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Dr. J. P. Moreland and Mark Matlock enable you to grasp the theological and philosophical foundations of faith.
Description:
Become a more well-rounded, intellectual disciple--someone who can clearly elucidate the finer points of the Christian faith. Learn to embrace the mind's role in spiritual formation and acquire new spiritual disciplines.
Smart Faith
ISBN-13:
9781576837344
Trim Size: 5.5 x 8.25
Cover: Paperback
176
Pages
$15.99
Percentage Discounts for Bulk Purchases of Single Items
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Downloadable
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Part of a Series
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Available in Spanish
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Customer Reviews
Great book for high school grads
Today’s Church is facing a growing epidemic. Our young people are leaving Christianity by the droves. They survive through high school, but often hit the eject button at some point during their college years. What’s wrong?
J.P. Moreland and Mark Matlock think they have an answer to this crisis. In their recent book "Smart Faith: Loving Your God with All Your Mind" published by NavPress, they expose part of the problem: “We now live in a Christian culture so deeply committed to a nonintellectual way of understanding the Christian faith that this perspective is now embedded within us at a subconscious level.” They continue: “Faith is now understood as a blind act of the will — a decision to believe something independent of reason…” The gospel we share has been reduced to “primarily… a means of addressing felt needs.” “We give testimonies of our changed life and tell people that Christ is the answer to troubles.” But this lacks true transforming power. “Religion has… become personal, private, and too often simply a matter of how we feel about things.” (pg. 24-26). In sharp contrast stands the rest of life which demands the use of our intellect in today’s ever-secular world.
The 58 percent of church-attending teenagers which Barna researchers tell us “won’t be attending church by their thirtieth birthday”, were likely “missing the intellectual aspects of faith.” (pg. 25). Moreland and Matlock aim to cultivate a robust, Christian intellect through their book. Along the way, they hope to fortify their readers against the siren call of our world’s increasingly anti-Christian culture.
The book describes the problem and how we got here. It explores faith and knowledge, and aims to elevate the importance of the mind. It then goes on to apply Christian intellect to evangelism and apologetical persuasion, personal devotion and study, worship, and more. The book provides case studies of complex real world scenarios that young people face that could present a problem. In the end, these case studies are fleshed out with an intellectually honest and faithful approach to integrating our Christianity with all of life.
The authors are irenic and patient, not to mention painfully honest. Slowly and surely the attentive reader is prodded and nudged in the right direction. The book is not a heady read. It’s written in a light and straight-forward manner, and at 175 pages, it isn’t too long. Still, it covers some important ground. More important, the authors achieve their goal: they offer a book which will ground the faith of young people and encourage a deep-rooted faith in Christ.
This book would make a great gift for a high school graduate. Youth ministers will want a copy of this book both for their own benefit and to recommend to others. Smart Faith earns a high recommendation.
Posted by
Bob Hayton
on
5/4/2011 10:15:40 PM
My top 3 smart and not-so-smart stuff about Smart Faith
The smart stuff: 1. Good writing style. Easily communicates ideas without dumbing things down.
2. Essential topic. What we believe dictates how we live life, so we'd better make sure our belief isn't founded on teary-eyed emotions triggered by Christian love songs.
3. Teaches you to think. Makes a good case for intellect and shows you how to regain it: confidently talk about faith, handle debates. I like the brain-weightlifting exercises at the end of each chapter.
The not-so-smart stuff: 1. That cover? Seriously?
For me, it looks like a design cop-out.
2. Two authors, one book–always an awkward read for me. I’m not comfortable with ”I (Mark)…” and “I (J.P.)…” but you get used to it.
3. Too American in context. Talks to the American Christian; contains a background on Western religious history. Helpful, but misses some of the nuances of my non-Western faith experience.
All in all, this is a great book–but here I am, stuck halfway through, skipping chapters, interest waning. It just makes the case for why I need this book! I’ve lost the discipline to stretch my mind with concepts that take more concentration and less instant gratification.
Posted by
Molly
on
8/30/2010 6:16:36 PM
Book encourages us to love our God with all our minds
If the recent spate of books is any indication, Christianity has awakened to the great need in contemporary culture to think about and defend the Christian faith. With ever-greater threats from the "New Atheism" and the like, it's easy to understand why intellectual rigor among Christians has become a priority. I commend the attention that "thinking" about the faith is receiving and I hope it will not be a passing trend. A particularly helpful new book in this vein, geared towards high school or early undergraduate students. is Smart Faith: Loving Your God With All Your Mind by J.P. Moreland and Mark Matlock. The thesis of the book is that we all should take more seriously the admonition to "love God with all your mind."
The book is divided into two parts: Part 1 ("Getting Smart") and Part 2 ("Applying the Smarts"). In Part One, Moreland and Matlock make the case for a "smart" faith by documenting the various reasons for anti-intellectualism in Christianity, establishing why using reason and rationality can help our faith, and noting the reasons a purely emotional faith can be damaging. In Part Two, the authors offer a rigorous look at how logic and reason can be useful to the Christian. Particularly helpful in this section is chapter 5, which defines logical reasoning and offers a look at some of the more commonly encountered logical fallacies. Despite the fact that the book is written for students, this chapter should be read by all Christians, especially those who have never received training in philosophy.
The book largely accomplishes what is sets out to do: lead readers on a path towards a more intellectually rigorous faith. Though the intended audience for the book is likely high school and early undergraduate students, parents and youth ministers might consider adopting the book as part of a church or home-based education.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NavPress Publishers as part of their Blogger Review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Posted by
Matthew Dowling
on
2/10/2010 12:04:32 PM
Christianity: Think About It
Have you ever wondered why you aren't taken seriously as a Christian? Or why Christian's are not given more respect in world? Then this is the book for you: Smart Faith by Moreland and Matlock. Moreland and Matlock explain not only the decline of Christianity in the public arena but why we withdrew to the detriment of Christianity in particular and to society as a whole. In Smart Faith, Moreland and Matlock challenge Christians of today to engage their minds when thinking and talking about matters of Faith. The Bible clearly teaches that you are to "study to yourself approved."
In order to do this effectively, we need to diligently study the scriptures, study the world around us, and be aware of the shortcomings in modern Christian thought and argument to intelligently make a case for Christ in the workplace, school, neighborhood, and home. Moreland and Matlock walk you through the steps: Finding Complete Faith, Thinking Will Take Us Far, Minding Our Source for Transformation, Melting our Mental Icebergs, Using Logic to Persuade, Evangelizing With Brains, Reasoning Like Scholars, Waking Up Our Personal Study and Devotion, Refocusing Our Worship, and Applying Our Minds to Home, School, Work, and Play.
Smart Faith puts into words what I have thought for years. The well-thought, articulate book underscores the imperative call to know that you know that you know the Lord Jesus Christ and can intelligently argue for faith in Jesus Christ. Use the brains God gave you. Ithink this book should be required reading for all believers, but especially teens and young adults. I hope this someday comes out in a curriculum format.
I am a blogger reviewer for NavPress.
Posted by
Lori Popping
on
2/3/2010 1:43:37 PM
Christianity: Think About It
Have you ever wondered why you aren't taken seriously as a Christian? Or why Christian's are not given more respect in world? Then this is the book for you: Smart Faith by Moreland and Matlock. Moreland and Matlock explain not only the decline of Christianity in the public arena but why we withdrew to the detriment of Christianity in particular and to society as a whole. In Smart Faith, Moreland and Matlock challenge Christians of today to engage their minds when thinking and talking about matters of Faith. The Bible clearly teaches that you are to "study to yourself approved."
In order to do this effectively, we need to diligently study the scriptures, study the world around us, and be aware of the shortcomings in modern Christian thought and argument to intelligently make a case for Christ in the workplace, school, neighborhood, and home. Moreland and Matlock walk you through the steps: Finding Complete Faith, Thinking Will Take Us Far, Minding Our Source for Transformation, Melting our Mental Icebergs, Using Logic to Persuade, Evangelizing With Brains, Reasoning Like Scholars, Waking Up Our Personal Study and Devotion, Refocusing Our Worship, and Applying Our Minds to Home, School, Work, and Play.
Smart Faith puts into words what I have thought for years. The well-thought, articulate book underscores the imperative call to know that you know that you know the Lord Jesus Christ and can intelligently argue for faith in Jesus Christ. Use the brains God gave you. Ithink this book should be required reading for all believers, but especially teens and young adults. I hope this someday comes out in a curriculum format.
I am a blogger reviewer for NavPress.
Posted by
Lori Popping
on
2/3/2010 1:43:31 PM
Smart Faith
This book is founded on the combination of God's commandment to love him with our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and the tendency among Christianity to be a lot about your individual feelings, rather than reasoned truths. It looks at how to prepare our mind to learn, how to apply that learning in logical, reasoned arguments, and then what that looks like in real life.
Now, the content of the book is generally sound, and the attitude of the authors is great - God-focused, grace-focused, with priorities for Scripture, the church, and evangelism. That being said the target audience seems to move around a bit. I'd say late teens would relate best to this book, although some concepts are really quite complex, and others are almost over-simplistic. This is likely just a consequence of having a book written by a Professor and a Youth Pastor!
The writing style is at times frustrating - brackets are all over the place which is distracting, and sometimes it's only clear where an idea is going right at the end of a paragraph or chapter. The whole book is like this - plenty of interesting and useful information is presented together with action plans, but it's only in the last couple of chapters that it's brought together into: this is what the Christian life should look like.
I reckon I'd give this 3 stars out of 5. The content and last chapters are great, but the focus I think shifts too far away from the emotions involved in a genuine relationship with God, and the writing style at times lets it down, particularly when the subject matter is about using your mind.
I got this book for free from NavPress.com as part of their book reviewers programme. I don't have to give a positive review.
Posted by
Sam
on
2/3/2010 1:52:25 AM
Smart Faith Review
Smart Faith by J.P. Moreland and Mark Matlock focuses on the aspect of faith which is lacking in today’s society and that is the mind. Most Christians live their faith out of an emotional reason or they grew up that way. Moreland and Matlock present their discussion in a non-condemning way in order to encourage believers to dive deeper into the intellectual aspect of their faith and throughout the book scripture is used to support why Christians should focus on the intellectual aspect.
The layout out was simple, and it is very easy to read, but none-the-less a good read. There ten chapters and at the end of each “Smart Thinking” section at the conclusion on ways in which the reader can apply this to his or her life, or encouragement to meditate upon the chapter.
Overall, I find the book much needed, well-written, and a good read. I’d suggest that it be read in small-groups and used as a tool to grow deeper in the faith.
Having read it straight through I am intent on going back and focusing closely on each chapter, and letting it sink in more than what was possible by just reading it straight through as I did.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Navpress as part of their Blogger Review Program
Posted by
Isaiah
on
2/1/2010 2:31:27 PM