvious reading of a given passage normative for all things without taking time to consider the ramifications. Ironically, these are often the same people who depart from this ideology by employing hermeneutics differently and inconsistently when it aids them in making another point. I’m picking up on an old thread I started but never finished. Thus, I’m picking up on a thread that I started this time last year, but never finished. When discussing a post-(postmodern) hermeneutic, we should begin by first talking about biblical interpretation within the Church given post-modernism’s emphasis on community. Tomorrow I’ll take up the question of the sufficiency of Scripture for doctrine.

Reading the Scriptures of the Christian Church ought to mean that you read them with the Church. And if you read the Scriptures with the Church, you ought to be part of the Church (a believer). And if you are part of THE CHURCH, you are certainly part of A CHURCH. Christianity is not a faith given by God to be lived alone. Nor are the Scriptures to be interpreted in a vacuum, independently of any other influence but one’s own self. Furthermore, this idea (objectivity of perspective) is impossible, but I won’t go into this philosophical issue here.

The Bible is the possession and treasure of the Church of Jesus Christ, and it is to be interpreted within the confines of this Church. A pagan scholar who reads the Bible and deduces that Jesus was not the Christ, was not the Son of God, and was not of the same nature of the Father has clearly come to the wrong conclusions by wrongly interpreting the Scripture. But, says who? The Church. The Scriptures are true, completely. However, while all men (and women) are created equal in the eyes of God, not all interpretations of these people are equal. In as much as an emphasis on community is being recovered by postmodernism, a recovery of the hermeneutics of charity ought also be recovered.

In his book On Christian Doctrine, Augustine taught that the correct interpretation of Scripture comes with sanctification. This flies in the face of modernism, which taught that the data of Scripture, when observed free from any outside influence and without bias, can be understood correctly. However, the Scriptures themselves teach that this is incorrect. Donald Bloesch in his volume Theology of Word and Spirit argues convincingly that apart from the illumination of the Spirit, the Word will not be correctly interpreted. Furthermore, what Christian would ever want to read the Scriptures objectively without bias? Not me – I want to read the Bible with the help of the Holy Spirt – and that is anything but objective. Holy Spirit guided interpretation is quite biased – and quite CHRISTIAN. We ought to read the Bible Christianly, not objectively. Hence, non-Christians have no right to speak with any authority as to what they believe the Bible teaches, because they obviously haven’t got the correct interpretation. If they did interpret the Bible correctly, they would repent of their sin and trust in the Lord. Hence, holiness is a requirement for correct interpretation, for correct understanding of the Scriptures inevitably brings about right living. It is impossible to believe rightly the teachings of a Holy God as revealed in the Holy Bible and that not bring about a holy person – it just doesn’t happen. Instead, someone, somewhere along the way, fails to understand either the authority of the Bible (doctrine of Scripture), the authority of God (doctrine of God), or they’ve got the wrong interpretation.

We can see the Spirit at work in the Church throughout history. God has been at work to guide His people into all truth, and into the Truth (Jesus), as revealed in the Bible. The Spirit guided the Early Church to articulate the truths of the Trinity carefully as He guided them to the truths of the Scriptures. This does not mean that the early creeds were written with the same inspiration as the canon, yet the creeds, while not infallible (as are the Scriptures), have faithfully interpreted the doctrine of God as taught in the inerrant Word of God. Thus, it is okay to teach people to read the Scriptures with the Church, and to help them understand the Trinity by showing them the conclusions reached by those gone before, as recorded in the early creeds. The Reformers certainly believed this, and the early Baptists in their confession “The Orthodox Creed” taught that the early creeds (Apostle’s, Nicene-Constantinopolitan, and Athanasian) ought to be received, and believed, “for we believe they may be proved by most undoubted Authority of holy scripture, and are necessary to be understood of all Christians…”  Read the rest of Article XXXVIII in their confession, The Orthodox Creed, 1679.
Let’s get back to our roots and start confessing that the Trinity matters. Let’s do away with the over emphasis of individuals at the expense of the community made up by these individuals. Individuals are priests unto God and each other within the Church, not independently of her.

Sacred Parenting – Gary Thomas

This is not a “how-to” book; it is a book about how God uses the parenting process to change people.  Interestingly, Gary Thomas doesn’t focus on how children are changed, but rather how the parents are changed through the process.  I found his insights refreshing and relevant, especially as a Father of two.  A graduate of Regent College, Thomas cares deeply about the integration of theological truths, practical applications (methodology), and devotional practice.  Thus, this book is one that I recommend for those seeking to understand how the theological truths concerning the family play out in everyday life with respect to our own spiritual formation as parents, and essential to our own intimacy with Jesus.

A word of exhortation to parents…spend time with your children.  PARENT them.  If you fail to do so, it is not only to the detriment of your children and their future, but also to the detriment of your own soul – not only at the judgment seat, but you will not experience the fullness of life here and now on earth that was promised by Christ if you fail to walk in obedience to God’s design of the family.