There has been a spate of books on the topic of the Christian mind in recent years. Some examples include The Gospel and the Mind by Bradley G. Green,1Think Christianly by Joseph Boot,2 and The Devoted Mind by Kris Lundgaard.3 The appearance of these books not only emphasise the importance of cultivating a Christian mind, but also expresses concern about its decline in this postmodern era.
The concern for the cultivation and preservation of the Christian mind in our times should never be dismissed as alarmist. The Christian mind is indeed under assault today by forces that are set to distract and corrupt it with alien ideologies that are inimical to revealed truth.
Perhaps the most profound challenge to the Christian mind is secularism, that is, the marginalisation of transcendence and the subtle erasing of the awareness of God in public consciousness.
Perhaps the most profound challenge to the Christian mind is secularism, that is, the marginalisation of transcendence and the subtle erasing of the awareness of God in public consciousness. Philosophers such as Charles Taylor have long analysed this as a cultural ethos that portrays belief in God as increasingly implausible.4
Secularism impacts Christians in very subtle ways. It may engender in believers what John Wesley described many centuries ago as “practical atheism”—a failure to think and live as if God exists, despite assenting to the teachings of Scripture.
Another powerful cultural force that seeks to corrupt the Christian mind is relativism, the belief that there is no objective truth, and that all truth-claims are, in the final analysis, subjective or socially constructed. Relativism corrupts the Christian mind because it undermines moral clarity and weakens convictions.
Relativism corrupts the Christian mind because it undermines moral clarity and weakens convictions.
What exactly do we mean by the Christian mind?
To speak of the Christian mind is to refer to the distinctive way in which Christians look at the world that is shaped by faith in Jesus Christ. It is to understand all of reality according to divine revelation and to interpret it through the lens that such revelation provides.
To have a Christian mind, then, is to possess what some Russian orthodox theologians such as Georges Florovsky call the “scriptural mind”. The Christian mind is therefore a way of thinking, reasoning and perceiving reality that is wholly shaped and governed by the Scriptures, the living and life-giving Word of God.
The Christian mind therefore does not have to do only with religious or spiritual matters. It is about bringing the truth revealed in the Scriptures to bear on every aspect of reality, human experience and thought. This includes politics, art, economics, education, medicine and science.
However, the Christian mind does not only have to do with worldview. It also has everything to do with conduct. Our understanding of the world governs our response to it and how we behave in relation to it. The Christian theological vision of reality, grounded in revelation, undergirds and serves as a framework for Christian ethics, which is a way of being in the world.
To allow the corrosive acids of secularism and relativism to corrupt the Christian mind therefore has dire consequences for believers. It means that Christians would now become dependent on the lens provided by culture which has been distorted by sin and rebellion.
It means that Christians no longer distinguish themselves in the way that they think and behave. More importantly, it means that Christians are no longer persuaded or influenced by the grand story of salvation and creation’s future.
To be sure, Christians influenced by secularism and relativism still notionally adhere to this story—that God has sent his Son to save the world from death and destruction, and to bring his kingdom to full consummation. However, that story becomes only an abstract idea that does not impact or shape their thinking and living in any real or profound way.
How, then, can Christians cultivate and nurture the Christian mind?
The Christian theological and spiritual tradition offers a wealth of resources on how the Christian mind can be cultivated. Due to space constraints, we can only consider three very briefly.
The first has to do with the disciplined renewal of the mind through immersion in the Scriptures. What this entails is a deep and sustained engagement with Scripture to internalise its grand narrative and fundamental teachings. Put differently, it is to develop the “scriptural mind”, to allude to Florovsky again.
Secondly, the Christian must read Scripture with the Church and under its tutelage. To develop the Christian mind, Christians must be informed by the theological and spiritual traditions of the Church and indwell the life of the Church by participating in its worship and ministry.
Thirdly, the Christian must learn to think Christianly about every aspect of life and every human endeavour. The discipleship of the mind requires obedient thinking, which of course should lead to obedient living—a way of being that brings glory to God.
Much more can be said about this topic. The main burden of this article is to join the chorus of Christian authors mentioned in the opening paragraph (and many others) in calling Christians to take the cultivation of the Christian mind seriously.
It is to echo Paul’s injunction not to conform to the pattern of this world, “but [to] be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2 NIV).
Dr Roland Chia is Chew Hock Hin Professor of Christian Doctrine at Trinity Theological College and Theological and Research Advisor at the Ethos Institute for Public Christianity.
1 Bradley G. Green, The Gospel and the Mind: Recovering and Shaping the Intellectual Life (Crossway, 2010).
2 Joseph Boot, Think Christianly: Developing an Undivided Mind (Ezra Press, 2025).
3 Kris Lundgaard, The Devoted Mind: Seeking God’s Face in a World of Distraction (P & R Publishing, 2023).
4 Charles Taylor, A Secular Age (Harvard University Press, 2007).