One of the most frustrating things about being an Evangelical Christian in this culture is the pervasive notion that Christianity is anti-science, anti-intellectual and just something you do to feel good about yourself (or even superior to others). What makes this so frustrating in part is that there is some of that in the Evangelical world. If this bothers you as much as it does me, then this is the book for you. It will not solve the problem, but it will help you understand the problem, and, more importantly, not contribute to the problem.



Moreland begins with a history of the relatively recent development of anti-intellectualism in American Christianity, and gives a defense for intellectualism from the Bible and from church history. He argues that reason is a necessary part of an obedient Christian life and addresses some of the root problems he sees in the church today. He also addresses how the American culture has misrepresented Christianity, and how the church has bought into those misrepresentations to some extent. Examples include that there is a separation between the secular and the sacred, and that faith is the antithesis of truth, rather than the outcome of truth.



With all that as background, Moreland then provides a way out. He provides tools and suggestions we can use to begin to develop our minds, including self-evaluation tools, habits to break and habits to form, virtues of wisdom to pursue, introductory principles of logic, and reading skills. One section of the book I found useful was how to address the logical fallacies inherent in skepticism, scientism and moral relativism.



Moreland also addresses the use of the mind in various aspects of the Christian life, such as in apologetic study, in evangelism, in worship, in fellowship and in vocation.



Because it covers such a broad spectrum of thought, Moreland isn’t able to (and didn’t intend to) go into as much depth as he could, and as a result leaves some questions unanswered. This book does serve as a good foundation, and he does provide a number of principles that can be immediately applied. He also provides a list of resources on a wide variety of subjects that could be used for further study.



J.P. Moreland is Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University. But his experience isn’t limited to academia. He recounts his experience as having “planted two churches and four Campus Crusade ministries from scratch, pastored in two other congregations, and spoken in hundreds of churches.”