JOLLYBLOGGER

In Praise of Wreckless and Wanton Book-Buying

For all of you like me who can't  bring yourself to walk by a bookstore or browse an on-line catalog without buying at least something, and who also know good and well that you aren't going to read everything you buy, at least right now, here's an anecdote from the life of Umberto Eco that should give you encouragement to keep it up.

From the introduction of part one of The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb:

The writer Umberto Eco belongs to that small class of scholars who are encyclopedic, insightful, and nondull. He is the owner of a large personal library (containing thirty thousand books), and separates visitors into two categories: those who react with "Wow! Signore professore dottore Eco, what a library you have! How many of these books have you read?" and the others -- a very small minority -- who get the point that a private library is not an ego-boosting appendage but a research tool. Read books are far less valuable than unread ones. The library should contain as much of what you do not know as your financial means, mortgage rates, and the currently tight real-estate market allow you to put there. You will accumulate more knowledge and more books as you grow older, and the growing number of unread books on the shelves will look at you menacingly. Indeed, the more you know, the larger the rows of unread books. Let us call this collection of unread books an antilibrary.

Via Kottke

Christianity, Moralism, and Fiction

L. B. Graham has some great thoughts on the place of moralism in the Christian faith and in fiction:

Christianity is not about moralism, and Christian fiction shouldn’t be either. Christianity revolves, not around good behavior, but around God’s mercy shown to man in the death and resurrection of Christ. However, even though we know this to be theologically true, I think we struggle to remember this as we go about our daily lives, and one of the places where we really struggle to remember it is in our engagement with the arts in general, but as fiction is our topic, we’ll limit our reflection here to that.

I’m constantly surprised at how often fictional stories are judged to be Christian or not, based more or less on how well the characters behave themselves. Of course it is true that morality matters - God has taken great care to expound in some detail the moral laws which flow from and are an extension of His own character. It is also true, though, that the Bible itself is full of flawed men and women whom God used almost despite of rather than because of their moral triumphs. However, when Christian writers incorporate flawed heroes into their stories, men and women with moral failings of any significance, they are often left open to charges of having given dubious testimony to their Lord.

Read the rest

Mark Driscoll - Death by Love

What I love about the video below is that Driscoll deals with some of the most severe problems that people face and these are problems that even we as Christians would offer some kind of spiritualized "self-help" answers to. For voices in the head and night terrors and other things like this we would tend to offer therapy. For lust we would offer some kind of accountability program and a variation of a twelve-step process. For the reconciliation of a relationship damaged by abuse we would offer communication strategies and boundary setting advice.

In each case Driscoll is offering Jesus!! I can't wait to read the book.

The Collected Works of John Frame, Volume 1

This is a long overdue shoutout, and thanks to the good folks at P & R Publishing and Bits & Bytes Inc, for making available "The Collected Works of John Frame" on DVD in the Libronix Software format for the reading public.  They have published volume 1 at this time and there will be two more volumes coming out later this year and next, I understand.

I'll save myself the trouble of listing everything on this DVD by pointing you to the page at Bits & Bytes which has the list.  As you can see, it's got most of his books and a good number of shorter writings as well as audio resources for several courses he has taught. 

Quite frankly, we are beside our selves with joy over this.

I was introduced to the work of Dr. Frame in seminary while studying under his disciple/protoge Richard Pratt and I think he is the best theologian we have going in the reformed world today.

Here' s an interesting post by Andrew Sandlin on "The De-Intellectualization of the Reformed Movement."  I have to say that I bristle a bit at the way he characterizes many of the leaders in the reformed movement as being somewhat less than "intellectual."  But after he basically dispenses with every leader you and I know and love he says that John Frame comes the closest to a "public intellectual" in the reformed world today becomes he comes the closest to being a "paradigmatic" thinker.

Regardless of whether Frame is a "cut above" the rest, he is certainly unique in his willingness to think new thoughts while holding to confessionalism and this makes him one of the modern greats.

Many thanks to the Bits & Bytes folks for making this DVD available to me - how hurry up you guys, run out and get one before they are all gone.

Review of "Do I Know God?" by Tullian Tchividjian

This is a review of the book "Do I Know God?" by Tullian Tchividjian.  It was provided to me by the author and publisher and I am receiving no remuneration for this review (although Tullian was kind enough to sign the book for me!).

I could see this as the "go-to" book for people who are struggling with doubts about their faith or maybe for a hypothetical seeker who I am imagining in my mind who has heard and is wrestling with the gospel and wants to know more about what commitment to Christ will look like.

What I appreciate about this book is that it is a book on assurance but it doesn't follow the "assurance at all costs" approach that I have sometimes seen.  What I mean is that on more than one occasion I have heard evangelists and others tell people that once they have prayed a sinners prayer or something of the like that they should "nail down" the date and never doubt their salvation again. 

Tullian doesn't do this. In fact, though he doesn't quote him, Tullian in some ways follows the pattern of Jonathan Edwards in "The Religious Affections."  Edwards divides his book into two sections - the first one showing signs that are no certain proof that one's conversion is genuine, and the second showing those things which are distinguishing marks of genuine conversion.  Tullian does roughly the same thing here.

Now if you are a theologian wanting the full orbed treatment of assurance in excruciating detail by all means read Edwards - I myself hope to finish the Religious Affections some day - I've tried numerous times and can't make quite make it (henceforth I will call the Religious Affections my own personal literary Mt. Everest).

But if you want a book that is biblically and theologically sound that you can put in the hands of a normal person (that's right, by implication, theologians are not "normal" in the normal sense of that word) then I doubt you could do any better than this book.

As I say, I appreciate the way Tullian laid it out here.  Not only Edwards, but the Puritans and others in the past were far more concerned to distinguish true conversion from false, and I think this is something we've neglected in our day and to our peril.  He lays out six things that are no certain evidence of salvation:

1. It's not enough just to pray the sinners prayer or walk forward during an evangelistic invitation.
2. It's not enough to simply remember a time in your life when you made a decision for Jesus Christ.
3. It's not enough just to attend church, tithe, teach Sunday school, preach sermons, or commit yourself to religious activities.
4. It's not enough to dive into spiritual experiences apart from a relationship with the living God.
5. It's not enough to live a good life or be a good person.
6. It's not enough to profess that you have faith in Christ if your life never shows any evidence of new life.

Review of "Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities" by Roger E. Olson

This is a review of the book "Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities" by Roger E. Olson.  The book was graciously provided to me by the publishers and I am receiving no remuneration for this review.

I'll begin with a summary statement and say that this is an excellent book, one with which I have no complaints and one that I can recommend highly to you.  Some of you are shocked at this point, wondering why I, as a Calvinist can give such a ringing endorsement to a book in defense of Arminianism.

The reason is simply - Olson set out to clear up myths about Arminianism and thereby give an introduction and defense of Arminian theology and he accomplished his goal. 

This book is of great value to Calvinists and Arminians.  I suppose I ought to speak cautiously about how the book is valuable for Arminians, since I'm not one, but it seems to me that he does an admirable job of distinguishing the core beliefs of historical Arminian theology from some of its aberrations.  In each section of the book he deals with a particular myth/reality and shows how Arminian theologians throughout history have viewed the matter at hand.  He is particularly deferential to Arminius himself, but he is not afraid to point out where his followers have departed from orthodoxy.  He frequently mentions the leading Arminian theologians throughout history - Simon Episcopus, John Wesley, John Miley and H. Orton Wiley and affirms, criticizes and points out weaknesses in each where he believes it warrants.  He is particularly careful to distinguish the views of historic Arminianism from one of its leading propenents - Phillip Limborch.  While claiming to be an Arminian, Limborch went off the rails in many ways, and Olson thinks that he and his influence have contributed to the notion that Arminians are heterodox.  Charles Finney also receives his fair share of critisism in this.  So, as I say, I can't help but feel that this would be helpful to Arminians who want to better understand their own tradition.

The book will also be helpful to Calvinists because it gives us the chance to let an Arminian speak for himself and in this case I believe he does it in an articulate and irenic way.  I think I have seen a few criticisms on the internet charging Olson with being too harsh on or misrepresenting Calvinists - I don't exactly see it that way.  For one thing anyone is going to cheer for the home team and with Olson being an Arminian I could forgive him if he bristled and made an intemperate response to some Calvinists, although as I said, I don't remember anything particularly intemperate in the book.  I also fully expect him to see Calvinism through Arminian eyes and to not read Calvinism as sympathetically as a Calvinist would.  I think it's healthy for a Calvinist to see these kinds of reactions. 

But mostly, I think the greatest benefit for Calvinists is that in this book you get the chance to hear an articulate Arminian speak for himself.  For most Calvinists, we get our knowledge of Arminianism from our fellow Calvinists and we tend to spin things in the worst possible way when it comes to Arminianism.

J. P. Moreland on the Lifestyle of the "Empty Self"

Yesterday I reviewed J. P. Moreland's book, The Kingdom Triangle.  I wanted to share one of my favorite sections from the book - this is from his discussion of the "empty self" on page 147.   Aside from a bit of therapeutic language, I think t's one of the best broad statements on the psychology of sin that I have seen.

Pursuit of the demands of the empty self and the cultivation of a life of self-denial under Jesus'  lordship constitute two very different approaches to life that produce radically different sorts of people.  It is here that the two different understandings grab us by the throat, shake us to the core, and demand we make a choice of lifestyle strategies.  This choice is as important as any one you will ever make, and that is not religious hype; it is the sober truth.

If pleasurable satisfaction is your goal, then from morning to night your habituated focus will be on three things - "me, myself, and I."  You will constantly be monitoring your own happiness temperature, and your activities (job, recreation, church involvement) and other people (friends, spouse, children, and even God himself) will be mere things, objects that simply exist as a means to your own happiness.

You will have great difficulty forming meaningful attachments to other people.  If you are shy, you will withdraw from people - not to find solitude to reenter relationships with solid boundaries and emotional/spiritual refreshment, but to attack them and find safety that keeps you from having to change. You will hide from others and fail to give them what they need from you to grow in spiritual formation and friendship.  If you are outgoing, you will repress your fears and shame by becoming socially aggressive.  You will talk all the time in social situations and not develop skills as a good listener, or if you don't know how to listen to others, it will be a front to earn the right to turn the conversation back to you at the earliest opportunity.

After several years of this sort of life, you will become a self-absorbed, empty narcissist.  A culture of people w who live this way will be a culture that elevates celebrities.  A celebrity is someone given attention because of his or her image or ability  to get others to live their lives vicariously through the celebrity's life, such as it is.  This is an ugly form of codependency between trapped empty celebrities and passive empty fans!  Empty selves exchange a life of drama for Turkish Delight.

I would also add that there is a spiritual version of this and that is the one who is primarily concerned with their own spiritual growth.  Obviously, spiritual growth is the goal of the Christian life, but I think there is a slight change in semantics that can change us from spriitual narcissists to full bodied Christianity.  Rather than being primarily concerned about my own spiritual growth I need to be primarily concerned with knowing Jesus and loving others.  The one produces the other, but it is a slight change of direction that I think makes all the difference in the world. Just as I am no longer always taking my happiness temperature I am no longer always taking my spiritual temperature and getting all worked up at the many ways I fail.  I just get out of myself to love Jesus and love others.

Review of Finding God Beyond Harvard by Kelly Monroe Kullberg

Sometimes I fear that when I like something I can be too effusive in it's praise, such that my praise begins to lack a critical element that can spot weak points, and I begin to sound like nothing more than a fanboy.

Such will be the temptation in writing about the book Finding God beyond Harvard, by Kelly Monroe Kullberg.  It may be that this is one of the best books written in recent years, it may be that it was the right book for me at the right time, or it may be that something else just clicked that caused me to like it, but whatever the case, I can't think of a book I have read in recent years that has been more profitable.

It may be that this book gave me a fresh sense of beauty and wonder.  Being the pseudo-intellectual that I am and tending to gravitate toward the analytical and abstract (although I think I am changing in that regard) I have tended to purse, learn and seek to defend the truth of Christianity - a most necessary thing, especially today when the whole concept of truth is under attack.

I suppose it was my friend Glenn Lucke who helped start crystallizing some disparate thoughts of mine with his thoughts on the twin appeals of Scripture - appeals to truth and joy.  I wrote about this here and Glenn mentioned that, in his ministry, when he began with an appeal to truth, he seldom got to joy and sometimes he really never got to truth with someone.  When he began his ministry to individuals with an appeal to joy, he always got to truth.

If Glenn focused on the twin appeals of Scripture as appeals to truth and joy I think we could do something analogous and speak of the twin attributes of the Christian faith.  The twin attributes are truth and beauty.  And by the way, I think there are many others, certainly "goodness' would fall in there and we could have a fruitful discussion on the Christian faith as the fulfillment of the true, the good and the beautiful.

I have always majored on Christianity as true, I am not sure I have grasped the fullness of what it means that Christianity is beautiful.  Yes, yes, I know it as a concept, but I am not sure I have grasped this fully.

Enter "Finding God Beyond Harvard."

Review of "Sway" by Ori and Rom Brafman

Those of you who have been with me for awhile will know that one of my favorite books in recent years is "The Starfish and the Spider" by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom.   I've mentioned it several places, here and here are a couple of places you can go to find a few of my thoughts.

So imagine my joy when I found out that Ori Brafman was working on a new book, this time enlisting his brother Rom as co-author.  That new book is called Sway and I am very grateful that the author and publisher sent me a pre-release copy to review.

This book is subtitled "The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior."  I will say this to start with.  I've got about four other books in the queue ahead of this one needing review.  I got the book yesterday and decided to read the preface so I would know what I would be reading in the future.  I read that and chapter one looked good too.  Then chapter 2 illustrates one of the most important points of the book by discussing the rise of Steve Spurrier and the Florida Gators in the 1990's, so by then I was hooked.  I haven't read a book in a day in years, not even some of those little books you see out these days, but I had this one finished last night.

Ori is just a flat out great writer.  He knows how to seamlessly weave the didactic and illustrative to the point that you don't know where one begins and the other ends, and he is a master at the cliffhanger chapter ending.  You just have to keep reading to find out what is next, well at least I did - I found the book compulsively readable.  It is not hard reading at all, and the book is fairly short.  But it still makes some very sophisticated and profound points.

Review of "Here Comes Everybody" by Clay Shirky

In announcing the 2008 EO/Wheatstone Symposium Joe Carter asks bloggers to write an essay answering the question:

If the medium affects the message, how will the Christian message be affected by the new media?

While I am not writing this post to enter in the symposium (though I am still considering doing a separate one) the question is a good bridge to a review of Clay Shirky's book "Here Comes Everybody."

I first became aware of Mr. Shirky while looking for some responses to Andrew Keen's book The Cult of the Amateur, and found some of his writings at Many to Many.  And with that I have become aware of his blog of the same title as this book. and requested the opportunity to read and review the book.  So, many thanks to Mr. Shirky for giving me this chance.

Getting back to Joe's question, this book illustrates how the question of how the Christian message will be affected by the new media is simply a subset of the question of how any and all messages will be affected by the new media.  But it also shows that the new media is much bigger than a "message transmission" technology.

In one sense the "new media" of blogging, vlogging, podcasting, twittering, social networks and the like are much more than just "media," as we have come to think of it.  On the one hand it is the same because the new media still "mediates" information and in that sense it is like orality and writing.  On the other hand the new media does things that old media never did.