FLAME IN THE MIND
By Michael Marshall
Zondervan. 217 pages. £7.99
ISBN 0 007 13095 3
This book was commissioned by the former Archbishop of Canterbury for study in Lent 2003. The title expresses the call to every Christian to use their minds while at the same time retaining spiritual passion. The works of Augustine of Hippo are used to illustrate this theme as several key features of the Christian life are examined.
The author is not an evangelical yet there is clear orthodoxy in the standpoint from which he writes. With some discretion there can be found good material on the Christian life and excellent inspiration from Augustine. Yet the guidelines for discussion and study which are found at the end of each chapter give little place to serious Bible study. It is almost as if the book is written for those who are trying to follow Christ while having an aversion for Scripture. People like this undoubtedly exist but it must be better for them to be confronted with the challenge of what the Bible says about the Christian life. Of course Augustine may be used to illustrate this, but the reality that he himself lived under the authority of the Bible cannot be avoided.
