Renewing the Mind

In his book Renovation of the Heart, Dallas Willard quotes John Calvin, making a point from a Christian perspective similar to the one made by David Foster Wallace in my previous post on "Real Freedom."

For as the surest source of destruction to men is to obey themselves, so the only haven of safety is to have no other will, no other wisdom, than to follow the Lord wherever he leads. Let this, then, be the first step, to abandon ourselves, and devote the whole energy of our minds to the service of God." (Willard, p.63)

He goes on to point out that this has been the classic viewpoint of Christianity, following the teaching of the Bible which says, "let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." (Romans 12:2)