Introduction
Love Your God with all Your Mind is a thought provoking read, very much needed
for this generation. The Christian is called to stand for truth, and J.P.
Moreland is seeking to inspire young Christians to pursue the truth and worship
the Lord by making the most of the mind God created to honor Him. The church
should be the number one source of truth, but sadly many young people are
leaving the church because of not receiving answers. Moreland does a fine job
of explaining why a rational mind matters for spiritual maturity and how the
Christian can confidently provide logical reasons for accepting the faith. Not
only is evidence for the faith presented well but so is valuable instructions
on how to properly apply what has been learned. In the concluding chapter
Christians are provided with guiding tips useful for inspiring the church to
grow intellectually and spiritually.
Summary
The Christian should be the defender of truth
and Moreland is right to be concerned when the church is intimidated by other
worldviews or by the scientific community. More Christians should be studying science
and teaching others how science and the Bible are not enemies. Moreland does
well to explain how the Church became disconnected from the intellectual arena,
which is an uncomfortable truth the faithful must humbly accept and fix. The
church must not withdraw from the secular world but must be informed when
evangelizing those who believe Christians do not stand on the intellectual high
ground. Since the human mind is created to pursue truth and have fellowship
with God every Christian must be inspired to make the most of the mind God
created.[1] Moreland
does well to cite scripture when arguing for the need to grow intellectually,
even for the sake of spiritual growth.
Moreland argues for the truth being of the
utmost value and if God is the Truth one gains the power to think more clearly upon
accepting Christ.[2] Moreland
does well to encourage readers into accepting the need to love God more than
self. In so doing one chooses to see the truth about God which has the power to
transform the life of the faithful. Since the mind was created to honor God one
must be motivated to grow intellectually for the sake of sharing the truth with
others.[3] Far
too often the distractions in this world can hinder one from growing
spiritually. In this secular culture the Christian mind will struggle with
doubts, but one must not fear the lies of this world when pursuing truth.[4] Forming
the right habits for intellectual growth is argued for in this text, and the
focus is on virtues the Christian must have to keep the mind renewed and in
service to Christ. In connection to these virtues one must know how to think
logically, as God created the mind to do so. Moreland provides a list of
logical fallacies the Christian must avoid when sharing the truth, for the
renewed mind does not need to depend on manipulative tactics when sharing
Christ with others.
In the third part Moreland provides lessons on
how a mature mind operates in the service of Christ. Apologetics and evangelism
must be connected, for when providing the reasons for accepting the faith the
Christian must be levelheaded and well informed. In this culture the skeptic
expects the Christian to appeal to their emotions, but the knowledgeable
Christian must be prepared to confidently explain why the faith is not in vain.
Moreland refers to how Christ and Paul provided rational arguments and evidence
when defending their claims.[5]
After providing readers with advice on how to be confident yet humble
evangelists for Christ the next two chapters are focused on the evidence for
God.
The argument for the universe being created by a personal God is
presented well, detailing the evidence for the finetuned universe, as well as the
observable signs of design in microbiology. The information provided in this
book is rather concise, but multiple sources are cited, and readers are
encouraged to study further on these subjects. Readers are also informed on how
to logically present the moral argument, and in so doing show how the best life
is a life of virtue.[6]
After building up a solid case for the existence of a personal moral
God, Moreland writes a highly informative chapter presenting the evidence for
the resurrected Jesus Christ. This section focused on the resurrection is quite
informative but also concise and to the point, which is appropriate considering
Christ often refuted the skeptics in such a manner (Mark 12:17, Luke 20:38). In
the concluding chapter Moreland provides practical suggestions and useful tips
for how the church should function for the sake of fostering intellectual
growth in the community.
Every Christian must have a longing for
truth, and a growing desire to share the greatest truth with others. In this
book the Christian is instructed on how to grow intellectually as a service to
God, to better share the love of Christ. Anti-intellectualism has been a
growing problem in the church and Moreland presents a sound argument for this
problem being an issue which helped induce the rise of dangerous worldviews
like secularism and postmodernism.[7] A growing number of Christians do not
know how to counter contrary worldviews and as a result evangelism is hindered.
Moreland does well to cite Romans 12:1-2 to argue for the necessity of renewing
the mind if one seeks to understand the will of God.[8] Simple bible studies should not be
enough for the Christian, but one should study hard being driven to be
progressively transformed and ever more distant from conforming to the ways of
this world.
When addressing evangelism and the
Christian mind Moreland does well to explain how emotions must not be the
guiding reason one chooses to accept a belief system. Neither should one
primarily focus on appealing to one’s emotions when sharing the gospel. In a
nation filled with those Moreland calls “empty selves” propaganda easily
influences the pour souls who have never learned to think objectively.[9] A list of damaging factors for a
worldview are listed by Moreland helping to bring an understanding to how and
why the church in America has reached this present sad state. If a cultural
viewpoint is considered irrational by a growing number of people the belief
system will not survive, if this belief focusses more on felt needs and
satisfaction than on truth the system will fail, and if the members have no
tools to properly defend an ideology the belief will not flourish.[10] Though history has shown these factors can
hinder fruitful evangelism in the church there is one very important apologetic
unknown or ignored by a growing number of Christians in America today. Since
the skeptics will only believe what can be seen there must be a lack of truly
transformed Christians evangelizing in America today. Being knowledgeable about
the Scriptures and even how to defend the truth will accomplish little if the
Christian does not display the love of Christ (1 Cor. 13:2 NIV).
If one has become a new creation in
Christ growing in the knowledge of the truth should come naturally. The one who
is in love will want to know the object of their affection on a deeper level.
When the skeptic is being evangelized the Christian should be joyful, excited
to share the reasons for their faith in Christ. This does not mean the
Christian needs to have an answer for every question, but the Christian should
be able to describe who Christ is and why one should trust in Him. What
initially made the Christian life so appealing during the early rise of the
church was not the satisfaction the faith offered in a worldly sense.
Christianity was recognized as real because despite the suffering and
persecution the Christian was at peace in Christ. The love of Christ seen in
the believers and the beauty of their transformed lives proved this faith
offers a hope beyond the natural realm.
One of the more interesting parts in this
book is where Moreland shares a lesson on how Christ intelligently responded to
the Sadducees who tried to trap Him with a question. This example shows how Christ
was prepared to respond because of understanding the beliefs held by these
religious leaders. The question was with regards to a hypothetical scenario
where a woman ended up marrying seven men because after each of these brothers
died the woman was married to the next in line. The Sadducees, who did not
believe in the resurrection, were trying to trap Jesus when asking which of
these men the woman would be married to in the afterlife.[11] In knowing polygamy is wrong, and
knowing the resurrection of the dead is true, Jesus stated there is no marriage
in Heaven and then reminded listeners God declared Himself to be the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Matt. 22:32). In this verse God does not speak of
these individuals in the past tense, therefore God is a God of the living, not
the dead. Readers ought to be fascinated to know the verse Christ quoted was
considered a defining verse for those in the Sadducean party.[12] Moreland uses this example to argue if
the Christian is truly set on following Christ example one should feel
obligated to grow in their knowledge of opposing views and understand how to
logically dissect the argument of the opposing side.[13] The church will grow significantly if a
growing number of Christians follow Christ example when evangelizing.
Moreland does well to present scriptural
grounds for growing in biblical and extrabiblical knowledge. Too many
Christians today are unaware of the scientific evidence for God and against
evolution, and unaware of the historical evidence for the faith. The evidence
for Christ is presented in an interesting order, beginning with the
non-biblical historical documents. Based off these sources alone readers see
multiple witnesses believed Christ resurrected, He was a miracle worker, and
the sky turned dark during the day at the time Christ died on the cross.[14] The argument
for the reliability of the New Testament is presented next, where the evidence
shows these to be early eyewitness accounts. This chapter appropriately
concludes by arguing the most significant evidence for Christ being God is the
millions of lives miraculously transformed because of the resurrected Savior.
Indeed, this concluding argument should be more widely recognized in America
today.
Conclusion
This book is a valuable tool for the faithful
because though the evidence for Christianity is presented well, more
importantly the instructions on how to properly share the truth is provided.
This book does well to inspire readers to grow in their knowledge in all fields
of study to better argue for the faith and share the good news of Christ with
any person. Readers are encouraged to follow Christ example when sharing the
truth or defending the faith in a rational manner. Ultimately Moreland successfully
explains why the Christian must desire intellectual growth, and the church
should be fostering intellectual minds in service to God’s will.
