“Take my Intellect”: Christian Teaching and the Power of Thought

Abstract

Winter is a time for looking inward. Does not nature itself teach us this? If the lilies of the field have sense enough to go inside to do their growing when it’s cold, so should we. It should be said that there is a crucial difference between inward looking and “navel gazing.” The latter is self-indulgent. The former, educationally speaking, should be regenerative, preparatory, and devotional above all. Calvin (2011) does not get very far before asserting, “Without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God” (1:1:1, p. 35). In Christian education, inward-looking should support straining-onward. With this in mind, I would like to share with you some interior reflections I’ve undertaken during this winter term on the topic of human intellect and intelligence, along with a devotional exercise.