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The following includes excerpts from a recently released eBook, An Enemy Lies Within, which is available at each of the major distributors (Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords, etc.).
The title of this article is the subtitle of The Christian Mind, a fascinating book written by Harry Blamires in 1963. Beginning with the statement, “There is no longer a Christian mind”, this student of C. S. Lewis and contemporary of A. W. Tozer, argues that the church and its members have surrendered to secular thinking (even in regards to Christian subjects). He goes on to describe “the marks of a Christian mind”. I offer them here for your edification and encouragement.
As you consider these foundations of christianly thought, you may want to test yourself and your platoons. How much of your thinking is contextualized and guided by a Christian mindset? Calculate a percentage; give yourself a grade.
Supernatural orientation: The Christian mind sees human life and human history held in the hands of God. It makes decisions in the context of eternity. It considers physical life as the smaller subset of Creation. It recognizes the existence of Heaven and Hell.
Awareness of evil: It is conscious of the universe as a battlefield between good and evil. It is aware and sensitive to the power and spread of evil upon the human race, beginning with mankind’s rebellion in the Garden. It recognizes that the world, and the powers of it, are in the grip of evil – an evil that manifests in three enemies: Satan and his hordes, the world and its systems, and the flesh with its carnal mindset.
Conception of truth: It recognizes the truth as: Absolute and uncompromisable; supernaturally grounded, not developed in nature; objective, not subjective; revealed, not constructed; discovered by inquiry, not determined by majority vote; and authoritative, not a matter of personal choice.
Acceptance of authority: It rejects rebellion – in all its forms – to willingly bow before the Sovereign God. It considers authority as estimable and something to pursue over one’s self, family, and friends. It understands the image and reality of loving authority – our Father in Heaven. It accepts surrender as the door to relationship with God, and giving preference for relationship with the brethren.
Concern for the person: It considers the human person as the only being created in the image of God. It appreciates the value God placed on the person – in Him becoming one. It values people above machines, and is wary of the life those machines provide for, and force upon, society. It embraces love for one another – and the same for enemies – as Christian distinctives. It rejects the classification of people based on temporal criteria, while recognizing that the weak are to receive particular attention.
Sacramental perspective: It recognizes the omnipresence of God in all of life, and the desire of God to make life joyful and rewarding. It looks for God and His influence in nature – and particularly in the creatures of His image. It appreciates the desires and longings and the hopes and dreams that have been deposited by God in every person.
The following are posted articles related to an upcoming eBook, An Enemy Lies Within, due out in early 2019. Simply select the article title to view it. Use your browser back button to return to the list.
Did Jesus Christ die, suffer, and sacrifice so we wouldn’t have to?
Why Should We Think about Thinking?
Approximately ten years ago, I attended a lecture on the physiology of the brain – at a workplace leaders’ conference. What was I doing at such a lecture? What was such a lecture doing at a workplace leaders’ conference? God orchestrated that lecture, at that event, for my edification and encouragement.
The presenter showed us how scientists observe physical changes in the brain of patients recovering from alcoholism; that new electronic pathways are created over time. It occurred to me that this research scientist was talking about the renewal of the mind. I came to understand that the renewal of the mind is as much a supernatural miracle – at the physical level – as the healing of terminal cancer through prayer (something I have also witnessed). The notion captivated me.
This discovery connected well with my prior vocation, where I worked with a team of enterprise architects to change the way banking executives thought about the use of technology. Our ultimate purpose was to transform their business with technology. We called this “changing their paradigm”. The analogous term in Scripture is “mindset”; others prefer “worldview”.
Whatever you prefer to call it, I spent more than a decade in the technology field proving that changing someone’s paradigm is much easier said than done. As promising as technology was to their bottom line, the executives I worked with resisted us religiously. Why? Because it required them to change the way they did business – to transform their thinking about work.
The ensuing twelve years of workplace ministry have proven that the mind’s resilience to change exists in every sphere – no less with my brothers and sisters in Christ. This is lamentable; for our transformation into the image of the glory of the Lord requires the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2; 2Corinthians 3:18).
Over the years, this matter of the mind has become increasingly important to me. I have tried to make it important to others. And so, we’ve come to the writing of this short thesis and study – to encourage and help Christians think about the way we think, and to empower them to think in line with God’s prescription for the renewing of our minds.