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
Daniel J. Treier, Mark Husbands, and Roger Lundin, eds. (IVP Academic: Jun 2007), 233 pages.
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The 2006 Wheaton Theology Conference explored a wide-ranging Christian
approach to divine beauty and the earthly arts. Written and illustrated
by artists and theologians, these essays illuminate for us the
Christian significance of the visual arts, music and literature, as
well as sounding forth the theological meaning and place of the arts in
a fallen world-fallen, yet redeemed by Christ. A veritable feast for
pastors, artists, theologians and students eager to consider the
profound but not necessarily obvious connection between Christianity
and the arts. Editors Mark Husbands, Roger Lundin and Daniel J. Treier present ten essays that explore a Christian approach to beauty and the arts. Theology has much to contribute in providing a place for the arts in the Christian life, and the arts have much to contribute to the quality of Christian life, worship and witness. The essays consider the visual arts, music and literature, as well as the theological meaning and place of the arts in a fallen world redeemed by Christ.
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In his own words: "Doug is Professor of Philosophy in the Talbot
Department of Philosophy at Biola University (La Mirada, CA). He
teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in the areas of epistemology
and the philosophy of religion. In addition, he has taught courses on
the new atheism, and on film and philosophy. Doug is the author or
editor of several books. He is co-editor with Jim Spiegel of the book Faith, Film, and Philosophy: Big Ideas on the Big Screen.
He has lectured throughout the United States, and in Canada, England,
Scotland, Spain, France, Sweden, China, and Ukraine. Doug’s hobbies
include sea kayaking, reading outside his discipline, digital
photography, travel, and studying foreign languages. His favorite place
in the country is the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. He writes for
himself and others. He scavenges for useful tips for writing of all
kinds, for any of his hobbies, and for general life management. This blog is devoted to exploring all of these themes . . . and more. Doug has always believed that he fell into philosophy because he’s interested in so many seemingly unrelated things. As a philosopher, he lives with the illusion that they’re all connected."
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Its mission: "Some think church is irrelevant. Others, out on their own for the first
time, are attracted by all the world has to offer and put God on the
back burner. Yet many leave because they’ve come to doubt Christianity.
In fact, intellectual skepticism is a major reason cited by those who
have left. Our mission at CrossExamined.org is to
equip high school and college students to know
why Christianity is true,
how to defend it, and how to refute those who try to corrupt them."
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I'm an ex-Christian, but I think some part of me still clings to Christianity in a very loose, irrational sense, but I do not believe anymore and consider myself an Agnostic Atheist. I think spirituality is a personal thing and should be between the individual and whatever he or she chooses to focus on. In that regard, I respect others views regardless of whether or not I agree with them. I simply do not experience anything in my life that I would identify as God, but wouldn't ignore a grand revelation."
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Tagline: Analyses of God beliefs, atheism, religion, faith, miracles,
evidence for religious claims, evil and God, arguments for and against
God, atheism, agnosticism, the role of religion in society, and related
issues.
Scott B. Rae (Zondervan Publishing House: December, 1995)
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This Christian introduction to ethics familiarizes both seminary and secular university students with basic processes of ethical decision-making. Updated with a new chapter on the ethical issues involved in genetic technologies.
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This is in effect an anthology of selected writings dealing with the science vs. creationism issue. The author starts with Bishop Paley's famous blind watchmaker argument for a creator and brings the arguments up to date. As other reviewers have noted, the quality of the reading depends in some cases on the original author. However, Ruse has done a good job of including a variety of styles and levels, and a complete reading should give you a good overview of the arguments over the years. This makes a good reference book or a good reader for someone trying to familiarize themselves with the controversy. The extensive philosophical analysis of the trial arguments are indeed fascinating.
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