Stuck in the Present
This is the resource I have been wanting to recommend. It is clear, covers the critical issues without getting bogged down, and is the perfect antidote to some popular, but misguided ideas about the Bible.
Doreen and I were invited to a weekend where Bill was the featured speaker. He has the scholarly goods but is strong in making that scholarship compelling and accessible.
“Well, you people are slow. Bringing you people up to speed is like explaining Norway to a dog.”
The older I get (66 at the moment), the more I am reading or rereading the books that have stood the test of time: classics in literature, history, and poetry.
I have read several books by Yancey. When I saw that he had put Donne’s essays in modern form, it was a no-brainer to buy the book.
In short, these essays are beautifully rendered by Yancey. Donne’s process of struggling with the horror of death and dying is realistic. He doesn’t sugarcoat the awfulness of it or as Scripture says, that it is the final enemy.
Donne’s coming to peace through realizing that only fearing God made sense of life and death takes time, but journey with Donne as he goes there. It is time very well spent!
This is my third book I’ve read by this author. None have been duds.
My interview with the author on his terrific book about Madison’s political philosophy can be found here:
And my review of Garrett Sheldon’s memoir can be found here:
In The New History of Political Theory, Sheldon ably covers the political waterfront with brief, but meaty chapters on twenty key figures from Socrates to John Rawls. These twenty are covered in a little over 200 pages but be assured that the author presses much into this terrific book. I can report that my marginal notes almost equaled the number of pages in this book.
Early on, Sheldon poses this critical question, “Is man naturally social or naturally solitary?” Much hangs on how we answer that question, not only for our own lives, but also for the societies we want to inhabit. If we are social, and my vote is decidedly in the affirmative, then we need to be about the kind of community building that reflects that priority.
I just read Jesse Norman’s terrific, intellectual biography of Edmund Burke. I am happy to say that Sheldon has a chapter on Burke. Burke equally chided both those on the left and right that they had forgotten how important so-called social issues and interactions are in governing well.
Sheldon’s book is more than a primer on political philosophy. It thoughtfully forces us to wrestle with issues of grand significance. What is the nature of humans? Are we naturally good? And much more.
I often say that we Christians are more beholden to John Locke than John Calvin. Let Sheldon clarify why this may be the case. Being instructed by a master teacher and careful scholar will be time well spent.
Some of you know that we were in Boston last month to celebrate the graduation of our youngest son from Harvard Law School. As is our habit, we had dinner one night in the North End at one of their many, terrific Italian restaurants. As we were seated, my wife received a note that Randy had died. Overcome with grief I excused myself, went outside, and cried.
Doreen first met Randy nearly forty years ago. She and Randy worked together at Towson State University in the Baltimore, MD area. Because of Randy’s leadership in wanting to share the gospel, their small Cru staff team (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ) of three did more evangelism than schools that had many more Cru staff.
Randy and Pam recently moved to Austin. After leaving Cru, Randy transitioned to ministering through the C.S. Lewis Institute. We started meeting for fellowship and sharing a few, or more than a few, laughs. During one of our coffee shop conversations, a twenty-something guy introduced himself. He was disillusioned with the American church and so stopped going. It was wonderful to tag-team with Randy. Both of us have had our own concerns with the church.
From Boston we flew to England. In the most unlikely of places, we heard about Randy.
We attended a classic Anglican service (see picture) in the English countryside of Taynton which is part of the Cotswolds. After the service, we spent some time with the vicar who gave a wonderful message and shared his own concerns about the Anglican church. Tom studied at the evangelical school, Oak Hill College in London. I don’t remember what spawned his comment, but he told us that one of his favorite books in seminary was Randy’s Questioning Evangelism! That was a wonderful mercy of God and a great encouragement.
Randy was rightly known as funny, clever at asking questions, but I would like to add, a great listener. Here is Randy interviewing me on my latest book. You will find his trademark humor and ability to ask great questions, but authors appreciate someone like Randy who was an active listener:
In late May, our family was in Cambridge, MA to celebrate the graduation of our youngest son, Chris.
Chris’s time at Havard was terrific on all fronts: he excelled academically, made great friends, loved his Cambridge church, got to know some wonderful professors, AND met his girlfriend Yudi.
Here are a few pictures:
Our family: Reese, our daughter-in-law, our oldest son David, Chris, and us.
Chris listening to his favorite professor, the inestimable Jack Goldsmith.
It’s official!
In Hoffa’s Shadow details the riveting story of Jimmy Hoffa’s mysterious disappearance. It is amply supplied with roller-coaster drama and elegant writing.
The author is the stepson of Charles “Chuckie” O’Brien, the loyal and longtime assistant to Jimmy Hoffa. (I should add that the author is a professor at Harvard law school and a wonderful mentor to our youngest son.)
I well remember the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. My young assessment was that his Teamster job was really a front to make lots of money from his mobster connections. The reality, like many true things, is more complicated and compelling than the simple narrative I believed in high school.
Goldsmith artfully tells the story of his stepfather’s quest to gain his innocence. I am convinced that Chuckie had nothing to do with the disappearance and death of Hoffa. The story is told with judicious detail and an appropriate pathos that one would expect from a loving stepson.
But don’t be mistaken. This is not a hagiographical account. Goldsmith is quick to admit the many faults and foibles of his stepfather. Perhaps you noticed that Goldsmith did not keep his stepfather’s surname. I won’t go into why, but it underscores that this book is not some cheap, laudatory account. On the other end of the spectrum, it is equally not remotely in the Mommie Dearest genre.
If you are looking for an engaging book full of twists and turns, I highly recommend In Hoffa’s Shadow. I should add the subtitle: A Stepfather, a Disappearance in Detroit, and My Search for the Truth.
I could describe and defend the following seven statements at length but will hold off.
Various polls confirm the following observations. I am happy to know several Christians who have chosen a better way.
Many American Evangelicals are more concerned, even consumed, with being politically or culturally literate than knowing the Bible, the church’s history, and theology.
Discipleship, as Dallas Willard regularly declared, is almost non-existent.
We love resurrection power but have forgotten what it means to be crucified with Christ.
Too many churches tolerate unqualified leaders.
J.I. Packer said the greatest need of the church is Christian education (he used the word catechesis), but few have heeded his counsel.
Many of us are confused by what the gospel entails, and fewer still share it with others.
We are gladly stuck in our tribes and echo chambers.
It may seem odd to write a book about the value of not just reading, but also the importance of hearing the contents of a book. And not just any book, but the Bible.
Most people in the early church could not read. How did they grow in their understanding of God’s Word? How did they grow as disciples to ask the question that theologian Brad East recently posed? Answer: By hearing gifted readers.
These readers worked hard to emphasize the right places, pause at the right moments, and supply energy throughout. Their “performance” in the best sense of that word gave people understanding. Hearing the word read not only familiarized them with the material. It helped shape how they “felt” about the material. Quoting a wonderful line from Quintilian, Sandy reminds us that it is good to “add force to facts.” Even when people could read, the hearing of God’s Word created new levels of understanding.
If your church has been blessed with great readers of Scripture, then you know the power of hearing well-executed words. If you have not heard such readers, you are missing out on a considerable blessing and benefit.
Many of us know what it is like to hear a familiar passage from the Word of God read in such a way that it engenders all kinds of new insights. This deeper and more beautiful understanding is something that Sandy does a terrific job of explaining.
Each year, I get to read a lot of terrific books. Sandy’s book is one of the most edifying ones I have read in a long time. I will be recommending it with great enthusiasm.
Bruce Brander, riffing on the assessment of the great Henry Adams:
“…the miracles of modern technology were only mistaken for progress. They amounted to humanity’s drawing unprecedented sums of energy from sources outside itself, which testified to rapid exhaustion of people’s inner energies and personal resources and their growing dependence upon nature’s reserves to sustain and enhance their lives. Technology merely masked decline, then served to speed it along.” (emphasis mine)
Brander’s book which has not nearly received the attention it deserves, is here:
