Review of Christian Philosophy as a Way of Life

Inman, Ross. Christian Philosophy as a Way of Life. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2023, pp.192, $23.99, paperback.

No matter one’s vocation in God’s kingdom, the importance of thoughtful reflection on the matters raised here is inevitably significant for all of us. Insofar as we seek to love the Lord our God with all of our mind, Inman’s work here is a helpful introduction to what that means for us all, and how philosophy is central to our total human flourishing.

In Christian Philosophy as a Way of Life, Ross Inman (Associate Professor of Philosophy, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) explores the role of philosophy in Christian life, arguing centrally that the philosophical life is: 1. A vital ingredient of human life, 2. part of the substance of Christian ministry, and 3. best carried out in the context of a Christian worldview (pp. 1-2).

Inman defends these three theses across ten chapters. Chapters one through four defend claims 1 and 3, discussing wonder and its ubiquity in human experience (Ch. 1), philosophy as a wonder filled enterprise (Ch. 2-3), and Christian theism as the true home of philosophy (Ch. 3-4). By way of example, Inman diagnoses two modern cultural ailments and then deploys the resources of the Christian philosophical tradition to resolve them (Ch. 5-6). In the final four chapters, Inman defends the relevancy of the philosophical life to Christian ministry from various practical concerns. Exploring the relationship between philosophy and Christianity, Inman outlines the goals of philosophy (Ch. 7), its practical benefits (Ch. 8) and the Christian pilgrimage as a contemplative endeavor (Ch. 9-10).

The main theoretical task of Inman’s work is carried out in the first four chapters. Centrally important is his analysis and identification of wonder as “the lifeblood of philosophy” (p. 25). Wonder is a human response to reality; experiencing it necessarily involves a “perceived vastness,” and a “need for accommodation” (p. 5). The former has to do with the awe and astonishment that reality imposes, while the latter has to do with our natural impulse to categorize or grasp the vastness of this new facet of reality. Both features are characteristic qualities of philosophical inquiry, and thus, as wonder is an inescapable element of human experience, so philosophizing is a natural extension of human capacities.

Following this connection, Inman further argues for a redefinition of philosophy, not as stuffy abstract theorizing, but as a stable posture we take up a way of life (p. 26). In this way, philosophy is best characterized as “an enduring and pervasive way of being in the world” (p. 37). This way of being in the world, though now out of fashion, has traditionally been understood as training in the art of living well. Various exercises, particularly those of the mind and spirit, enable practitioners to be increasingly attuned to the rhythms of life, and further able to develop into the kind of person who is wise (i.e. adept at living).

Finally, Inman claims that this model of philosophy is best situated in a Christian worldview. It is on the latter that these philosophical claims about human beings, the nature of right and wrong, and the nature of knowledge and human cognition are theologically grounded (pp. 28-29). As creatures made by God—and for God—to be stewards of His creation, Christians have ample resources to make sense of why reality prompts us to wonder, and why we strive to know and relate to it in rich and fulfilling ways (p. 32).

Wonder is a human response to reality; experiencing it necessarily involves a “perceived vastness,” and a “need for accommodation” (p. 5). The former has to do with the awe and astonishment that reality imposes, while the latter has to do with our natural impulse to categorize or grasp the vastness of this new facet of reality.

One of Inman’s most helpful contributions is his analysis of the three necessary conditions for living a Christian philosophical life (p. 61). First, one must be committed to an existential map shaped by the Christian story. This means that one’s portrait of the world must be formed by the Christian faith and its unique claims about the nature of reality, human beings, and God as revealed by the Scriptures and in Christ. Second, one must orient one’s life around this Christian existential map. Specifically, one’s everyday practices must flow from a Christocentric vision of reality, its values, goals, and insights. Third, the Christian philosophical life must involve engagement with grace-empowered, truth-directed practices. These practices are various spiritual exercises which act as regular channels of God’s grace to us, helpful correctives of false perspectives on reality, and preventative treatments to ward off corruptions of our existential map (pp. 66-67).

Theology and biblical studies students will particularly benefit from two features of Inman’s work. First, his final four chapters function as a defense of philosophy as a viable branch of Christian intellectual inquiry. Inman speaks with both lucid brevity and a passionate concern to see all the resources of the church brought to bear on the formation of disciples, be they biblical, theological, historical, or philosophical. These last four chapters are a firm but kind challenge to prevailing cultural assumptions that philosophy is useless and thus valueless (pp. 121-123). Yet it must also be said, these four chapters can only accomplish their intended purpose insofar as a broader, second benefit of Inman’s work is clear. One major background question Inman raised here: “What is Christian intellectual inquiry?” By advocating for a particular model of philosophy as essentially connected to wonder, Inman has located philosophy at the heart of human inquiry in general. Whether one rejects or accepts his claims, reckoning with this question is required for engaging in this text. This is a question that any Christian engaged in scholarship should ask themselves, no matter their field. As such, Inman’s work, though not an introduction into the technical disciplines of philosophy (like metaphysics, ethics and epistemology), provides a helpful introduction to the life of the mind for Christians. No matter one’s vocation in God’s kingdom, the importance of thoughtful reflection on the matters raised here is inevitably significant for all of us. Insofar as we seek to love the Lord our God with all of our mind, Inman’s work here is a helpful introduction to what that means for us all, and how philosophy is central to our total human flourishing.