Fit Bodies, Fat Minds by Alison Thomas

Take about 5 minutes to read this snippets version of The previous day's 'A Slice of Infinity'. Follow up by reading TODAY'S SLICE and forward any comments on your faith journey.

A Slice of Infinity Snippets:
In his book Fit Bodies, Fat Minds, Os Guinness describes how Christians have "simultaneously toned up their bodies and dumbed down their minds."(1) He connects the contemporary form of Christian anti-intellectualism with Friedrich Nietzsche's prediction of "the last man." Losing touch with transcendence, people would eventually confuse heaven with happiness and happiness with health.

I have been a fitness instructor for five years; it is my favorite recreational activity. How invigorating it is to strengthen and stretch tired muscles after a long day. I am also a romantic optimist, constantly on the lookout for the tiniest glimmer of hope during frustrating circumstances. While there is nothing wrong with exercise and optimism, our challenge as Christians today is to deliberately reflect on our lifestyle and thought-style on a daily basis. How can we live healthfully and joyously without subtly degrading the service of God into the service of self?

If we fail to think critically about the motivating factors underlying our lifestyle choices, our minds will be terribly unfit. William Lane Craig adds, "Intellectual impoverishment with respect to one's faith can thus lead to spiritual impoverishment as well."...Moreover, thinking deeply about matters of faith is not just a purely human activity relying solely on one's own strength; it must operate from the utter reliance on God's Word and Spirit.

Such dependence on God in the midst of discipline should remind us that our deepest motivation to be thinking Christians should not be merely to win arguments, but to captivate the lost with the love of Christ as we ourselves have been captivated. As powerful alternatives to the gospel proliferate all around us, let us prayerfully increase our fitness to fight for the gospel in ways that are persuasive, imaginative, and compassionate.

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