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Let's Talk About Faith and Intellect
In Let's Talk about Faith and Intellect , Terryl Givens, who has written broadly to both academic and general audiences, examines the sometimes-tense relationship between these seeming opposites, arguing that intellect and faith work hand-in-hand to draw us closer to Christ and His gospel. Faith is not just a hopeful leap into the dark or wishful thinking against the grain of evidence. A thoughtful, reflective faith considers the findings of science, the lessons of history, the insights of philosophy, and the best reasonings of our intellect. Then it adds to those an openness to other faculties and agencies, a receptivity to the Spirit and intimations of the heart, and trust in the moral intuitions of the soul. This refreshing, faithful analysis from a trusted scholar will lead readers to appreciate the ways faith and intellect work together to strengthen our spirits and bring us closer to God. Let's Talk about Faith and Intellect is part of the Let's Talk About series—small, approachable books on important Latter-day Saint topics, written by trusted, faithful scholars who can thoroughly explain crucial issues in a digestible way. For people who have sincere questions and are seeking answers, this series provides access to some of the best thinking in the Church. Other books in the -Polygamy -Religion and Mental Health -Book of Abraham -Law of Consecration
144 pages, Paperback
Published July 30, 2022
19 people are currently reading
177 people want to read
About the author
Terryl L. Givens
39 books211 followersTerryl L. Givens was born in upstate New York, raised in the American southwest, and did his graduate work in Intellectual History (Cornell) and Comparative Literature (Ph.D. UNC Chapel Hill, 1988), working with Greek, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and English languages and literatures. As Professor of Literature and Religion, and the James A. Bostwick Professor of English at the University of Richmond, he teaches courses in Romanticism, nineteenth-century cultural studies, and the Bible and Literature. He has published in literary theory, British and European Romanticism, Mormon studies, and intellectual history.
Dr. Givens has authored several books, including The Viper on the Hearth: Mormons, Myths, and the Construction of Heresy (Oxford 1997); By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion (Oxford 2003); People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture (Oxford 2007); The Book of Mormon: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford 2009); and When Souls had Wings: Pre-Mortal Life in Western Thought (2010). Current projects include a biography of Parley P. Pratt (with Matt Grow, to be published by Oxford in 2011), a sourcebook of Mormonism in America (with Reid Neilson, to be published by Columbia in 2011), an Oxford Handbook to Mormonism (with Phil Barlow), and a two volume history of Mormon theology. He lives in Montpelier, Virginia.
Dr. Givens has authored several books, including The Viper on the Hearth: Mormons, Myths, and the Construction of Heresy (Oxford 1997); By the Hand of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion (Oxford 2003); People of Paradox: A History of Mormon Culture (Oxford 2007); The Book of Mormon: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford 2009); and When Souls had Wings: Pre-Mortal Life in Western Thought (2010). Current projects include a biography of Parley P. Pratt (with Matt Grow, to be published by Oxford in 2011), a sourcebook of Mormonism in America (with Reid Neilson, to be published by Columbia in 2011), an Oxford Handbook to Mormonism (with Phil Barlow), and a two volume history of Mormon theology. He lives in Montpelier, Virginia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
December 31, 2022
Another smart and thought-provoking book by Terryl Givens. This one discusses the intersection of faith and intellect: how intellect and reason enrich our faith and how faith reinforces and supplements our intellect. As a faithful intellectual, Givens embodies this sentiment and is well-qualified to write this short, but densely-filled book. He weaves together theology, history, science, and philosophy. My only complaint is that it was a little too philosophical at times. But overall I appreciate his insight and perspective, as evidenced by my well-marked copy, including this lovely quote (and a few others below): “Faith, in my conception, is not a silencing of the intellect. It is the only path by which the fullest appetites of the intellect find satisfaction.”
-“This study found, contrary to the general pattern, that for Latter-day Saint men and women, ‘the higher the level of education, the higher one’s level of religious observance.’” p. 2
-A durable faith is found by “acknowledging that in all of life’s most important transactions and commitments and decisions, we rely upon a broad array of resources to find our way through the darkness.” (including reason, experience, conscience, intuition, emotion, and other inner faculties) p. 3
-“Knowing that God lives (or kindred assertions) is subject to different modes of ultimate verification than other forms of truth claims in other fields of human investigation. But that doesn’t place them outside of rational activity.” p. 9
-Ronald Numbers (historian) – “The greatest myth in the history of science and religion holds that they have been in a state of constant conflict.” p. 25
-“When the University of Deseret reopened in 1868 after a hiatus of some years, women composed almost 50% of the class. (At this time, women in America received less than fifteen percent of bachelor’s degrees awarded; all told, only 0.7 percent of American women eighteen to twenty-one years of age were attending college in 1870.)…By the turn of the century, more female American medical students hailed from Utah than from any other state in the union.” p. 44
-“How do we account for the unevenness of God’s response to human suffering? Why indifference at my doorstep and a miracle next door? We cannot know. The calculus is too complex when one tries to factor in the varying efficacy of faith-laden prayers, the infinitely branching consequences of a divine interposition, the sanctifying potential of human pain, and our resilient tendency to revert to a baseline of temperament in the aftermath of miraculous manifestations and catastrophic disappointments alike.” p. 51
-“To envision such a God, like the weeping God of the Restoration, is to recognize in God a figure who clearly cannot eliminate our tears, subject as He—and we—are to the constraints of the agency of others, the laws of nature, and the necessity of an educative mortality that can reshape us more in His likeness.” p. 52
-“Eve was justifiably drawn to three characteristics of the fruit: it was ‘good,’ it was ‘pleasant to the eyes,’ and it was ‘desired to make one wise.’ The Good, the Beautiful, and the True beckoned, and by partaking, Eve and Adam ‘became as one of [the Gods].” p. 92 We must continue to seek for these traits. (“Our yearning for truth, beauty, and goodness is universal.”)
-“The quest for spirituality, without a community in which to practice love and long-suffering, tends toward self-concern and sterility.” p. 97
-“We are only as deep as the questions we are asking—and there are no shortcuts. ‘The things of God are of deep import; and time, and experience, and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out.” (Joseph Smith) p. 100
-“Discipleship and scholarship both demand the sweat and toil of staying with a question.” p. 102
-“Faith, in my conception, is not a silencing of the intellect. It is the only path by which the fullest appetites of the intellect find satisfaction.” p. 110
-“This study found, contrary to the general pattern, that for Latter-day Saint men and women, ‘the higher the level of education, the higher one’s level of religious observance.’” p. 2
-A durable faith is found by “acknowledging that in all of life’s most important transactions and commitments and decisions, we rely upon a broad array of resources to find our way through the darkness.” (including reason, experience, conscience, intuition, emotion, and other inner faculties) p. 3
-“Knowing that God lives (or kindred assertions) is subject to different modes of ultimate verification than other forms of truth claims in other fields of human investigation. But that doesn’t place them outside of rational activity.” p. 9
-Ronald Numbers (historian) – “The greatest myth in the history of science and religion holds that they have been in a state of constant conflict.” p. 25
-“When the University of Deseret reopened in 1868 after a hiatus of some years, women composed almost 50% of the class. (At this time, women in America received less than fifteen percent of bachelor’s degrees awarded; all told, only 0.7 percent of American women eighteen to twenty-one years of age were attending college in 1870.)…By the turn of the century, more female American medical students hailed from Utah than from any other state in the union.” p. 44
-“How do we account for the unevenness of God’s response to human suffering? Why indifference at my doorstep and a miracle next door? We cannot know. The calculus is too complex when one tries to factor in the varying efficacy of faith-laden prayers, the infinitely branching consequences of a divine interposition, the sanctifying potential of human pain, and our resilient tendency to revert to a baseline of temperament in the aftermath of miraculous manifestations and catastrophic disappointments alike.” p. 51
-“To envision such a God, like the weeping God of the Restoration, is to recognize in God a figure who clearly cannot eliminate our tears, subject as He—and we—are to the constraints of the agency of others, the laws of nature, and the necessity of an educative mortality that can reshape us more in His likeness.” p. 52
-“Eve was justifiably drawn to three characteristics of the fruit: it was ‘good,’ it was ‘pleasant to the eyes,’ and it was ‘desired to make one wise.’ The Good, the Beautiful, and the True beckoned, and by partaking, Eve and Adam ‘became as one of [the Gods].” p. 92 We must continue to seek for these traits. (“Our yearning for truth, beauty, and goodness is universal.”)
-“The quest for spirituality, without a community in which to practice love and long-suffering, tends toward self-concern and sterility.” p. 97
-“We are only as deep as the questions we are asking—and there are no shortcuts. ‘The things of God are of deep import; and time, and experience, and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out.” (Joseph Smith) p. 100
-“Discipleship and scholarship both demand the sweat and toil of staying with a question.” p. 102
-“Faith, in my conception, is not a silencing of the intellect. It is the only path by which the fullest appetites of the intellect find satisfaction.” p. 110
September 11, 2022
The first few chapters where good, but the book was over all heavy handed. A little pretentious. Doesn't speak well for the average saint. But there were some good points and I loved the topic and it helped me understand some things. I couldn't have finished this if I wasn't listening to the audio book. Good points, not great writing
October 27, 2022
I picked up this book thinking it was short and must be a light read. It was NOT a light read. It is full of history, philosophy, and theology. It made me feel like a college student again, in the best possible way. The author opened my eyes to new insights and information and also inspired self-reflection. I will likely read it again.
June 7, 2023
"Faith has many shades of meaning in the context of what follows, but we may generally understand faith as confidence in a frame of ultimate values that beckon us beyond the satisfaction of immediate needs." p 9
"Latter-day Saints of today's era have been experiencing their own reappraisal of our past. Greater access to the archives, more rigorous historical methods, and pressures for more transparency have all contributed to new questions and challenges for the faithful. To these shifts, the leadership of the Church has responded by endorsing and encouraging rigorous intellectual engagment with the faith. Elder M. Russell Ballard signaled this spirit of inquiry when he told Church educators, 'As Church education moves forward in the 21st century, each of you needs to consider any changes you should make in the way you prepare to teach, how you teach, and what you teach... Mostly, our young people lived a sheltered life. Our curriculum at that time, though well-meaning, did not prepare students for today - a day when students have instant access to virtually everything about the Church from every possible point of view.'
"Elder Ballard continued, 'Gone are the days when a student asked an honest question and a teacher responded, "Don't worry about it!" Gone are the days when a student raised a sincere concern and a teacher bore his or her testimony as a response intended to avoid the issue.' Then, directly countering the anti-intellectual attacks and controversy avoidance of the 1980s, he recast honest scholars as assets rather than challengers of the faith. 'If necessary, we should ask those with appropriate academic training, experience, and expertise for help.' 'If you have questions' about historical issues, he continued, 'ask someone who has studied them.' Elder Neil L. Andersen affirmed this approach: 'Addressing honest questions is an important part of building faith, and we use both our intellect and our feelings.' President Russell M. Nelson summed up the case concisely: we should have a 'sacred regard for intellect.'" p 47
"In the face of unimaginable human suffering, and in the presence of unspeakable evil in the world, it is important to say this at the outset: even the gospel does not have an answer to every question, an explanation for every experience through which we pass." p 48
"How does the restoration provide the conditions for us to taste the salvific reality of Christ? Abundant routes are possible. It may be in the story of Joseph's First Vision, which serves as master template for our own Sacred Grove experience, inspiring us to go and do likewise. It may be in the way Joseph made literal and concrete the ancient dream of Zion, organizing us into those exasperating and sanctifying schools of love we call wards and branches." pp 90-91 (Ha!)
"Kindness - replicating the divine propensity for affirming the worth and beauty of other human beings, and promoting their thriving, is perhaps the most meaningful virtue we can pursue. However, a great many things besides kindness will matter in the end: Loyalty to loved ones. Courage to stand up for the oppressed and marginalized. Living one's life with integrity. Serving others. To live a rich and abundant, the circle must spread even wider: Gratitude for the grandeur of nature. The capacity to appreciate a beautiful melody. Cheerfulness in the face of disappointment. A sense of humor that dulls the edge of pain and enhances the joy of friendship. Curiosity that stretches the mind and immunizes the soul against boredom and stasis." p 99
"'The more things a man is interested in, the more opportunities of happiness he has.' Intellectual and moral activity, rather than beatific contemplation, are the essence of the heaven to which Latter-day Saints aspire." p 106
"Latter-day Saints of today's era have been experiencing their own reappraisal of our past. Greater access to the archives, more rigorous historical methods, and pressures for more transparency have all contributed to new questions and challenges for the faithful. To these shifts, the leadership of the Church has responded by endorsing and encouraging rigorous intellectual engagment with the faith. Elder M. Russell Ballard signaled this spirit of inquiry when he told Church educators, 'As Church education moves forward in the 21st century, each of you needs to consider any changes you should make in the way you prepare to teach, how you teach, and what you teach... Mostly, our young people lived a sheltered life. Our curriculum at that time, though well-meaning, did not prepare students for today - a day when students have instant access to virtually everything about the Church from every possible point of view.'
"Elder Ballard continued, 'Gone are the days when a student asked an honest question and a teacher responded, "Don't worry about it!" Gone are the days when a student raised a sincere concern and a teacher bore his or her testimony as a response intended to avoid the issue.' Then, directly countering the anti-intellectual attacks and controversy avoidance of the 1980s, he recast honest scholars as assets rather than challengers of the faith. 'If necessary, we should ask those with appropriate academic training, experience, and expertise for help.' 'If you have questions' about historical issues, he continued, 'ask someone who has studied them.' Elder Neil L. Andersen affirmed this approach: 'Addressing honest questions is an important part of building faith, and we use both our intellect and our feelings.' President Russell M. Nelson summed up the case concisely: we should have a 'sacred regard for intellect.'" p 47
"In the face of unimaginable human suffering, and in the presence of unspeakable evil in the world, it is important to say this at the outset: even the gospel does not have an answer to every question, an explanation for every experience through which we pass." p 48
"How does the restoration provide the conditions for us to taste the salvific reality of Christ? Abundant routes are possible. It may be in the story of Joseph's First Vision, which serves as master template for our own Sacred Grove experience, inspiring us to go and do likewise. It may be in the way Joseph made literal and concrete the ancient dream of Zion, organizing us into those exasperating and sanctifying schools of love we call wards and branches." pp 90-91 (Ha!)
"Kindness - replicating the divine propensity for affirming the worth and beauty of other human beings, and promoting their thriving, is perhaps the most meaningful virtue we can pursue. However, a great many things besides kindness will matter in the end: Loyalty to loved ones. Courage to stand up for the oppressed and marginalized. Living one's life with integrity. Serving others. To live a rich and abundant, the circle must spread even wider: Gratitude for the grandeur of nature. The capacity to appreciate a beautiful melody. Cheerfulness in the face of disappointment. A sense of humor that dulls the edge of pain and enhances the joy of friendship. Curiosity that stretches the mind and immunizes the soul against boredom and stasis." p 99
"'The more things a man is interested in, the more opportunities of happiness he has.' Intellectual and moral activity, rather than beatific contemplation, are the essence of the heaven to which Latter-day Saints aspire." p 106
February 1, 2023
Wow, what a great book. Just a couple of thoughts. This book made me want to go out and learn everything about everything. Terryl Givens shows that education and learning are at the core of Christ’s doctrine - that faith and logic, hope and intellect, and belief and learning are not at odds with each other at all. Instead, the pay compliment each other, extend each other, and, ultimately, perfect each other. In Givens own words, “Faith, in my conception, is not a silencing of the intellect. It is the only path by which the fullest appetites of the intellect find satisfaction “ (pg. 110).
I don’t normally write random notes in my Goodreads reviews (I instead just mark up the book), but I wanted to here. While I thoroughly enjoyed all of it, here are just a random few of the snippets that especially caught my eye. None of these thoughts were the essence of the book, they were just aside comments that really stood out to me:
* I started reading Vincent Bugliosi’s “Divinity of Doubt,” essentially a refutation of the logic of atheists and theists. He suggests you can’t know God is real, but since there are plenty of logical problems with believing in Him, it makes most sense to be agnostic. One of the problems he brings up early is why God allows evil people to do evil things. With this backdrop, Givens struck me when he explained, “The freedom to enact good requires the freedom to perpetrate evil. Meaningful freedom cannot exist without the freedom to act in both ways. This is why, as C. S. Lewis put it…”either something or nothing must depend on individual choices. And if something, who could set bounds to it?” (pg. 50).
* I’ve always been a seeker of truth and it has caused me to scratch my head with how mainstream Christians portrays the purpose of life. How can the purpose of life simply be to praise God? If that is the only reason God created mankind, doesn’t that make him selfish, especially since, according to mainstream Christian belief, many of His children will spend eternity in hell because they aren’t deferential enough to Him? Givens outlines how the restored gospel of Jesus Christ so eloquently answers the question of the purpose of life when he explains, “This is a story with no precedent in religious thought: [that we are] coeternal with God: invited to enter a relationship with Him before the world’s creation: a relationship of parent to child, or master to disciple, not king to subject…Like a violin maestro who aspires to mentor his students to comparable status, God shepherds us through instruction, development, growth, education, with the goal making us like Him- (and Her-) self - playing music as beautifully as They…We are to be neither subjects nor clones, but peers and joint heirs” (pg. 59). That makes me want to sing!
* In addition to our eternal potential (see above point), I’ve always loved the restored gospel’s teachings on universal salvation (viz. the three degrees of glory. Talk to me sometime if you want to know more about what I mean). Givens explains the essence of this principle by quoting a Russian philosopher. “Moral consciousness began with God’s question, ‘Cain, where is thy brother Abel?’ It will end with another question on the part of God: ‘Abel, where is thy brother Cain?’” (pg. 68).
* I have many doubts about God, but what keeps me religious, what gives me hope is my desire for more truth. Givens spoke to my soul when he said, “To those who struggle to persist in the quest for understanding in the face of doubts and perplexities…stay with the questions…Sometimes, the cost of staying with the question is high. But the cost of abandoning the quest in higher” (pg. 106).
I don’t normally write random notes in my Goodreads reviews (I instead just mark up the book), but I wanted to here. While I thoroughly enjoyed all of it, here are just a random few of the snippets that especially caught my eye. None of these thoughts were the essence of the book, they were just aside comments that really stood out to me:
* I started reading Vincent Bugliosi’s “Divinity of Doubt,” essentially a refutation of the logic of atheists and theists. He suggests you can’t know God is real, but since there are plenty of logical problems with believing in Him, it makes most sense to be agnostic. One of the problems he brings up early is why God allows evil people to do evil things. With this backdrop, Givens struck me when he explained, “The freedom to enact good requires the freedom to perpetrate evil. Meaningful freedom cannot exist without the freedom to act in both ways. This is why, as C. S. Lewis put it…”either something or nothing must depend on individual choices. And if something, who could set bounds to it?” (pg. 50).
* I’ve always been a seeker of truth and it has caused me to scratch my head with how mainstream Christians portrays the purpose of life. How can the purpose of life simply be to praise God? If that is the only reason God created mankind, doesn’t that make him selfish, especially since, according to mainstream Christian belief, many of His children will spend eternity in hell because they aren’t deferential enough to Him? Givens outlines how the restored gospel of Jesus Christ so eloquently answers the question of the purpose of life when he explains, “This is a story with no precedent in religious thought: [that we are] coeternal with God: invited to enter a relationship with Him before the world’s creation: a relationship of parent to child, or master to disciple, not king to subject…Like a violin maestro who aspires to mentor his students to comparable status, God shepherds us through instruction, development, growth, education, with the goal making us like Him- (and Her-) self - playing music as beautifully as They…We are to be neither subjects nor clones, but peers and joint heirs” (pg. 59). That makes me want to sing!
* In addition to our eternal potential (see above point), I’ve always loved the restored gospel’s teachings on universal salvation (viz. the three degrees of glory. Talk to me sometime if you want to know more about what I mean). Givens explains the essence of this principle by quoting a Russian philosopher. “Moral consciousness began with God’s question, ‘Cain, where is thy brother Abel?’ It will end with another question on the part of God: ‘Abel, where is thy brother Cain?’” (pg. 68).
* I have many doubts about God, but what keeps me religious, what gives me hope is my desire for more truth. Givens spoke to my soul when he said, “To those who struggle to persist in the quest for understanding in the face of doubts and perplexities…stay with the questions…Sometimes, the cost of staying with the question is high. But the cost of abandoning the quest in higher” (pg. 106).
March 6, 2023
Givens is one of the LDS church's best thinkers. He is great at teasing out and amplifying the potential of the Restoration and the Church's core beliefs. What is disconcerting is how far the Church feels from his refreshing and expansive perspectives. I hope this book plays a role in shifting the needle, as the Givens' others have started to do. It is disappointing to see anti-intellectualism widespread in the Church, and even more disconcerting to see Church leadership, even at the highest levels, try to clamp down on Church scholars and historians. We seem, on the whole, members and leadership, not ready to embrace the beautiful and expansive vision of the Restoration that Givens presents.
It's hard to really criticize such a short book with a very clear general audience in mind, but I found the chapter on how to deal with issues of Church history pretty superficial, and the focus on how Christianity had impacted science and the conclusion that it was the single greatest proponent of science and academia seemed pretty culturally insensitive. Finally, the book seemed more interested in discussing how the Restoration encouraged intellectual pursuits and showing how Restoration doctrines anticipate contemporary scientific thinking than teasing apart the difficult relationship between faith and intellect. Like, how do we hold onto faith when the evidence or our personal experience suggests what we believe or have been taught is wrong? More importantly for a Mormon audience, how do we hang onto faith when our carefully-curated Church history is shown to be untrue? Big questions, but I thought more could have been done with these, especially given the general audience this book is targeted at.
It's hard to really criticize such a short book with a very clear general audience in mind, but I found the chapter on how to deal with issues of Church history pretty superficial, and the focus on how Christianity had impacted science and the conclusion that it was the single greatest proponent of science and academia seemed pretty culturally insensitive. Finally, the book seemed more interested in discussing how the Restoration encouraged intellectual pursuits and showing how Restoration doctrines anticipate contemporary scientific thinking than teasing apart the difficult relationship between faith and intellect. Like, how do we hold onto faith when the evidence or our personal experience suggests what we believe or have been taught is wrong? More importantly for a Mormon audience, how do we hang onto faith when our carefully-curated Church history is shown to be untrue? Big questions, but I thought more could have been done with these, especially given the general audience this book is targeted at.
December 28, 2022
Whoa.
Started listening to this, but had to stop and buy it so I could mark the heck out of it. It’s a short book, but a long read. I limited myself to a chapter a week (or more) so that I could thoroughly digest and ponder its pages.
“Faith, in my conception, is not a silencing of the intellect. It is the only path by which the fullest appetites of the intellect find satisfaction.”
Started listening to this, but had to stop and buy it so I could mark the heck out of it. It’s a short book, but a long read. I limited myself to a chapter a week (or more) so that I could thoroughly digest and ponder its pages.
“Faith, in my conception, is not a silencing of the intellect. It is the only path by which the fullest appetites of the intellect find satisfaction.”
October 9, 2022
I found this book very inspiring. I was impressed with the history of the early church in how important secular studying and knowledge was coupled with faith-based learning and scripture. I feel inspired to follow suit and focus my readings on a more variety of topics. The author really has some good moments striking down the exclusivity of secular viewpoints over faith based viewpoints. These points are also backed up quite well with statements from scientists, mathematicians and others. There is also some really good sections about the impossibility of this earth and universe being an accident. I also like how the author addresses the topic of the Holy Ghost being the absolute source of truth for us. We can say all we want to about how powerful the Book of Mormon is, how powerful a certain lesson is, or certain commandments, or even our testimony of the restoration, but all of that is nothing unless ratified and validated through the power of the Holy Ghost and converting us and strengthening our testimonies.
January 9, 2023
Goodness, I wish I were smart enough to have written this. I feel that way every time I read Terryl or Fiona Givens, but this one in particular is a subject that I have thought about (& that my husband and I talk about) a lot. Givens has put into words everything I have felt or wish I had thought about the importance of learning and the symbiotic relationship between faith and intellect. The LDS church, in particular, places a considerable emphasis on the eternal importance of learning, something that stands in stark contrast to the ridiculous caricatures of brain-washed buffoons that are so popular in cultural depictions of its members. I particularly enjoyed Givens’s overview of how early Saints’ dedication to educating women was particularly progressive.
One of my favorite reads. Anytime spent with the Givens is a gift.
One of my favorite reads. Anytime spent with the Givens is a gift.
February 7, 2024
For such a short tome, it took me a long while to get through it. This is targeted at young adults and designed to be a brief discussion of the idea that faith and intellect do not necessarily work together. I appreciate the author's well-documented and researched work. Both the writing style and topic really invite the reader to a slower, more thoughtful read. If you're looking for something to blow through, this may not be a good choice. If you want some good food for thought and discussion, take a look. I would recommend.
October 8, 2022
I listened to the audio book read by his wife; I adore her voice. I almost passed it up, though, because honestly the title, or the phrasing of the title felt like it was going to be simplistic apologetics. Then I noticed the author. I've loved his other works, and I loved this. I think I could listen to it or read it again and again and come away with something new each time. So much research, so much understanding. I feel enlightened and emboldened by my faith.
February 16, 2023
You get the standard Givens knowledge flex in this book, especially in the introduction, but don’t let that intimidate you. He makes a strong, concise case for the compatibility of intellect and the restored gospel. In fact, I’d say he makes a strong case in general for Christianity’s positive role in the preservation and development of Western thought.
I also appreciate that Givens gets more personal in this book than he gets in his other books. He himself is an excellent example of one whose faith and intellect complement and enrich one another.
I also appreciate that Givens gets more personal in this book than he gets in his other books. He himself is an excellent example of one whose faith and intellect complement and enrich one another.
September 11, 2025
Faith is not just a hopeful leap into the dark or wishful thinking against the grain of evidence. A thoughtful, reflective faith considers the findings of science, the lessons of history, the insights of philosophy, and the best reasonings of our intellect. Then it adds to those an openness to other faculties and agencies, a receptivity to the Spirit and intimations of the heart, and trust in the moral intuitions of the soul
December 29, 2025
Despite how short this book is, it took me a long time to read it and it isn’t a particularly easy read, but I loved it anyway. Terryl Givens is very knowledgeable and he stuffed so much of that knowledge into just over 100 pages. I really enjoyed reading about the connection between intellect and faith, and I am definitely going to need to reread this while diving deeper into the topics and taking notes so that I can better understand what Terryl Givens is trying to teach us.
September 25, 2023
This is not for everyone (and I'm not sure whether it was meant to be or not), and it's not my favorite book by Givens. However, it was interesting, and I like his final thought, which sums up the book nicely - "Faith, in my conception, is not a silencing of the intellect. It is the only path by which the fullest appetites of the intellect find satisfaction."
September 17, 2024
I found the first half to be better than the second and also more evidenced. It felt as though Dr. Givens was doing a dance with words in the latter half of the book rather than providing a more clear argument like he did at the beginning. That being said, I loved the epilogue and found the book to be worth my time just to read those few pages.
September 25, 2025
This was fine, I guess, but it felt way more esoteric than I think met the goal of the book. Anyone who was already deep into intellectual whatever didn't need this book, and anyone afraid of mixing faith and intellectualism would have a hard time getting through it, so I'm unconvinced this addressed the need it set out to meet.
August 13, 2022
Terryl Givens is a great writer and condenses so much research about intellect in regards to faith into 110 pages. This book was equal parts simple and deep and very well researched. I liked the chapter divisions and thought process throughout.
January 26, 2023
Devoured this. It stretched me! Now I need to get a hard copy and feast on a deeper level. Every person alive should read this regardless of their faith. It speaks to our very souls. Our capacity is limitless!
March 19, 2023
Libby. This work was over my intellect. Some chapters I would feel like I knew what he was saying and then I realized I didn’t have a clue especially when he got into deep science it was over my head.
July 26, 2023
This book was interesting and insightful but was also long winded and read like a textbook in most places. Although the actual length was short, I think it was too dense and not as digestible or bite size as some of the other books in the “Let’s Talk About…” series.
November 2, 2023
Wow! This was a really cool book. It talked a lot about how faith and science work hand in hand with some well researched arguments. I think I might buy a physical copy of it so that I can reread it and mark it up.
December 22, 2023
There's a lot to unpack here; I plan to read it again as soon as I can. Givens' succinct writing is satisfying, and invites me to linger over some of the passages. I want to focus on, and ponder, many of the quotes and ideas he presents.
August 21, 2022
At 110 pages this is a slim volume, but it's quite densely packed with ideas. I quite enjoyed it and plan to reread to better understand.
September 3, 2022
Outstanding instruction in barely 100 pages. Givens has become my favorite Gospel academic. Highly recommend this book!
October 2, 2022
Some great discussion of Christian history, thought, and practice, but altogether too philosophical and not his best writing
October 15, 2022
I love Brother Givens and his unique approach to teach the gospel and teach ABOUT the gospel. They way he weaves philosophy, science, and theology into one tapestry is as good as it gets.
October 19, 2022
I could read Dr. Terryl Givens all day. Love his work.
November 20, 2022
Incredible depth
December 25, 2022
Quite an interesting book. The author writes from the point of view of philosophers, historians, and others, about how religious faith can be reconciled with scientific knowledge.
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