The Christian Mind
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. James 1.16-18
The Christian Mind
Harry Blamires (1916-)
“The Christian mind thinks sacramentally. The Christian Faith represents a sacramental view of life. It shows life’s positive richnesses as derivative from the supernatural. It teaches us that to create beauty or to experience beauty, to recognize truth or to discover truth, to receive love or to give love, is to come into contact with realities which express the Divine Nature.”
Harry Blamires launches into his final section in The Christian Mind by reminding us that the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it (Ps. 24.1). Every good and perfect gift of life – all its various “richnesses” – comes from God, and therefore bears witness to Him, and beckons us to see beyond the thing itself to the Creator and Giver of all grace, truth, beauty, and goodness (Acts 14.17). The world is not simply brute fact, waiting for human beings to discover, name, and put it to use. The cosmos is God’s creation, and it bears His stamp. Like a letter received from some distant place, all creation identifies its Composer and Sender, and encodes revelation from God intended to direct our thinking and praise to God. But this way of seeing the world does not come naturally to us; instead, it must be taught, nurtured, and practiced. This is the work of God’s shepherds, in leading His flocks to the places He has prepared for them, for safety, growth, and reflection on His wondrous love.
What’s involved in teaching people to think “sacramentally” – that is, to see in all the works of God glimpses of His glory and goodness, designed to draw us to Him in thanksgiving, love, and service?
Renewing the Mind
Our ReVision series on Renewing the Mind in our daily ReVision wraps up this week with installment 8, which is entitled, Pitfalls for the Mind, and is available as a free PDF download by going to the website, www.ailbe.org, clicking on today’s ReVision column entitled, “Get in Line!” (click the link at the end). If you’re looking for a place to grow your Christian mind, and to help others do so, this free 8-part series is a great place to start. Click hereto download all 8 parts.
Thinking for a Christian Worldview
Christian thinkers have a Christian worldview. Our course, One in Twelve: Introduction to Christian Worldview, uses twelve diagrams to provide a comprehensive framework for thinking and living Christianly in the world. It’s free, online, and available for you to study by yourself or with your leadership team, at your own pace and on your own schedule. For more information and to register, click here.
The Fellowship of Ailbe is supported through the generous and faithful gifts of those who benefit from and believe in our work. Does the Lord want to use you in this way? Please look to Him in prayer over this question. You can contribute to The Fellowship of Ailbe by using the Contribute button at our website, or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452. Thank you.
Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All quotations from The Christian Mind are from Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind (Ann Arbor: Servant Books, 1963, 1978).
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