RamistThomist
Puritanboard Clerk
Piper, John. Think.
This is Piper's contribution to the growing body of literature on the life of the mind. While I'm glad I read it, I don't think it is the best take on the subject. That would be J. P. Moreland's Love Your God With all Your Mind. Next would be James Sire's *Habits of the Mind.*
Pros:
*The chapter on relativism was good, and I was pleased that Piper didn't immediately identify relativism with "postmodernism." I am no frirend of postmoderns, to be sure, but the two aren't the same.
*I found his exegetical points insightful
*He did a good and responsible job of handling the "Hebraic vs. Hellenistic" dichotomy, falsely so-called. I do think there are slight nuances between the two categories of thought, but Piper shows how Jesus used "Aristotelian" logic, which means tere is probably more overlap than once suspected.
Cons:
~The book had the feel of a collection of old sermons and blog posts.
~There weren't many practical guidelines on "cultivating the life of the mind." This is where Moreland and Sire excel.
~(This next point isn't so much a criticism as an observation). Towards the end of the book Piper listed a number of challenges to the Evangelical faith (Open Theism, Feminism, Roman catholicism, etc). I agree with his concerns, but I am not too sure if that was the best part to introduce new material. I don't want to go too far with this criticism, though. When I was in college this was exactly the battle lines we Evangelicals faced. Piper is accurate as far as it goes, but one wonders why he waited until the end of the book to bring it up. When I did this on seminary and college papers, I got docked points. In fact, Piper's concerns were so good, one wonders if he could have integrated them earlier in the book.
Conclusion:
It's worth reading and I did learn some new things. It's even available for free at Desiring God. I don't think it is the best, though. I highly recommend getting Moreland and Sire and spending a few weeks just meditating through the passages (and to be fair, Piper recommends both Moreland and Sire).
This is Piper's contribution to the growing body of literature on the life of the mind. While I'm glad I read it, I don't think it is the best take on the subject. That would be J. P. Moreland's Love Your God With all Your Mind. Next would be James Sire's *Habits of the Mind.*
Pros:
*The chapter on relativism was good, and I was pleased that Piper didn't immediately identify relativism with "postmodernism." I am no frirend of postmoderns, to be sure, but the two aren't the same.
*I found his exegetical points insightful
*He did a good and responsible job of handling the "Hebraic vs. Hellenistic" dichotomy, falsely so-called. I do think there are slight nuances between the two categories of thought, but Piper shows how Jesus used "Aristotelian" logic, which means tere is probably more overlap than once suspected.
Cons:
~The book had the feel of a collection of old sermons and blog posts.
~There weren't many practical guidelines on "cultivating the life of the mind." This is where Moreland and Sire excel.
~(This next point isn't so much a criticism as an observation). Towards the end of the book Piper listed a number of challenges to the Evangelical faith (Open Theism, Feminism, Roman catholicism, etc). I agree with his concerns, but I am not too sure if that was the best part to introduce new material. I don't want to go too far with this criticism, though. When I was in college this was exactly the battle lines we Evangelicals faced. Piper is accurate as far as it goes, but one wonders why he waited until the end of the book to bring it up. When I did this on seminary and college papers, I got docked points. In fact, Piper's concerns were so good, one wonders if he could have integrated them earlier in the book.
Conclusion:
It's worth reading and I did learn some new things. It's even available for free at Desiring God. I don't think it is the best, though. I highly recommend getting Moreland and Sire and spending a few weeks just meditating through the passages (and to be fair, Piper recommends both Moreland and Sire).
