Biblical Thinking 2: Evangelical Mindlessness

More excerpts from James Montgomery Boice's Biblical Thinking study guide:

We would like to think that evangelicals escape this mindlessness, and maybe we are more thoughtful in some ways. But the differences are not deep, and the quality of contemporary Christian thought is not impressive. An unremitting dose of entertainment, such as television provides, throws realty out of kilter. It changes our values. "It induces people to find the meaning of life in being entertained... Entertainment distracts our attention from the critical issues of life, and finally, our heroes become not persons of substance and achievement so much as celebrities who attract our attention." (John H. Leith, "Reformed Preaching Today" The Princeton Seminary Bulletin)

Today, large segments of the church sing songs with virtually no theology, poor poetry and mindless repetition. These trivialize the ideas that they are supposed to revere. In order to worship God in truth, we must engage our minds. John Stott has written: "All Christian worship, public and private, should be an intelligent response to God's self-revelation in His words and works recorded in Scripture." The six areas where the mind matters, according to Stott: true worship, faith, the quest for holiness, the Christian's guidance, presenting the Gospel, the ministry and its gifts. The American church needs nothing so much today as thinking Christians.