Many people will get a lot out of Dave Gilpin’s slightly whimsical series of Mind Map books and teaching DVD. They have a magna art quality and are an interesting idea. Drawing on Romans 12:2, they look at what the renewal of the mind of a Christian might look like. They do it using a creative mindmap and come with all kinds of learning material.
I am all for new ways of doing Christianity. I love the NOOMA films that explain our faith in accessible, exciting and fresh ways. But I am afraid I have real issues with the theology and approach here. I know this kind of message – where we are urged to use willpower to bind and combat carnal thoughts – is powerful. I know that we are called to repent and to be set apart – holy. But my problem is that this kind of teaching can leave people feeling very bad about themselves, obsessively policing their own inner world and beating themselves up for every stray thought that enters their heads. To me this seems unhealthily obsessed with sin – the way it is dressed up in a range of rather odd metaphors and images and the slightly authoritarian black and white artwork leave me unsettled…and not in a good way. HIGH: Creative and innovative.LOW: May cause anxiety.
