Journal: Reformation and Revival
Volume: RAR 03:3 (Summer 1994)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Anonymous

RAR 3:3 (Summer 1994) p. 121

Book Reviews

Mind Renewal in a Mindless Age, James Montgomery Boice. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House (1993). 136 pages, paper, $8.99.

Without a doubt, our society is sinking fast into the waters of materialism, secularism, humanism and relativism. In many respects, she is already fully immersed. Perhaps what is more frightening is the inability of the church to identify, and thus, in turn, resist the same mind-set. James Boice, senior pastor of Philadelphia’s Tenth Presbyterian Church, has edited a section of a recent sermon series from the Epistle of Paul to the Romans, addressing these prevalent issues. The subtitle of this popularly written book expresses his intent: Preparing to Think and Act Biblically.

While many people seem to have laid aside the exercise of “thinking” and have allowed the mass media, especially television, to do it all for them, Dr. Boice confidently takes the reader to God’s Word, to Romans 12:1–2 in particular, and demonstrates how the Christian mind can remain faithful and fruitful in our “mindless” culture. In brief, this excellent book is about the “Christian mind” and the renewal of it in a nonthinking age.

David Wells, in his important recent book, No Place for Truth, insists that “there is no Christian faith in the absence of sound doctrine, sound instruction, or the pattern of sound teaching.” Later he asserts that “belief and practice (are) inextricably related to each other” (p. 103). With that benchmark, Wells should be pleased if he read Boice’s work. From the outset, as the context is established for the biblical text of Romans 12:1–2, Boice urges the reader to love and appreciate the fact that “doctrine is practical, and practical material must be doctrinal if it is to be helpful at all” (pp. 12–13). Indeed, as Boice digs into the truth of these

RAR 3:3 (Summer 1994) p. 122

two verses, he accomplishes his stated desire that “everything God has done for us in salvation has bearing on everything we should think and do, that is on all of life. We must think differently, and we must also be different, because God has saved us from our sins” (p. 20). For those who fear that doctrine will kill the church, this book will demonstrate that it is necessary if we are to think properly, thus live as we must.

The first half of this book (chapters 1–5) are rich in the truth and application of verse one. In the second half (chapters 6–10), Boice skillfully addresses what he calls “the pattern of this age.” The reader is exhorted to “break out of the world’s categories o...