LESSON 1: The Christian Mind
Objective: To introduce the course and the text in the context of a discussion of contemporary experience of the lack of a Christian worldview around us.
INTRODUCTION
What the primary objective of the course is:
To identify and practice how to think Christianly, to equip believers to guard themselves, the Church, and their society against anti-Christian thought.
What the primary objective is not:
To promote any specific agenda on any particular social, cultural, or political issue.
The text, The Christian Mind; How Should A Christian Think? By Harry Blamires is an exercise in observation of the present denigrated place of the Christian worldview resulting from an eroded Christian mind. It will serve as little rudder for a little while in exploring the vastness of our intellectual life.
Discussion:
The Intellectual Life of a Person: discuss its importance relative to social life, marital life, spiritual life, emotional life, physical life.
The Intellectual Life of a Christian; discuss its uniqueness. How is it characterized? It’s devotion to Christ, it’s submissiveness to God, it’s patent desire for fellowship among other Christians, it’s ultimate expression in exploring the depths of the things of God, and it’s resultant joy in uncovering God’s thoughts after him.
Definitions:
Belief: thoughts held true. “The Easter bunny came last night!” “The Iliad was written by Homer.” Can typically be preceded by “I believe that….”
Presuppositions: an assumption whose truth is taken for granted prior to having knowledge. “In cognition, incognito.” Examples of presuppositions include: ”Do you want to go there again?” Presupposition: You’ve been there already, at least once.
Worldview: An integrated system of beliefs and concepts about the universe and the self through which an individual interprets the world and interacts in it.
Christian Worldview: That integrated system of beliefs and presuppositions from Scripture through which the Christian interprets the world and interacts with it.
Christian Mind: Thinking and other activities of intellectual life characterized by a Christian Worldview.
The Text
Watch for discussion identifying false dichotomies
Sacred/Secular Dichotomy – being religious for religious instances, but secular in “secular” instances. In (esp. reformed) Christian thought, there are no secular instances; therefore secular thoughts or approaches are not warranted. See Jean Chretien as a bad example.
There can be a Christian tendency, and an unbeliever’s commitment to, accept a thing as secular, but then spiritize it, cover it with a veneer of religiosity without truly being Christian. Consider Dietrich Bonhoeffers Cost of Discipleship wherein he discusses how Christ’s call to the rich young ruler is often misinterpreted as don’t go sell all you have and don’t come and follow me. Stay where you are and keep your possessions but develop an inner detachment toward material things. Sanctimonious, but not sanctification.
Means/Ends Dichotomy – That either the means or the end do not matter. In Christian thought, both come under the authority of Christ. Everything is means (to the glory of God). Adolf Eichmann as an example of a detachment of means and ends on a horrific scale.
Is democracy a good means of governance? Democracy brought Hitler into government(partly); Democracy brought Hamas to government. good means, bad ends.
Topic for discussion: Eve not eating the fruit because she didn’t want to gain weight. Did she sin or not?
Discussion: Yes, because she rejected the revelation of God as authoritative and supposed her own, natural reasons to be authority enough to fulfill the demands thus denying God His rightful place in her thinking. It is the veneer of obedience from a heart of faithlessness and is bound to miss the mark. The ends resemble faithfulness, but are disqualified because the means are spoiled.
Hebrews 4:12 “The Word of God …is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”
What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy him forever. All else is means.
It is the mark of a secular mind to disregard either the means or the ends; “The end justifies the means” is sin.
True Dichotomy: Thesis/Antithesis – a biblical worldview is the antithesis of a secular worldview, Christian thinking is the antithesis of secular thinking.
Read more on antithesis by Greg Bahnsen at http://www.cmfnow.com/articles/pa083.htm
CONCLUSION
What is a Christian Mind? Thinking that is markedly Christian, with unsuppressed Christian presuppositions.
Where is the Christian Mind fabricated? In the thinking of Christians, our intellectual life.
Where is the Christian Mind lacking? According to Blamires, everywhere but in our own personal religious sphere of life. The Church has abrogated its place of authority in our society by retreating to within Church walls.
What is the result? Look around.
What is the remedy? To begin by having Christians thinking Christianly.
“Be perfect”, & “Thou shalt not bear false witness”. Thus the reason for our course and our choice of this text.
Other texts and suggested reading.
INTRODUCTION
What the primary objective of the course is:
To identify and practice how to think Christianly, to equip believers to guard themselves, the Church, and their society against anti-Christian thought.
What the primary objective is not:
To promote any specific agenda on any particular social, cultural, or political issue.
The text, The Christian Mind; How Should A Christian Think? By Harry Blamires is an exercise in observation of the present denigrated place of the Christian worldview resulting from an eroded Christian mind. It will serve as little rudder for a little while in exploring the vastness of our intellectual life.
Discussion:
The Intellectual Life of a Person: discuss its importance relative to social life, marital life, spiritual life, emotional life, physical life.
The Intellectual Life of a Christian; discuss its uniqueness. How is it characterized? It’s devotion to Christ, it’s submissiveness to God, it’s patent desire for fellowship among other Christians, it’s ultimate expression in exploring the depths of the things of God, and it’s resultant joy in uncovering God’s thoughts after him.
Definitions:
Belief: thoughts held true. “The Easter bunny came last night!” “The Iliad was written by Homer.” Can typically be preceded by “I believe that….”
Presuppositions: an assumption whose truth is taken for granted prior to having knowledge. “In cognition, incognito.” Examples of presuppositions include: ”Do you want to go there again?” Presupposition: You’ve been there already, at least once.
Worldview: An integrated system of beliefs and concepts about the universe and the self through which an individual interprets the world and interacts in it.
Christian Worldview: That integrated system of beliefs and presuppositions from Scripture through which the Christian interprets the world and interacts with it.
Christian Mind: Thinking and other activities of intellectual life characterized by a Christian Worldview.
The Text
Watch for discussion identifying false dichotomies
Sacred/Secular Dichotomy – being religious for religious instances, but secular in “secular” instances. In (esp. reformed) Christian thought, there are no secular instances; therefore secular thoughts or approaches are not warranted. See Jean Chretien as a bad example.
There can be a Christian tendency, and an unbeliever’s commitment to, accept a thing as secular, but then spiritize it, cover it with a veneer of religiosity without truly being Christian. Consider Dietrich Bonhoeffers Cost of Discipleship wherein he discusses how Christ’s call to the rich young ruler is often misinterpreted as don’t go sell all you have and don’t come and follow me. Stay where you are and keep your possessions but develop an inner detachment toward material things. Sanctimonious, but not sanctification.
Means/Ends Dichotomy – That either the means or the end do not matter. In Christian thought, both come under the authority of Christ. Everything is means (to the glory of God). Adolf Eichmann as an example of a detachment of means and ends on a horrific scale.
Is democracy a good means of governance? Democracy brought Hitler into government(partly); Democracy brought Hamas to government. good means, bad ends.
Topic for discussion: Eve not eating the fruit because she didn’t want to gain weight. Did she sin or not?
Discussion: Yes, because she rejected the revelation of God as authoritative and supposed her own, natural reasons to be authority enough to fulfill the demands thus denying God His rightful place in her thinking. It is the veneer of obedience from a heart of faithlessness and is bound to miss the mark. The ends resemble faithfulness, but are disqualified because the means are spoiled.
Hebrews 4:12 “The Word of God …is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
4:13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight; but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”
What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy him forever. All else is means.
It is the mark of a secular mind to disregard either the means or the ends; “The end justifies the means” is sin.
True Dichotomy: Thesis/Antithesis – a biblical worldview is the antithesis of a secular worldview, Christian thinking is the antithesis of secular thinking.
Read more on antithesis by Greg Bahnsen at http://www.cmfnow.com/articles/pa083.htm
CONCLUSION
What is a Christian Mind? Thinking that is markedly Christian, with unsuppressed Christian presuppositions.
Where is the Christian Mind fabricated? In the thinking of Christians, our intellectual life.
Where is the Christian Mind lacking? According to Blamires, everywhere but in our own personal religious sphere of life. The Church has abrogated its place of authority in our society by retreating to within Church walls.
What is the result? Look around.
What is the remedy? To begin by having Christians thinking Christianly.
“Be perfect”, & “Thou shalt not bear false witness”. Thus the reason for our course and our choice of this text.
Other texts and suggested reading.
posted by Tulipman @ 3/11/2006 04:42:00 p.m.
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