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Ch.2- Sketching a Biblical Portrait of the Life of the Mind

Observations
1) The importance of knowledge, reason, and intellect is clearly taught in the Bible.
-Job 37:16 & 1 John 3:20
-God is All-Knowing (omniscient)
-The Bible is meant as a revelation. (To reveal or to make known)

2) There is a false idea that Christians are somehow the gatekeepers for understanding God & The bible.
-This is the job of the Holy Spirit
-This teaching is based on a gnostic belief

3) Examples of using intellect, wisdom, understanding in the Bible
-Acts 18:28 - Apollos vigorously refuted the Jews...proving Jesus was the Christ
-Acts 15:2 - Paul & Barnabas - "This brought them into sharp debate & dispute with them."
-Acts 7 - Stephen's speech to the Sanhedrin (He based his defense on Scripture & History)

4) There is great value in the natural moral laws
-God created & ordained the natural laws
-People who do not believe in the validity of the Scriptures will not be swayed by evidence from it.
-There is sufficient evidence in the natural world, so we should study and know it.

5) Daniel was placed in a position of influence because of his knowledge of "all disciplines of wisdom".
-We must seek to understand all areas of knowledge.
-It is part of God's creation, to learn about it is to learn about Him
-Christians can become very exclusionary when all we know is what is in the Scripture.

6) 1 Peter 3:15 - As Christians we must be able to give a rational defense for our beliefs

7) God's wisdom, & knowledge are beyond our understanding, but we should never stop seeking to understand them.
-This is the same as training for a race that you know you will not win, but you still train to win.

8) God is a rational, intelligent being who has made us in His image, so we should use our God given ration and intellect.

Ch.1 - How We Lost the Christian Mind and Why We Must Recover It

Observations
1) Christians generally have lost the desire to understand & study their faith and culture.

2) Gaining wisdom & knowledge can help christians be salt and light to the world.

3) It is OK to disagree with people as long as you value them as being in the "image of God"

4) The pursuit of wisdom and the acquisition of knowledge should be a larger part of developing your faith.

Beginnings

We are embarking on a book reading of J.P. Moreland's "Love your God with all your mind -The role of reason in the life of the soul"

(This Journal Blog is not intended to be a review of the book, and it is not to be taken as a guide for understanding it. We are just a couple who have decided to read this book together and write our thoughts.)