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By The Renewing Of Your Minds By Ellen Charry Summary

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Introduction
What is the ultimate purpose of theology? Is it merely a historical account of what people have thought about God throughout the ages? Or is there a more practical purpose that can ultimately help shape the human heart? “God is not only good to us but good for us.” This deceptively simplistic phrase is what forms the complex, yet satisfying theme of the book By The Renewing Of Your Minds by Ellen Charry. According to Charry, theology is meant to serve a greater function for believers than a simple historical account but rather to help individuals come to know God. Throughout the book, Charry applies a strong emphasis put on “sapience” and the ability of theology to aid a person to rightly know and conform to God. Even further, …show more content…

Sapience, the ability to both know God and live accordingly to God’s standards, was highly regarded as the foundational force of human excellence during the beginning of the early church. However, this form of experiential knowledge began to fade with the rise of modernity as theology began to be framed as a mere intellectual task, losing its ability to have any affect on the way a believer lives out the Christian life. Charry seeks to solve this tension through a close examination of theology over the ages, first beginning with Matthew and Paul as the New Testament apostolate. Next, in the wake of the Christianity’s fourth century rise in popularity and persecution, she turns her attention to the early patristic voices of Athanasius of Alexandria, Basil of Caesarea and Augustine of Hippo. Then, a close examination of the works by Anselm of Canterbury and St. Thomas and Dame Jian, help to provide a framework for theology’s task to promote inward devotional practices during the medieval age. Finally, Cherry concludes her historical “sapiential knowledge” of theology with a look at the Protestant reformer, John Calvin, who pushed for moral change in the life of Christians through their personal knowledge of God. As a result of “sapiential knowledge” throughout the history of the church, Ellen Charry concludes her work with an overview and convincing argument on the role of church doctrine to help cultivate and shape the Christian life towards

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