I've generally felt it is worth making a distinction between the brain and the mind--the mind is what is mediated by the brain. I'm inclined to affirm free will and think our conscious self is capable of top-down causation. I don't know how or if that version of a mind maps to Biblical nouns like spirit and soul, and I wonder to what extent we are obliged to affirm those precise categories as Christians and to what extent they were the closest available options in Greek metaphysics of the time. I tend to attracted to … [Read more...] about Science Corner: Do You Mind?
life of the mind
Why Christians Must Embrace the Life of the Mind
We continue our guest series from Richard Hughes on the vocation of Christian scholars. Dr. Hughes is the Distinguished Professor of Religion and Director of the Sider Institute for Anabaptist, Pietist, and Wesleyan Studies at Messiah College, as well as the author of the book, The Vocation of a Christian Scholar: How Christian Faith Can Sustain the Life of the Mind (Eerdmans, 2005). Previously in this series: Paradox and Calling of the Christian Scholar, Can Christian Faith Sustain the Life of the Mind? In … [Read more...] about Why Christians Must Embrace the Life of the Mind
Can Christian Faith Sustain the Life of the Mind?
We continue our guest series from Richard Hughes on the vocation of Christian scholars. The following post is adapted from Richard's book, The Vocation of a Christian Scholar: How Christian Faith Can Sustain the Life of the Mind (Eerdmans, 2005). In the first post of this series, I made the point that “those of us who are both Christians and scholars will inevitably live in the midst of a deep and inescapable paradox.” The paradox is this – that as Christians, we are committed to a highly particularistic … [Read more...] about Can Christian Faith Sustain the Life of the Mind?
Review: Mark Noll’s Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind
Thank-you to InterVarsity colleague Tom Trevethan for giving the Emerging Scholars Network the permission to republish his review of Mark Noll's Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind, originally in the Faculty Ministry's Lamp Post. Note: Mark Noll was the featured speaker at the 2012 Midwest Faculty Conference. Many thought of Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind as a sequel to The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (Eerdmans, 1994), which began with the biting observation and lament, "The scandal of … [Read more...] about Review: Mark Noll’s Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind
Spend Next Summer with Mark Noll at the 2012 Midwest Faculty Conference
One of the most important books of 2011 for Christians in the academy was Mark Noll's Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind. Mark Noll is the Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame and one of the leading contemporary historians of religion; he's also a gifted observer of the intellectual world of evangelical Christianity, perhaps best known to ESN members for his 1994 book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. Photo courtesy of William Koechling I just finished reading Jesus … [Read more...] about Spend Next Summer with Mark Noll at the 2012 Midwest Faculty Conference