I want to write something about the book that I just finished. The title of the book was Love Your God with All Your Mind and it was written by J.P. Moreland. I say I want to write something about this book, but I am just not so sure what to write.
The book started out quite interesting. It had a great premise and the author put the thoughts together in a very systematic, logical fashion. It was well researched and contained several great quotes and supports for his argument.
I am not going to attempt to summarize this book, but here is the gist of it: (Is "gist" a real word?) Intellectualism and the cultivation of the mind is an essential part and a core value of true Christianity. In other words, true Christianity and its faith includes reason and rational thought, it does not stand in opposition to it.
I agree with this basic idea. I get bothered by those who pass off the Christian faith as something for the dull-witted, like anyone who believes the Bible is some kind of back-woods redneck who hasn't been enlightened yet. I can be an intelligent, rational human being and believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and the Jesus Christ really came to this earth in the flesh and died on the cross for the sins of humanity and that this earth was created in 6 literal days without evolution from species to species over long periods of time. These beliefs don't fly in the face of rational thought, they complement each other. I would go as far as to say that true rational, logical thought will lead straight to God, and the Bible is full of examples of Christ and the apostles reasoning with the lost in order to lead them to faith. I encourage rational thought, I am not afraid of it.
I am over-generalizing my thoughts here, so don't critique me too much.
The problem that I had with this book was two-fold. First, the guy was too wordy. He took 200 pages of small print to say what he could have said in 100 pages of normal text. Second, the book began to feel more and more like a rant. With a greater frequency, he began to use phrases like, "I think..." or "I believe..." or "Here are some suggestions that I would like to make..." as the book progressed. It was just getting to be a little too pompous for my taste.
So, I am recommending this book... sort of. Maybe you could call it a recommendation with a disclaimer.
The book started out quite interesting. It had a great premise and the author put the thoughts together in a very systematic, logical fashion. It was well researched and contained several great quotes and supports for his argument.
I am not going to attempt to summarize this book, but here is the gist of it: (Is "gist" a real word?) Intellectualism and the cultivation of the mind is an essential part and a core value of true Christianity. In other words, true Christianity and its faith includes reason and rational thought, it does not stand in opposition to it.
I agree with this basic idea. I get bothered by those who pass off the Christian faith as something for the dull-witted, like anyone who believes the Bible is some kind of back-woods redneck who hasn't been enlightened yet. I can be an intelligent, rational human being and believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and the Jesus Christ really came to this earth in the flesh and died on the cross for the sins of humanity and that this earth was created in 6 literal days without evolution from species to species over long periods of time. These beliefs don't fly in the face of rational thought, they complement each other. I would go as far as to say that true rational, logical thought will lead straight to God, and the Bible is full of examples of Christ and the apostles reasoning with the lost in order to lead them to faith. I encourage rational thought, I am not afraid of it.
I am over-generalizing my thoughts here, so don't critique me too much.
The problem that I had with this book was two-fold. First, the guy was too wordy. He took 200 pages of small print to say what he could have said in 100 pages of normal text. Second, the book began to feel more and more like a rant. With a greater frequency, he began to use phrases like, "I think..." or "I believe..." or "Here are some suggestions that I would like to make..." as the book progressed. It was just getting to be a little too pompous for my taste.
So, I am recommending this book... sort of. Maybe you could call it a recommendation with a disclaimer.
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