In The Passionate Intellect, Norman Klassen and Jens Zimmermann take up the theme of humanism and put it into the context of changing commitments in the institution of the university from the Middle Ages through the Enlightenment to postmodernity. Citing evidence and discussion of an institution in crisis, the authors argue for the relevance of faith commitment as part of the life of the mind and of a viable humanism. It offers students and educators an understanding of what is happening on the college or university campus. How did we get where we are, where values such as skepticism, secularism, consumerism, and pragmatism seem to dominate the landscape? And how does a Christian appropriately engage the intellectual life of the university without withdrawing into sectarianism? The authors emphasize the continued value of the university and seek to present a vision of what its intellectual culture should become in order to serve the greatest benefit to all students and scholars.

The Passionate Intellect is written for Christian students who may be uncertain how to affirm intellectual endeavor in general and how to negotiate the ideological terrain of the contemporary university. Other students will find that The Passionate Intellect provides a means of contextualizing disciplinary issues within a broader framework.

In the increasingly secular atmosphere of contemporary university life, Klassen and Zimmermann’s The Passionate Intellect provides an excellent practical guide for those Christian students (and scholars generally) committed to an integration of faith and the intellectual life. Providing concrete directions through the increasingly labyrinthine corridors of academic ideologies, the book offers useful insights into the long tradition of Christian humanism, its defense of full human dignity, the goodness of creation and personal endeavors within that creation, and the joy of learning and critical analysis, ‘embraced in humility and trust’–the crown of incarnational humanism and common grace.–Peter C. Erb, visiting professor of Catholic Studies, Centre for Christianity and Culture, University of Prince Edward Island

This is a welcome addition to recent Christian writing on higher education. While addressed primarily to the prospective student, teachers and administrators too should benefit from its discussion of Christian humanism and humanist education in a postmodern world.–Arthur F. Holmes, emeritus professor of philosophy, Wheaton College