Francis A. Schaeffer (IVP Books: Jan 30, 2007), 94 pages.
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"The lordship of Christ should include an interest in the arts," writes Francis Schaeffer. "A Christian should use these arts to the glory of God, not just as tracts, mind you, but as things of beauty to the praise of God." Many Christians, wary of creating graven images, have steered clear of artistic creativity. But the Bible offers a robust affirmation of the arts. The human impulse to create reflects our being created in the image of a creator God. Art and the Bible has been a foundational work for generations of Christians in the arts. In this book's classic essays, Francis Schaeffer first examines the scriptural record of the use of various art forms, and then establishes a Christian perspective on art. With clarity and vigor, Schaeffer explains why "the Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars." ~ Product Description
GoWalking on Water collects 12 brief meditations by Madeleine L'Engle on the nature of art and its relation to faith. L'Engle, the beloved author of A Wrinkle In Time among others, has written and spoken widely and wisely about the connection between religion and art. The gist of her understanding is as follows: "To try to talk about art and about Christianity is for me one and the same thing, and it means attempting to share the meaning of my life, what gives it, for me, its tragedy and its glory. It is what makes me respond to the death of an apple tree, the birth of a puppy, northern lights shaking the sky, by writing stories." She believes that "[b]asically there can be no categories such as 'religious' art and 'secular' art because all true art is incarnational, and therefore 'religious.'" And "incarnation," in L'Engle's view, means "God's revelation of himself through particularity." In this book there is some slippage between L'Engle's autobiographical and critical voices. As a result, she often claims Christian significance for works whose meaning is not intentionally Christian. She admits this freely: "[B]ecause I am a struggling Christian, it's inevitable that I superimpose my awareness of all that happened in the life of Jesus upon what I'm reading, upon Buber, upon Plato, upon the Book of Daniel. But I'm not sure that's a bad thing. To be truly Christian means to see Christ everywhere, to know him as all in all." ~ Michael Joseph Gross
James W. Sire (Intervarsity: May 1, 2004), 252 pages.
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When The Universe Next Door was first introduced nearly thirty years
ago, it set the standard for a clear, readable introduction to
worldviews. In concise, easily understood prose, James W. Sire
explained the basics of theism, deism, naturalism, nihilism,
existentialism, Eastern monism and the new consciousness. The second
edition was updated and expanded to include sections on Marxism and
secular humanism, as well as a completely reworked chapter on what is
now widely known as New Age philosophy rather than new consciousness.
And the third edition offered further updating and revisions, including
a thoroughly revised chapter on New Age philosophy and, perhaps most
importantly, a new chapter on postmodernism. Now the fourth edition
refines the definition of worldview itself, incorporating Sire's
thinking and teaching during the past decade.
The Universe Next Door has been translated into several languages and
has been used as a text at over one hundred colleges and universities
in courses ranging from apologetics and world religions to history and
English literature. With the publication of the fourth edition, this
book will continue to aid students, teachers and anyone who wants to
understand the variety of worldviews that compete with Christianity for
the allegiance of our minds and hearts. ~ Product Description
Christopher Hitchens and Douglas Wilson (Canon Press: Sep 2, 2008), 72 pages.
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This book reproduces an insightful and spirited recent debate between Christopher Hitchens and Douglas Wilson over what Dostoevsky called the Eternal Questions: What is the real nature of the universe in which we find ourselves? What are the ultimate bases of reason and ethics? Are
there any ultimate sanctions governing human behavior? Though Hitchens is always worth reading for his quick wit and frequently surprising arguments, unfortunately in this debate he does not come off at his best. While graciously conceding that Hitchens has clean hands, Wilson
wielding a very fine knife shows that Hitchens, sad to say, doesn't
have any hands to begin with. Hitchens is of the view that the universe is the accidental consequence of swirling particles, claiming that his reason has led him to this
conclusion. Wilson, in the style of C.S.Lewis, points out that if the
world outside Hitchen's head is given over wholly to such irrational
chemical processes, the world inside Hitchens' head can be no
differently composed, and that what Hitchens refers to as "rational
argument" has been "arbitrarily dubbed" so. ~ Stanley H. Nemeth
Steven Nadier (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux: Oct 28, 2008), 320 pages.
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In the spring of 1672, the German philosopher and mathematician
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz arrived in Paris on a furtive
diplomatic mission. That project was abandoned quickly, but Leibniz
remained in Paris with a singular goal: to get the most out of the
city’s intellectual and cultural riches. He benefited, above all, from
his friendships with France’s two greatest philosopher-theologians of
the period, Antoine Arnauld and Nicolas de Malebranche. The
interactions of these three men would prove of great consequence not
only for Leibniz’s own philosophy but for the development of modern
philosophical and religious thought. Despite their wildly different
views and personalities, the three philosophers shared a single,
passionate concern: resolving the problem of evil. Why is it that, in a
world created by an allpowerful, all-wise, and infinitely just God,
there is sin and suffering? Why do bad things happen to good people,
and good things to bad people? This is the story of a clash between
radically divergent worldviews. But it is also a very personal story.
At its heart are the dramatic—and often turbulent—relationships between
three brilliant and resolute individuals. In this lively and engaging
book, Steven Nadler brings to life a debate that obsessed its
participants, captivated European intellectuals, and continues to
inform our ways of thinking about God, morality, and the world.
Philip Broadhead and Damien Keown, eds. (I.B. Tauris: Feb 6, 2007), 240 pages.
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It is often alleged that religion is a major cause of war and dissent. History is littered with the wreckage of religious conflict, from the crusades onwards, and it is frequently maintained that it is religion which is the tinderbox that ignites so many regional disputes - from Bosnia's ethnic cleansing to the ongoing conflict in Iraq. If religion is on trial, the evidence against it so often seems damning. But is the picture really as grim as has been painted? Very little is heard in defence of religion and few attempts have been made to put the other side of the case. The essays in this volume are among the first systematically to explore the role of religion as a force for peace, both historically and in the contemporary world. They focus on the efforts that have been made by individuals, communities and religious groups to secure conflict-resolution and replace hostility with tolerance and mutual respect. Specific topics explored include: nationalism and religious conflict; revolution and religious wars; the impact of secularisation; ethnicity and religion; conflict over holy places; and making and keeping the peace. ~ Product Description
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The Wisdom to Doubt is a major contribution to the contemporary literature on the epistemology of religious belief. Continuing the inquiry begun in his previous book, Prolegomena to a Philosophy of
Religion, J. L. Schellenberg here argues that given our limitations and especially our immaturity as a species, there is no reasonable choice but to withhold judgment about the existence of an ultimate salvific reality. Schellenberg defends this conclusion against arguments from religious experience and naturalistic arguments that might seem to make either religious belief or religious disbelief preferable to his skeptical stance. In so doing, he canvasses virtually all of the important recent work on the epistemology of religion. Of particular interest is his call for at least skepticism about theism, the most common religious claim among philosophers. The Wisdom to Doubt expands the author's well-known hiddenness argument against theism and situates it within a larger atheistic argument, itself made to serve the purposes of his broader skeptical case. That case need not, on Schellenberg's view, lead to a dead end but rather functions as a gateway to important new insights
about intellectual tasks and religious possibilities. ~ Product Description
Alan M. Dershowitz (Warner: Mar 1, 2000), 288 pages.
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Dershowitz turns to 10 stories from Genesis to demonstrate how the Bible provides a basis for contemporary ideas about justice and injustice. The narratives deal with Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Dina, Tamar and Joseph. Dershowitz includes a translation of each story, recounts some theological commentaries and offers his own interpretations. He acknowledges the failings of the biblical characters, pointing out that they were guilty of deception, lust, crime, incest, revenge and murder. Their problematic actions highlighted the need for the laws that appear later in the Torah, starting with Exodus and the Ten Commandments. The book concludes with four chapters on "The Genesis of Justice in the Injustice of Genesis." Dershowitz argues that the "bad actions" depicted in Genesis gave rise to the "common law of justice." He addresses the question of theodicy, claiming that the belief in the hereafter solves the problem of why evil exists on earth. Finally, he asserts that the stories he has examined explain the need for judicial codes. The book makes an important contribution by clearly validating this claim, although Dershowitz disregards the stories' significance as a basis for moral and ethical development. ~ Publishers Weekly
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English ethicist Jonathan Glover begins with the now commonplace observation that the last 100 years were perhaps the most brutal in all history. But the problem wasn't that human nature suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse: "It is a myth that barbarism is unique to the twentieth century: the whole of human history includes wars, massacres, and every kind of torture and cruelty," he writes. Technology has made a huge difference, but psychology has remained the same — and this is what Glover seeks to examine, through discussions of Nietzsche, the My Lai atrocity in Vietnam, Hiroshima, tribal genocide in Rwanda, Stalinism, Nazism, and so on. There is much history here, but Humanity is fundamentally a book of philosophy. In his first chapter, for instance, Glover announces his goal "to replace the thin, mechanical psychology of the Enlightenment with something more complex, something closer to reality." But he also seeks "to defend the Enlightenment hope of a world that is more peaceful and more humane, the hope that by understanding more about ourselves we can do something to create a world with less misery." The result is an odd combination of darkness and light — darkness because the subject matter of the 20th century's moral failings is so bleak, light because of Glover's earnest optimism, which insists that "keeping the past alive may help to prevent atrocities".
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International news accounts describe mind-blowing horrors of child prostitution, state-sponsored religious persecution, racial violence, torture and genocide. What can we possibly do in response? Can ordinary Christians make a difference? And where is the God of justice? The good news about injustice is that God is against it. Gary Haugen explains that God is in the business of using the unlikely to accomplish justice and mercy. This book offers stories of courageous Christians who have stood up for justice and also calls the body of Christ to action. Haugen provides concrete guidance on how Christians can rise up to seek justice throughout the world.
