Introduction: Starts by posing some questions: What is the link between the gospel and intellectual deliberation, between the Christian faith and learning? Why has the Christian faith always seemed to spur on the intellectual life? What is the connection between the gospel and the mind? He seeks to answer these questions with this small little book (roughly 180 pages). His main theses are: “(1) The Christian vision of God, man, and the world provides the necessary precondition of the recovery of any meaningful intellectual life; (2) the Christian vision of God, man, and the world offers a particular, unique understanding of what the intellectual life might look like (14).”
The Good: Green makes brief, but thorough theological explanations for why the doctrines of God, man, and creation have direct impact on a meaningful intellectual life. He makes the case that knowledge cannot be devoid of worldview, and that truth is not value neutral; indeed, even grammar is not ideologically neutral (108). A person’s worldview necessarily makes an impact on their intellectual life, and the post-enlightenment tendency to bifurcate reason and faith is illegitimate.
The Bad: His chapter dealing with the postmodern tendency to separate words and meaning was a little disappointing. While a chapter on such a topic is necessary for this discussion, I felt that his treatment was brief and introductory. I was left both wanting more on the subject AND wondering how much the chapter even added to his arguments. The subject is so absorbing that it needs fuller treatment to be beneficial.
Overall: I loved this little book. It was refreshing to see someone briefly articulate why a healthy intellectually rigor seems to follow healthy Christianity. I liked the historical theology too; he added contributions from Augustine, Aquinas, and others. I highly recommend this book for any intellectual/academician, teacher, or philosopher.
