Christian Thinking -- again

The subject I keep returning to is the notion of Christian thinking. And I do because I feel some conviction that it is a robust idea. Yet, my friend R keeps challenging me on it and I have to sharpen my thinking on the matter.

So is Christian thinking different from mere thinking? Only in the sense that it is but one kind of the broader category of all kinds of thinking. It is a quality of thinking. But it is not feeling or sensing or behaving. It is thinking. So I want to address two things. First, what are the distinctive features of Christian thinking? Second, why is there resistance to the notion of Christian thinking?

So what is Christian thinking? In order to identify distinguishing features, it is helpful to say what thinking is. What are we talking about after all? One definition goes as follows: "to employ one's mind rationally and objectively in evaluating or dealing with a given situation". Another says: "the process of using your mind to consider something carefully". The first thing that we can say about thinking is that it is an activity in which humans engage. Indeed, it is what separates us from other creatures. All creatures are in some way sensate, but only we are rational. Other creatures respond to the environment in ways that allow them to escape danger, and find conditions that increase safety and comfort. But as far as we know, only we can use the information in the environment in plan-ful, deliberate ways that, with care, take account of the past and projects us into the future. And we do so using the ordered system of information manipulation that we call logic. We use it to form judgments, and make inferences. To be rational is the uniquely human activity.

Another aspect of our definition of rational activity or thinking, is that it may be characterized by objectivity. To be objective is to stand apart from the thing being considered such that he rational person does not confuse him-/her-self with the thing being considered. There is much to suggest that perfect objectivity is unattainable in that the observer is always influenced to some degree by his or her perspective. We are influenced by our history, expectations, proclivities and preferences. Yet in the basic sense of our awareness of the apart-ness of our selves from the object of our observation, we achieve basic objectivity. This too is a human capability.

Our definition of thinking, it must be said, is idealistic, in that thinking can fall short of what we have described. Thinking may be illogical and it may be subjective. But to the degree that it is too much of any of those things, it may be flawed. At its best, and at its most functional and serviceable, thinking is logical and objective. So the question can be asked, must thinking be Christian as well? I think not. One does not have to think Christianly in the sense that one has to think logically or objectively. To think Christianly, then is not to describe a necessary quality of thinking, like logic or objectivity. In that sense, it is not essential to the activity of thinking itself. So is it useful, then? To answer this question, we must discuss the idea of the Christian.

So what is a Christian? I turn to this next.

Creation Care

I listened to David Neff of Christianity Today talk last Friday night (November 9) about the environment, and it occurred to me that here was an excellent example of Christian thinking. What Neff did was make a case for the care of the earth using the Christian message as the basic starting -point and foundation (actually he ended with it). Not only was it Christian, it was Adventist to the core. And thus provided me with the best example for what I mean by "Thinking Christianly".

What impressed me even more than the basic Christian stance from which he spoke, was how he, a person out of the Adventist tradition, but not currently a part of it, used his Adventist understanding to show how an eschatological sensibility places an even greater burden on us to take care of the earth. His analogy of the desire of an engaged person to take care of the promise (the engagement ring) because of the hope for the fulfillment of the promise (the wedding ring) was particularly helpful. So we, as Christians looking forward to a New Earth must be even more inclined to take care of the earth we have, because of the promise. There was much to think about in that. One thing I would have added. It seems that we who keep the Sabbath could see it as a perfect way of tying the two ideas together. For the Sabbath is a celebration of Creation, and a celebration of the promise of the New Creation. We who are Sabbath keepers cannot but be environmentalists if we take the Sabbath seriously.

So what made it Christian Thinking? He began his discourse by drawing a clear distinction between a Buddhist worldview and a Christian one, showing the uniqueness of a Judeo-Christian view of matter and how Christ's coming makes that view of matter even more profound - Christ sanctifying matter by becoming part of it. This is a contrast to the view of matter as evil. In doing so, he also showed how the Gnostic view, as well as some modern pagan views also fail to capture the way we as Christians view the earth. He then showed how this Christian view of the earth gives us a mandate to care for it.

A New Beginning

I started a blog some time ago, and wrote very sporadically. In fact, I have not posted for a few months.

This is a new start. I hope to post at least weekly, if not more often. Look for my thoughts on a wide range of topics including religion, scholarship, sports, politics, and well . . . just life.