The Christian Mind
God's call to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord (2 Peter 3:18) is a continual, day in, day out effort to be the person God wants us to be in all we are, all we have, and all we do. To be a Christ-like people, we must make a wholehearted effort to develop Christ-like thinking.
From the prophets of the Old Testament we are instructed to be persons:
... of righteousness and justice, who seek good (Amos 5);
... of constant, forgiving love (Hosea 6:6);
... of covenantal relationship to God (Jeremiah 31:31-34);
... of faith and obedience (Daniel 3; 6);
... who do what is just and live in humble fellowship with our God (Micah 6:8-9);
... who seek to know and understand God (Jeremiah 9:23-24);
... who live in hope because of our faith that God is in control (Jeremiah 51:15-19);
... who combat injustice and oppression in the world (Isaiah 58:6-7).
And the New Testament echoes words of instruction to us to be people of faith, living in the assurance of God's redemption and grace (Romans 3:21-26); who have love for one another (1 Corinthians 13; John 15:8-17); and who exhibit the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). It is not difficult to quickly put together a portrait of a faithful Christian from these biblical images. It is to such a life that we are called to be followers of Christ.
The Master Teacher wants us to persist in learning. We are to have an informed faith. The Lord never said, "Thou shalt not make full use of the brain you've been given." While the Christian mind is biblical, it is more than that.
1) It is REASONABLE. It thinks the Bible through with common sense. Our faith needs to make sense, needs to be supported intellectually as well as emotionally.
2) It is EMPIRICAL. It reads the Bible in light of the knowledge that comes through the sciences. Our faith must be informed through our study and understanding of modern secular disciplines.
3) It is PRAGMATIC. It tests in action the teachings of Scripture and all religious views and concepts. On the basis of our experience, we refine and revise our growing faith.
4) It is ECUMENICAL. We build our faith on the foundation of the common understanding of, and for the sake of, the whole Christian community, past, present, and future. We do not make narrow, sectarian decisions.
All of the empirical studies—from astronomy, physics, chemistry, geology, biology, psychology, on through geography, archaeology, anthropology, sociology, and history—are pertinent to a Christian's thinking. Hearing the Scriptures today involves dialogue between two worlds, the world of the Bible and the current world.
Encountering the Bible is more than a preferable hermeneutic. It is a strategy for transformation leading to a spiritual makeover from head to toe. The Bible isn't just a story we read, it is a story to live; with the goal of learning how to let Christ' story become our story so that we become more like Christ. Any method for engaging or interpreting Scripture that does not promote or guide people to a Christ-like transformation is how not to read the Bible.
"No one ever graduates from Bible study until
they meet the Author face to face."
- Everett T. Harris
they meet the Author face to face."
- Everett T. Harris
Select excerpts from: "The Faith We Affirm" by Ronald E. Osborn
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