At the Centro de Estudios Cristianos Kuyper in Buenos Aires, our motto is ‘cultivating the mind to love God fully.’ We promote a model of wholistic spirituality derived from the Shema (Deut 6:4–5) and the Great Commandment (Mk 12:29–31), where loving God with the mind plays a central role.

However, we often encounter obstacles to intellectual piety.  For instance, many of those who participate in our Center do not know how to read critically. Most are passive consumers of popular culture and do not possess criteria for evaluating and engaging the world for Christ. These are typical attitudes that we encounter:

Ignorance: Many know very little about the Bible and theology, worldview or the relevant biblical-theological thinkers. And they usually do not perceive the need or relevance of such knowledge.

Anti-intellectualism: Some resist study and reflection because their tradition minimizes the need for theology or intellectual effort.

Curious but uncommitted: Some enjoy intellectual entertainment but are unwilling to discipline their minds or submit to programmatic learning.

Consumer approach: Some ‘shop’ for knowledge, learning formats, and instructors that conform to their ‘buying’ preferences. When study becomes difficult or boring, they take their ‘business’ elsewhere.

Triviality: Most are conditioned by modern technology and inconsequential chatter through social media, so they are not prepared to read, write, or reflect deeply.

Passivity: Some fulfill the role assigned to them by society―intellectual simplicity, private religiosity, and subjective spirituality.

Social obstacles: Many are distracted by the demands of culture (sports, social life, entertainment).

With these challenges in mind, our educational objectives are often simple: to stimulate intellectual curiosity and critical thinking, and to encourage further study. We design activities that foster biblical literacy and critical thinking. When we identify committed learners, we broaden and deepen their knowledge. We stress, for instance:

Informal discussion: Members of our team meet to watch biblical or theological lectures and discuss their implications. In this way, we learn to think together, using our biblical assumptions. We also share a meal and pray. Basically, these meetings are little learning communities.

Communal reading: We read together Charles Cotherman’s To Think Christianly[1], my book Such a Mind as This[2], John Murray’s Redemption Accomplished and Applied[3], and Daniel Strange’s Making Faith Magnetic[4]. Groups also read articles and chapters online. We provide, as well, online and in-person seminars about presuppositional apologetics, Old Testament wisdom, public theology, and Neo-Calvinism.

Movie discussions: Films are saturated with implicit and explicit theology and worldview. Analyzing movies is an asymmetrical way to teach the biblical outlook and foster critical thinking together.[5]

At Centro Kuyper, therefore, we cultivate minds that listen to Jesus Christ in his Word. We stress the obligation, beauty, and relevance of loving God with ‘all the mind.’

[1] Charles E. Cotherman, To Think Christianly: A History of L’Abri, Regent College, and the Christian Study Center Movement (Lisle, IL: IVP Academic, 2021).

[2] Richard L. Smith, Such a Mind as This: A Biblical-Theological Study of Thinking in the Old Testament (Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2021).

[3] John Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015).

[4] Daniel Strange, Making Faith Magnetic: Five Hidden Themes our Culture Can’t Stop Talking about and How to Connect them to Christ (Surrey, England: The Good Book Company, 2022).

[5] We have watched The Matrix, The Truman Show, The Mission, Soul, Barbie, Amazing Grace, The Hidden Life, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and Inside-Out 1 and 2.