Archive for the ‘Book Reviews’ Category

Classics for the Contemporary Christian: Freud’s Non-Libidinal Rub

What do you want, purpose or happiness? If you don’t think the two pursuits are exclusive, take it up with Freud, who says as much in his treatise Civilization and its Discontents. “The idea of life having a purpose stands and falls with the religious system,” he said. “We will therefore...
March 15th, 2010 | Book Reviews, Culture, Religion | Read More

Classics for the Contemporary Christian: Is Your Identity As You Like It?

If the world is a stage, we like putting on the same shows. The Matrix, The Truman Show, Equilibrium…not original. Even in Shakespeare’s 17th century comedy As You Like It, we confront the suggestion that the world is a sham and humans are the sham’s pawns. At surface-level, the play is a ball...
March 8th, 2010 | Book Reviews, Culture, Media | Read More

Classics for the Contemporary Christian: The Straits of Orthodoxy

I have a bone to pick with G.K. Chesterton about his book Orthodoxy. It took me a ridiculously long time to read. He just had to go and make every sentence so delicious and profound that I was forced to sit back after every line in order to laugh at his wit or furiously scribble notes. Think I’m...
March 3rd, 2010 | Book Reviews, Culture, Media, Religion, Worldviews | Read More

Classics for the Contemporary Christian: Er…Kommunistischen?

Communism’ is a likely candidate for ‘touchiest word of the 20th century’. While the word evokes many high-charged reactions, two seem consistent among American conservatives: First, communism is associated with naïve hippies who think there should be no war and want to sing ‘Why Can’t We...
February 24th, 2010 | Book Reviews, Politics, Worldviews | Read More

Everyday Justice and Lent

“Welcome, dear feast of Lent!” George Herbert, English country priest and poet wrote in Lent (1633). Last week, the western church entered the season of solemn preparation to remember Christ’s great sacrifice and victory over sin and death, and in a short while our eastern brothers and sisters...
February 23rd, 2010 | Book Reviews, Creation Care, Human Rights, Other, Religion, Social Justice | Read More

Declare the Word in Zion: America and the Middle East

Relations between the United States and the Middle East have always been complicated.  Given that the Middle East enjoys complicated relationships with every other region in the world as well—including itself—this should come as no surprise. On 9/11, however, many Americans were surprised.  In...
February 22nd, 2010 | Book Reviews, Foreign Affairs, Global War on Terrorism, Judaism, Media, Politics, Religion | Read More

Angel Time: Anne Rice Branches Out

Teenage fan girls take note: vampires are so mid-2009.  Now that the vampire stereotype has come full circle, from Stoker’s rabid monsters to Meyers’ glittering gods, angels may develop their own marketing demographic– at least if Anne Rice’s latest series is any indication.  While Rice’s...
February 11th, 2010 | Book Reviews, Media | Read More

Classics for the Contemporary Christian: Meet Machiavelli

Meet Nick. He is a wealthy man, and he works for President Noble as a high-powered ambassador. In a radical upset, Noble is ousted at the next election, and President Masse takes power. Nick continues to work at the capital for Masse—after all, it pays the bills. In the next election, Noble manages...
February 10th, 2010 | Art & Literature, Book Reviews, Culture, Media, Politics | Read More

Classics for the Contemporary Christian: Digging into Darwin

Darwin’s Dead and He Ain’t Coming Back…or so the Christian bumper sticker says. Personally, my favorite is the one of the Jesus fish eating the upside-down mutant fish with legs labeled ‘Darwin’. In the Jesus vs Darwin showdown, apparently survival of the fittest is true...
February 3rd, 2010 | Art & Literature, Book Reviews, Intelligent Design, Religion, Science | Read More

Finding Flannery

Flannery O’Connor famously claimed that “there won’t be any biographies of me because, for only one reason, lives spent between the house and the chicken yard do not make exciting copy.” Happily, Brad Gooch has begged to differ.
January 28th, 2010 | Art & Literature, Book Reviews | Read More