Foundations Of Christian Thought: Horner

Front 1

What is Horner’s central point in the Eva Horner story?

Back 1

Ideas have consequences.

Front 2

Which Scripture specifically commands us to love God with our mind?

Back 2

Mark 12:29-31
And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:

30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.

Front 3

What Scripture does Dominus illuminatio mea come from? What does it mean?

Back 3

Motto of Oxford University. The lord is my light. Psalms 27:1

Front 4

What is the biblical (Hebrew) concept of the “heart”? Which aspects of the human personality does it include?

Back 4

Leb (the hebrew word of heart) includes intellect, our choosing of emotions, and our will. Humans include only emotions.

Front 5

Typically, in the Old Testament, “heart” simply refers to the center of the self. But sometimes it refers more specifically to some particular aspect of the self. In such a case, what does it refer to most often? How does Jesus’ citation of the Shemacompare to the original Hebrew text in Deuteronomy 6? What difference does this make?

Back 5

The Shema is the Jewish confession of sins. Jesus uses the term mind every time he cites it, the original Hebrew Deuteronomy 6 does not include it. The greek word for heart (kardia) is just the heart, but the one of mind is dianoia, but the hebrews only have one word for it, leb. Jesus is including an idea, he is not misquoting the Scriptures. The word mind is not in Deuteronomy 6 but the idea is there.

Front 6

What does Lebensunwertes Leben mean?

Back 6

Life unworthy of life. It was use by the Nazi.


Front 7

According to Horner, “worship is _____ and everything is _____.”

Back 7

Worship is everything and everything is worship. 


Front 8

How many commands did the rabbis identify in the Old Testament?

Back 8

613 commandments were in the Old Testament

Front 9

What does it mean to love God with your mind? What does it not mean – what are some misconceptions about it?

Back 9

loving God with all that we are, all that we have, and all that we do – heart, soul, mind, strength (Mark 12.28-31)


Front 10

The professor located the vision of loving God with our minds within a bigger vision. What was that?

Back 10

The bigger vision is loving God with everything we are, we have and he do. If God is God at all then He is God of all.

Front 11

 Who wrote the logic text described in the book and discussed in class?

Back 11

Isaac Watts, “Logic, the Right to use Reason”


Front 12

What are the three primary elements of Aristotelian logic? How do they differ from each other?

Back 12

Terms, propositions, and arguments (they are shaped and formed)

Front 13

What are propositions?

Back 13

Are either true or false. They are true is they correspond to reality. If the premises are true the proposition must be true. If the proposition is true the conclusion must be true

Front 14

What is the relationship between sentences and propositions
What is the classical definition of truth?

Back 14

Correspondence of proposition to reality. 


Front 15

Why is it a mistake to distinguish “spiritual truth” from other “kinds” of truth, from normal standards of truth and rationality?

Back 15

Truth corresponds to reality, because if Jesus did not resurrected from the death, our faith is in vain. It is a spiritual truth because it is a historical truth. People try to save religion and ethics by putting it in a different plain

Front 16

What is the biblical understanding of truth? What is the key Hebrew term, and what does it mean? How is it translated in English Bibles?

Back 16

Emet is the hebrew word. It means stability, strength, solidity. It is translated at faithful and factual.

Front 17

What does it mean to say that truth is objective? What is the “object” of a proposition? What is a “subject”?

Back 17

Subjective truth is when it is relative, Objective is when it true no matter what. 

Front 18

What is a (propositional) belief?

Back 18

Proposition belief is holding a proposition to be true. Rationally justified true belief is propositional  knowledge.

Front 19

What makes a belief a true belief?

Back 19

If it corresponds to reality

Front 20

What makes a belief a rational (reasonable) belief?

Back 20

Depends on evidence.

Front 21

Can we guarantee that all our beliefs are true? Why or why not?

Back 21

No, because we are finite and failable


Front 22

What is knowledge?

Back 22

When a rational belief connects to truth (reality)


Front 23

What does logos mean in Plato’s definition of knowledge (and in 1 Peter 3.15)?

Back 23

Rational argument

Front 24

How do belief and knowledge relate to each other? Are they exclusive? If not, which includes the other – and why?

Back 24

They are not exclusive, we must have knowledge to have a belief


Front 25

Why is “absolute proof” (and absolute rational certainty) not required for knowledge?

Back 25

General Revelation.

Front 26

What is personal knowledge? How does it relate to propositional knowledge?

Back 26

Personal is when you know someone personally and propositional knowledge is from books.

Front 27

Why is the mind crucial for “following Jesus”?

Back 27

Because it is required form us to love with everything.

Front 28

What role does the mind play in “becoming like Jesus”?

Back 28

We need to think, like Jesus did. 


Front 29

What did the professor say about the importance of thinking well, when it comes to “understanding theBible”?

Back 29

We need good reasoning, because we might misinterpret the Bible. 

Front 30

What (exactly) did he say about 1 Corinthians 12.11?

Back 30

He talked about the gifts given by the spirit.

Front 31

 How did the professor describe Proverbs? Does it define wisdom? How did the professor define wisdom? (Be ready to identify the four elements.)

Back 31

Proverbs does not define wisdom, it describes it. Integration of knowing, being and doing in the contest of a community. Knowing is convictions, being is character, doing is competence and community

Front 32

Be familiar with the William James quote about character.

Back 32

Our thoughts leads to our destiny. The question is who we are going to become.

Front 33

Why did the professor refer to Oscar Wilde’s De Profundis?

Back 33

He said I forgot that every little action makes character. Choices make our character.

Front 34

Identify (very specifically) the different aspects of wisdom discussed by the professor, including key Hebrew terms he specifically noted.

Back 34

Musar (teachable, instruction, discipline) Proverbs 1:7. Pethi (Open) translated to english as simple and naive. Naive is to be young, open to influence and suggestions. You can be old and simple which is the one that does not respond to the truth, they are unsettle to their character.

Front 35

What was the professor’s advice for becoming a good thinker?

Back 35

Read, read, read

Front 36

What did he say about the proper grammar of English sentences? Be ready to identify examples like those he used for this topic.

Back 36

How we speak and write, influences how we think.

Front 37

What did the professor say about Ephesians 4.15?

Back 37

Lecture on truth. Paul made up the word truthing, truthing in love. Living in a genuine, faithful.

Front 38

What did the professor say about John 3.19-21?

Back 38

John the Baptist is talking about Jesus ministry. Men love darkness rather than light, but that who practices the truth walks in light. Not the one who knows the truth, but the one who acts, does and practices the truth.  It is not to know but to do and live on.

Front 39

What are the implications of understanding truth as both propositional and personal?

Back 39

We need to know God in both truths.

Front 40

What is “Jerusalem” and how does it relate to the actual city of Jerusalem? 

Back 40

The biblical world view. Cultural Christians, Jews, understand the Christian language. Worldview near

Front 41

What is “Athens” and how does it relate to the actual city of Athens? 

Back 41

The secular, pagan worldview. Worldview distance.

Front 42

Which worldviews does Paul encounter in Athens? Which schools of philosophy? Which worldview does each school reflect?

Back 42

He encounters polytheistic, naturalism and pantheism. From Epicureans, Stoics and Idolaters. 

Front 43

What is his initial point of contact with them (where does he find common ground)? Why was he able to appeal to “theistic intuitions”? What was Paul’s strategy in discussing their idolatry?

Back 43

He finds common grounds, he find points of contact (Share interests) points of need ( God) and points of tensions (idolatry). He quotes the philosophers. 


Front 44

What kinds of sources did Paul cite on Mars Hill and why?

Back 44

Philosophers. Poems from Epimenides,  Aratus and Cleanthes. They describe Zeus.

Front 45

What is the “A-Team” of thinking logically? What are the two “As”? How do they relate to asking good questions and giving good reasons?

Back 45

Analysis (to pull apart), asking good questions, and Argument(to build something), giving good reasons.

Front 46

What is the point of asking What do you mean?

Back 46

To paint a picture.

Front 47

What is the point of asking How do you know that?

Back 47

Putting it in perspective, making them think.

Front 48

What two roles does asking So what?play?

Back 48

To help understand the relationship between the argument and the conclusion. Pulling the rug is to find self-refusing propositions. When people say their is no truth?- Is that true?

Front 49

What is scientism? What is wrong with it? How does it help to ask, So what?

Back 49

Scientism is not a scientific view is a philosophical view. It is incompatible with science. Scientism is self-refuding 

Front 50

What does it mean to “take the roof off”? What is the point of that strategic move? How does it relate to asking So what?

Back 50

he so what is to find a conclusion, to see what follows from that. Take the roof is to expose them to reality

Front 51

What is an “argument”? What is a valid argument? What is required? 

Back 51

Giving good reasons. It requires terms (clear) and propositions (true). Valid arguments is logic

Front 52

What is a sound argument? What is required?

Back 52

Is one in which the form is valid and the premises are true.

Front 53

What does it mean to love God with our mind?

Back 53

To love Him with everything.

Front 54

What did the professor say about the use of John 8.31-32 on public buildings? 

Back 54

The most common epigraph in the University libraries. Motto of John Hopkins Univeristy.

Front 55

What did C. S. Lewis say about “good philosophy”? What was his point?

Back 55

C.S. Lewis is talking to WWII university students, there is a war but also a war of ideas. Choose not to think is to choose to leave those who do not go to war defenseless. 

Front 56

Is accepting scientism a more scientific approach than rejecting scientism?

Back 56

False, they are exclusive. They are self-refuding. 

Front 57


According to Horner, what is the relationship between thinking theologically and thinking logically?

Back 57

The relationship between logic and theological. Thinking rightly theologically is thinking logical, there is no difference. (Chapter on truth MYF- Isaac Watts book)