Habits of the Mind: Intellectual Life as a Christian Calling

Front Cover
InterVarsity Press, 2000 M07 5 - 263 pages
  • A 2001 Christianity Today Book of the Year

What is an intellectual? How can you learn to think well? What does it mean to love God with your mind? Can the intellectual life be a legitimate Christian calling? Is the intellectual life your calling? James Sire brings wit and wisdom to bear on these questions and their possible answers. And he offers an unusual "insider's view" of learning how to think well for the glory of God and for the sake of his kingdom. In Habits of the Mind Sire challenges you to avoid one of the greatest pitfalls of intellectual life--by resisting the temptation to separate being from knowing. He shows you how to cultivate intellectual virtues and disciplines--habits of mind--that will strengthen you in pursuit of your calling. And he offers assurance that intellectual life can be a true calling for Christians: because Jesus was the smartest man who ever lived, Sire argues, you can and should accept the challenge to think as well as you are able.

 

Contents

CONFESSIONS OF AN INTELLECTUAL WANNABE
17
JOHN HENRY NEWMAN AS AN INTELLECTUAL
29
THE PERFECTION OF THE INTELLECT
52
HOW THINKING FEELS WHAT IS AN INTELLECTUAL?
71
THE MORAL DIMENSION OF THE MIND WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN INTELLECTUAL?
87
PERFECTING THE INTELLECT THE INTELLECTUAL VIRTUES
106
PERFECTING THE INTELLECT THE INTELLECTUAL DISCIPLINES
126
THINKING BY READING
147
JESUS THE REASONER
178
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF A CHRISTIAN INTELLECTUAL
205
NOTES
225
INDEX
257
Copyright

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Habits of the Mind: Intellectual Life as a Christian Calling
James W. Sire
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James W. Sire
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Common terms and phrases

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References to this book

About the author (2000)

James W. Sire (PhD, University of Missouri), formerly a senior editor at InterVarsity Press, is an active speaker and writer. He has taught English, philosophy, theology, and short courses at many universities and seminaries. He continues to be a frequent guest lecturer in the United States and Europe. His InterVarsity Press books and Bible studies include The Universe Next Door (a worldviews textbook), Scripture Twisting, Discipleship of the Mind, Chris Chrisman Goes to College, Why Should Anyone Believe Anything at All?, Habits of the Mind, Naming the Elephant, Learning to Pray Through the Psalms, Why Good Arguments Often Fail and A Little Primer on Humble Apologetics.

Bibliographic information

TitleHabits of the Mind: Intellectual Life as a Christian Calling
AuthorJames W. Sire
PublisherInterVarsity Press, 2000
ISBN0830822739, 9780830822737
Length263 pages
  
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