"The mind is a muscle"

Justin Taylor of the Between Two Worlds blog was interviewed at the Na: Humble Orthodoxy blog about the study of church history:

Na: ...Why do you think it’s so critical for us to learn from Christians that have gone before us?

JT: ...[I]f we try to come up with a new doctrine, if we’re not learning from those before us, it’s the ultimate act of arrogance. Because it tends to be our default position to assume that the Holy Spirit is starting his work with us and we forget that he’s been working for 2,000 years and beyond. ....

So thinking that you’re really doing something completely “new” is just naïve. After 2,000 years if anyone says anything absolutely new it’s probably just going to be bizarre.

Na: Laughs: Right.

JT: But if you say something that sounds new and somewhat plausible and creative, more likely than not it’s already been said a hundred years ago and responded to and dealt with. .... And that’s why if you don’t know history lots of this can seem new and you don’t know how to respond. That’s part of the importance of studying church history. ....

Or, "those who will not learn from history...." He goes on to an observation about why so many fail to read and learn:

JT: .... It’s interesting because reading and thinking is one of those areas as Christians that the fact that it’s hard deters us. But in other areas of our lives we don’t think the fact something is hard should prevent us from doing it. In athletics you run out of breath if you’re out of shape but you keep going and eventually it’s worth it. Or you work hard at a job because you know the results will be worth it.

Na: But we’re not that patient with reading and studying.

JT: When we get to mental activities it takes about a page before we say, “Oh it’s too hard. I can’t do this. It’s not for me.” The mind is a muscle that needs to be exercised like any other muscle in your body.

Abraham Lincoln, who had only a year of formal education, but who read just about everything he could obtain, advised a law student:

"Get the books, and read and study them. The books, and your capacity for understanding them, are just the same in all places.... Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed, is more important than any other one thing."

Na - Justin Taylor on Old Dead Theologians