Your mind matters : the place of the mind in the Christian life by John Stott IVP, 1972 47 pages
ISBN 0 851 100 333
John Stott was a fine example of a leading Christian who used his mind to advance the gospel.
In this public address from 1972, he strikes a healthy balance between arid ‘intellectualism’ and an attitude of mindless Christianity encapsulated by St Paul, ‘having a zeal for God but not according to knowledge’ (Romans 10 : 2) or, in the vernacular, ‘keen but clueless’.
He gives three examples of some people who, in the event, might prove to be ‘keen but clueless’.
Catholics devoted to liturgy but no more; radical Christians committed to social action but little more and Pentecostals relying entirely on the Holy Spirit. They might all, potentially, suffer from this malady of anti-intellectualism.
The writer continues to marshall arguments – both secular and Christian – as to why the mind matters. Then, in the main thrust, he describes 6 aspects of Christian life and responsibility in which the mind occupies an indispensable place.
Finally, cautions against the two extremes are outlined – superficial anti-intellectualism and arid hyper-intellectualism.
In this short book, John Stott argues not for a dry humourless, academic Christianity but for a warm devotion set on fire by truth. In other words, a Biblical balance.