I just finished reading The Passionate Intellect, and I have to say it is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It stimulated my thinking in so many ways, not only regarding university and the humanities, but about philosophy and dualism, and how as Christians we need to resist academic fragmentation and advocate a more integrated model of the intellectual life.
This book has helped me to realize that my belief in the concept of "common grace" is a salient aspect of my faith right now which causes me to distance myself from many evangelicals. "Incarnational humanism . . . insists on the humble acceptance of God's presence in non-Christian achievements" (167). Also, "Western culture has benefited immeasurably from the work of people on whom Christians (or a portion of the church, at least) too a dim view . . ." (173). This is a far cry from the ultra-conservative evangelical view that we must protect ourselves from any knowledge that comes via non-Christians. This is not only unbiblical, but would be impossible to live out. Thank you, Klaussen and Zimmermann, for elucidating a biblically-based respect for the life of the mind.
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