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Knowing
Christ Today:
Why We Can Trust
Spiritual Knowledge
This book deals with the disastrous effects of
divorcing the teachings of Jesus Christ and his
people from the domain of human knowledge. Its
aim is to reposition the substantial teachings
of Christianity ("Mere" Christianity) as a body
of knowledge in the contemporary world. In the
process it explains what knowledge is,
as compared to belief, commitment and profession,
and clarifies the difference it makes whether
or not an area of thought and practice is regarded
as an area of knowledge. Then it proceeds to deal
with some of the most basic points of Christian
teaching from the viewpoint of knowledge.
It is Dr. Willard's hope that this book will
put those who practice Christian discipleship
in a different and much stronger position, and
that it will be helpful for all areas of education,
but especially for Christian schools, colleges
and universities.
From the Preface:
I should alert the reader to the fact that this
is not a devotional book, and that it will require
considerable mental effort to understand. This
lies in the nature of the problems to be dealt
with. I have tried to ease the pain as much as
possible. One effect of the displacement of faith
from knowledge, which we are dealing with in this
book, is that many people now believe you do not
need to think deeply and carefully to follow Christ.
C. S. Lewis has a very penetrating comment to
make about this matter: "God has room for people
with very little sense, but He wants every one
to use what sense they have. The proper motto
is not 'Be good, sweet maid, and let who can be
clever,' but 'Be good, sweet maid, and don't forget
that this involves being as clever as you can.'
God is no fonder of intellectual slackers than
of any other slackers. If you are thinking of
becoming a Christian, I warn you you are embarking
on something which is going to take the whole
of you, brains and all…. One reason why it needs
no special education to be a Christian is that
Christianity is an education itself." (From Mere
Christianity)
240 pages, hardcover. Available at ChristianBook.com,
Barnes
& Noble, and Amazon.com.
The unabridged audio book (10 hours) is available
from christianaudio.com,
where you can also LISTEN
to a 3 minute preview of the book.
The audio copy of "Knowledge of Christ in
Today's World" mentioned in the acknowledgments
of the book can be found at Heart,
Mind and Soul.
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