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Writer's pictureJohn G. Stackhouse, Jr.

Vocation as the Heart of Christian Epistemology

Updated: Nov 20


How should a Christian think?


If a serious Christian wants to think seriously about a serious subject--


  • from considering how to vote in the next election to choosing a career;

  • from deciding among scientific theories to selecting a mate;

  • from weighing competing marketing proposals to discerning the best fitness plan


    --what does he or she do?


This basic question is at the heart of a complex discourse: epistemology.


A Comprehensive, Coherent, and Clear Model of Responsible Christian Thinking.


A bold new statement of Christian epistemology, Need to Know presents a comprehensive, coherent, and clear model of responsible Christian thinking.



This book on Christian Epistemology is:

  • Grounded in the best of the Christian theological tradition

  • And is attentive to a surprising range of thinkers in the history of philosophy, natural science, social science, and culture.


    Need to Know: Vocation at the Heart of Christian Epistemology, offers a scheme for drawing together experience, tradition, scholarship, art, and the Bible into a practical yet theoretically profound system of thinking about thinking.


John Stackhouse's fundamental idea is as simple as it is startling: Since God calls human beings to do certain things in the world, God can be relied upon to supply the knowledge necessary for human beings to do those things.

The classic Christian concept of vocation, then, supplies both the impetus and the assurance that faithful Christians can trust God to guide their thinking--on a "need to know" basis.




“This is a stimulating, enriching and invigorating reexamination of some of the oldest and greatest questions of philosophy and theology.”

-Alister McGrath, Oxford University



"This book is a profound exploration of our epistemological predicament in the 21st century. It offers a sensible account of Christian faith that steers a steady course between the pretensions of rationalistic dogmatism and relativistic subjectivism. Stackhouse takes seriously the challenges offeredby our pluralistic culture and also the limits inherent in human finitude and sinfulness, but offers a hopeful path rooted in an understanding of our callings."

-C. Stephen Evans, University Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, Baylor University

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