What Does It Mean to Be a Thoughtful Christian? (Questions for Restless Minds)

David S. Dockery, D. A. Carson

• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781683595175
• eBook ISBN: 9781683595182
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

"In What Does It Mean to be a Thoughtful Christian?, David S. Dockery argues that Christians must be intentional about their thought life. Thoughtful Christians follow guidance from the Bible, possess a consistent worldview, listen to voices of the past, engage with the world, and prioritize faithful community and character development. Learn how thinking well and thinking Christianly is what you, your church, and your culture needs"--

1

INTRODUCTION

As the workday concluded on the Trinity campus prior to the Thanksgiving break, two students visited my office with a bag full of delicious cookies. I thanked them for their kindness and their thoughtfulness, reminding them how meaningful it was for me that they would remember those in the administration at this time of year. I then shared the cookies with others on the hallway, who likewise expressed appreciation for my consideration and thoughtfulness. As I packed my briefcase to go to the house, I included a new book that had arrived on my desk that day. One of the endorsements on the back of that new book lauded the “wise insights to produce a lucid and thoughtful proposal.” Thoughtful in the first instance describes a kind-hearted remembrance. Thoughtful in the second instance expands the description to include the idea of being considerate. The third usage points to the kind of reflective thinking that is noteworthy and commendable.

To describe someone as thoughtful may well suggest that this person is characteristically kind and considerate of others. Using the adjective in this manner would be quite consistent with New Testament teaching. The Apostle Paul told the Philippians to consider others better than themselves (Phil 2:3b). In Ephesians, we read “be kind and compassionate to one another” (Eph 4:32a). While this understanding of “thoughtful” is an important aspect of the Christian life, our primary focus in this book has to do with thinking deeply or carefully or reflectively about things.1 In doing so, we will explore what it means for thoughtful Christians to “think Christianly,” to love God with our minds (Matt 22:37).2

2

LOVE GOD WITH HEART, SOUL, AND MIND

Becoming a thoughtful Christian means learning to think well and to think Christianly. And in noting these two points, we want to say that they must be both at once. Making this observation recognizes that it is possible to be thoughtful without being Christian, and that it is possible to be a Christian without being thoughtful. Frankly, in our current duality-promoting context, either of these would be easier for most people to contemplate. What is challenging is to be both thoughtful and Christian in vigorous and vital engagement with each other and interdependence among each other.3 We believe, however, that such integration is precisely what is needed at this time in the church and in our culture.4

To be a thoughtful Christian does not mean that one only thinks about Christian matters, though the way one thinks should be thoroughly shaped by Christian teaching, the pattern of Christian truth.5 In doing so, the thoughtful Christian will explore a wide, complex, and diverse range of topics through the lens of the Christian faith.6 Such exploration implies more than being thoughtful about life in general, even by a person who claims to follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, for unfortunately, it is quite possible to be a Christ-follower without thinking faithfully or consistently in Christian categories. We also recognize that there are times, even when we want to be thoughtful Christians, that we, like the Apostle Paul, often do not do the good we want to do (Rom 7:14–16). Being a thoughtful Christian then has more to do with the intentional way we process ideas, issues, and information, learning to think in a Christian manner on a consistent basis.

We certainly want to love God with our hearts and our souls. We must, however, as Christ followers who desire to be Great Commandment Christians in line with the teaching of Jesus (Matt 22:37–39), love God with our minds as well.7 Learning to be a thoughtful Christian, or, to express it differently, to think in Christian categories, will shape the way we think about all aspects of life, whether we are talking about businesses, health care agencies, governments, social structures, recreational activities, and yes, our homes and churches, too.8 To be a thoughtful Christian means that we seek to think differently about the way we live and love, the way we worship and serve, the way we work to earn our livelihood, and the way we learn and teach.

More than just new ideas and enhanced programs for churches and Christian organizations, the need of the hour is for thoughtful Christ followers who reflect distinctively Christian thinking, the kind of serious-minded thinking that results in faithful engagement with the great ideas of history and the issues of our day.9 Such thinking means seeing all of life and learning from a Christian vantage point, thinking shaped by the Christian faith.10

Building on this brief introduction, which calls on thoughtful Christians to be Great Commandment Christians, let us turn our attention to the different areas or themes that characterize thoughtful Christ followers who seek to love God with their minds. We will focus on themes that encourage and help men and women become serious about their Christian faith, which will help prepare them for the challenges and opportunities awaiting them in the changing context of the twenty-first century. At this point, it will be helpful to explore eight larger categories that we believe will help all of us understand what is involved in learning to think Christianly, while simultaneously strengthening our efforts to do so. Thoughtful Christians:

•think with faith and truth;

•prioritize the pattern of Christian truth;

•pattern their worldview by Christian truth;

•affirm the authority of the Bible;

•value the Christian intellectual tradition;

•emphasize reading and culture;

•live faithfully

•serve the church, the culture, and the world.

3

THINK WITH FAITH AND TRUTH

Thoughtful Christians who seek to follow Jesus Christ in a wholehearted manner begin with what some have called “faith thinking.” As Trevor Hart notes, “This pursuit is an inevitable corollary of the existence of faith itself,” for faith cannot help asking questions and seeking answers.11 Faith thinking, which Hart describes as theologically-informed thinking, is not reserved for a small number of academic theologians, but is an inevitable consequence of the life of thoughtful Christians in the real world. The large majority of Christians will not become scholars or public intellectuals, nor will they necessarily become academic theologians or pastor-theologians. It would, however, be our dream for all thoughtful Christians to be able to think Christianly, to think in theological categories, and to do so in a way that strengthens opportunities with friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members for the kind of conversations that Chuck Colson described as “backyard apologetics.”12

Both Trevor Hart and Alvin Plantinga affirm that thoughtful Christians need to articulate a conception of the rational process that recognizes the need for intellectual responsibility in Christian belief.13 They recognize, however, that a pure empirical or evidentialist approach will accept only certain tangible evidence, prejudicing against any inquiry into non-empirical matters. In doing so, an empiricist in effect approaches the question of belief not from a neutral vantage point, but from a secularist perspective, which results in the lack of a level playing field for those who embrace the Christian faith. In line with P. T. Forsyth,14 Hart and Plantinga maintain that Christian beliefs have rational justification and are thus compatible with faith thinking, making sense of the need for these beliefs to be more than a privatized matter that is not subject to any rational or ethical constraints.15

Beginning with these faith commitments that shape our thinking, thoughtful Christians recognize that even though it may not be readily apparent at first glance, there is a unity of all knowledge that can be observed, because all true knowledge flows from the one Creator to his one creation. Thus, all truth has its source in God, composing a single universe of knowledge.16 Faith thinking involves the development and construction of a convictional way of seeing the world by which we can see, learn, and interpret life from the vantage point of God’s revelation to us. Thoughtful Christians are encouraged to be intellectually curious and to grow in their understanding and appreciation of God, of his creation and grace, and of humanity’s place of privilege and responsibility in God’s world.

Faith thinking involves the renewal of the mind by God’s Spirit (Rom 12:1–2), for such thinking is shaped by God’s revelation to us as we contemplate God and his creation. In doing so, we recall Augustine’s model of faith seeking understanding, acknowledging that wherever we find truth, it is the Lord’s, even as thoughtful believers struggle with issues and carry on debate in pursuit of truth. We will hear afresh the admonition of the Apostle Paul to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Cor 10:5).17

Thoughtful Christians recognize their dependence on God in seeking to follow this course, for such a lofty calling, as noted, can only take place as our minds are renewed by God’s Spirit (Rom 12:2). A serious commitment to faith thinking, to the renewing of minds, esteems exploration and genuine intellectual struggle while wrestling with the culture-shaping ideas and issues of the past and the present. We do so with faith commitments, seeking to discover and expound God’s truth as it has been revealed in creation and redemption, and as it has been made alive and understandable for us by the ministry of God’s Spirit.18

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PRIORITIZE THE PATTERN OF CHRISTIAN TRUTH

Many in our contemporary world think the idea of a thoughtful Christian to be a contradiction in terms because they have been led to believe that knowledge no longer has any connection with faith and, in fact, often seems to be in opposition to it. Thus faith thinking, in the minds of many, sounds like the words of a Kris Kristofferson song, something “partly true and partly fiction.” Yet Trevor Hart, Alvin Plantinga, Gerald Bray, and others have refused to let non-Christian philosophy have the upper hand with regards to an understanding of knowledge and rationality.19 Kevin Vanhoozer suggests that this conversation is not merely an epistemological dispute, but a theological one. If indeed it is the case that “in [Christ] all things hold together” (Col 1:17), then a belief is justified if it coheres with the gospel of Jesus Christ. This means that reason does n...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Series Preface (D. A. Carson)
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Love God with Heart, Soul, and Mind
• 3. Think with Faith and Truth
• 4. Prioritize the Pattern of Christian Truth
• 5. Pattern Their Worldview by Christian Truth
• 6. Affirm the Authority of the Bible
• 7. Value the Christian Intellectual Tradition
• 8. Emphasize Reading and Culture
• 9. Live Faithfully
• 10. Serve the Church, the Culture, and the World
• 11. Conclusion
• Acknowledgments
• Study Guide Questions
• For Further Reading