the christian mind

From my bookshelf I picked up again the classic little work, The Christian Mind: How Should a Christian Think (SPCK, 1963; Servant Books, 1978), by Harry Blamires. This author was encouraged to write by none other than C. S. Lewis, his tutor at Oxford. Writing from mid-twentieth century Britain, Blamires examines our wholesale surrender to secularism and how to recover a uniquely Christian approach to thinking and dialogue.

"We twentieth-century Christians have chosen the way of compromise. We withdraw our Christian consciousness from the fields of public, commercial, and social life. When we enter these fields we are compelled to accept for purposes of discussion the secular frame of reference established there. We have no alternative -- except that of silence. We have to use the only language spoken in these areas." (p. 27)

"We have stepped mentally into secularism. We have trained, even disciplined ourselves, to think secularly about secular things and -- irony of ironies -- have even managed to persuade ourselves that there was something more Christian about giving way in this matter and accepting the other fellow's mental environment. In this way the Christian mind has died of neglect and disuse." (p. 39)

Then Blamires goes on to identify the key marks or characteristics of Christian thinking: Its supernatural orientation, its awareness of evil, its conception of truth, its acceptance of authority, its concern for the person, and its sacramental cast. These are notes sorely missing from today's discussions on our societal problems in twenty-first century America. What Christian discussion brings to the table is that human life and flourishing involves something higher than mere nature or materialism, and that we must be able to discuss the existence of evil, the pursuit of truth (and avoidance of error), the proper role of authority, the worth of the individual, and the sacredness of life given by God.

As an example, on the nature of truth, he writes...

"Christian truth is objective, four-square, unshakable. It is not built of men's opinions. It is not something fabricated either by scholars or by men in the street, still less something assembled from a million answers, Yes, No, and Don't know, obtained from a cross-section of the human race. Christian truth is something given, revealed, laid open to the eye of the patient, self-forgetful inquirer. You do not make the truth. You reside in the truth. A suitable image for truth would be that of a lighthouse lashed by the elemental fury of undisciplined error. Those who have come to reside in the truth must stay there. It is not their business to go back into error for the purpose of joining their drowning fellows with the pretense that, inside or outside, the conditions are pretty much the same. It is their duty to draw others within the shelter of the truth. If we start to dismantle it and give it away in bits to those outside, there will be nothing left to protect our own heads-- and no refuge in which to receive the others, should they at length grow weary of error." (pp. 113-14)

The print copy of this book, only 190 pages, is available in used condition for only pennies. It should be looked at again.

clement quotes hebrews

Clement of Rome wrote to the church in Corinth around AD 90. This is perhaps the same Clement, companion of Paul, mentioned in Philippians 4:3. Many hold him to be the first bishop / pope in Rome, aka St. Clement I. Clement quotes from the letter to the Hebrews. Origin suggested that Clement was in fact the writer (as transcriber or amanuensis) of Hebrews. Perhaps this letter began as a "word of exhortation" given by Paul at the synagogue (Heb 13:22; cf Acts 13:15) which then became a circular letter for the churches. Other possible authors of Hebrews include Luke, Barnabas, or Apollos. The theology is Pauline, but the transcriber is obviously second-generation (Heb. 2:3-4). At any rate, this early church leader in Rome, is already quoting Hebrews in his letter in AD 90: CHAPTER 36 ALL BLESSINGS ARE GIVEN TO US THROUGH CHRIST This is the way, beloved, in which we find our Savior, even Jesus Christ, the High Prie...

a brief history of bcf

Blacksburg Christian Fellowship, or BCF as it is popularly known, was founded in November 1969. Prior to this time several families had been meeting for Bible study and prayer, with a particular concern that the Lord raise up an effective biblical ministry to the students of the Virginia Tech campus. Growing from these meetings, the Lord led them to begin a public ministry on Sunday mornings. The Wesley Foundation agreed to the rental of their facilities, and the first meeting was held in November 1969, with about 30 people in attendance. Since the first meeting BCF has been greatly blessed by the Lord and has seen a steady growth in ministry and in numbers. Two other local churches were formed in part from BCF. In 1974 the Lord led Houston Couch, who at that time was an Elder in BCF, to leave and start Dayspring Christian Fellowship. In 1980 Max Harris, who was a regular attender at BCF, was encouraged by the Elders and members to start a ministry which has now become Grace Cov...

evangelicalism over the next decade

I've been contemplating Michael Spencer's blogs on the future of evangelical churches in America ( iMonk blog ). His three articles on his predicted collapse of evangelicalism are found here . It is important, I believe, to read all three articles. I find myself in agreement with much he has to say. Here are a few quotes... The determination to follow in the methodological steps of numerically successful churches will be greater than ever. The result will be, in the main, a departure from doctrine to more and more emphasis on relevance, motivation and personal success….with the result being churches further compromised and weakened in their ability to pass on the faith. ... For some time, we’ve been at a point that the decision to visit a particular evangelical church contained a fairly high risk of not hearing the Biblical Gospel. That experience will be multiplied and expanded in the years to come. Core beliefs will become less and less normative and necessary in evangelic...

my burg

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