ShelfLife

I was discussing this book with a group of friends a few weeks ago and one guy (we’ll call him David) made the statement (and I’m paraphrasing), “I’m just trying to figure out what the mind is.”  Like many of David’s comments, he’ll be smiling and laughing while he makes the statements, but that doesn’t mean he is not serious.  In fact, come to find out, David had been thinking about his “what is mind” comment so much, that he decided to name his Fantasy Football team What is Mind.

Hearing his statement was once again a reminder to me how often I use certain words, without really thinking about their definition.  The mind is one example of that for me.  I simply assumed it was my brain’s ability to store information, recall information and think/reason.  I had never contemplated the various states and faculties of the soul nor how the mind functioned within these states and faculties.  Reading Moreland’s explanation of the states and faculties of the soul made sense to me, but I wonder where did his information come from?  He did not appear to be using the Bible, so  I assume that this may be a common philosophical explanation for the contents of the soul, however, I have done very little personal study of philosophy, and therefore I’m not sure if my assumptions are correct or not.  If anyone can shed some light on the origin of his explanation of the soul (specifically the states and faculties), I would be grateful.

Since David’s comment was fresh in my “mind,” reading chapter three was especially relevant and I appreciated how Moreland built his case for the centrality of the mind in the role of transformation.  My suspicion is that the contents of pages 73-82 are the ultimate points he was trying to communicate and that his discussion of the states and faculties of the soul was a necessary path to arrive at these points.

So, if what Moreland is saying is true – if the mind is the central player in the transformation of the person, then I believe the contents of pages 73-82 warrant a majority of our attention.  Therefore, here are some questions:

• If beliefs truly are the rails upon which our lives run, then what core beliefs in your own life have changed over the years (I’m assuming that all of us at one time or another have experienced a core belief change)?
• What do you believe is more difficult, identifying the core belief, or changing the core belief?
• How have you been able to identify certain core beliefs?
• In the context of calling people to become students of Jesus, Dallas Willard states in The Divine Conspiracy, “A major part of this important work is coming to understand what the people we are dealing with really do believe, and not pretending…that they believe what they don’t believe at all” (pg 308).  How well do you study what others really believe and how do you go about performing that study?
• What do you believe is the most effective way to help someone change a core belief?
• Moreland made the statement on page 77, “In summary, the plausibility, content, strength, and centrality of our beliefs play a key role in determining our character and behavior.”  Do you believe changing behavior is motivation enough to embark upon the process of trying to change our core beliefs?
• On page 79 Moreland made the statement, “In fact, the more you know about extrabiblical matters, the more you will see in the Bible.”  What extrabiblical matters have been most helpful to you in your study of Scripture?
• What have been some helpful ways for you to get out of certain “mind ruts” as described on pages 79-80?

I look forward to continuing this conversation via the comments.