Art and Academics

As a BTS student, I have to read a lot of commentaries. Commentaries are great for getting some really good information to write papers, but honestly, they get pretty dry. I've been taking an Aesthetics class with VDB this semester which has opened my mind to the truth telling properties of various art forms. Recently, I had the very great pleasure of stumbling upon a commentary that took all that is good and informative in traditional commentaries, and presented the information in a free-verse poetic style. That little touch of art really made the academic chore transform into a pleasure. You can check it out here. What do PFCers think of mixing art and academia? This type of creative writing fits well in the philosophical tradition as started by the dialogues of Socrates.

Peter Hitchens Author Interview--The Rage Against God

The Rage Against God is an excellent book and is available in the Providence Bookstore.

Interesting book...

Truth Considered & Applied: Examining Postmodernism, History, and Christian Faith
by Stewart E. Kelly

Here is a book that should be of interest to philosophy, theology, and history students, as well as perhaps everybody else.  The author, Stewart E. Kelly, is professor of Philosophy at Minot State University.  More information about the book can be found here.

- Dr. V

Trends in Christian Philosophy Books

This month Zondervan is publishing Four Views on Divine Providence. It is the most recent book in their growing "Counterpoints" series. If you're not familiar with this series, it consists of books on various important topics in philosophy and theology, with several authors of differing viewpoints each contributing a chapter. These books are designed to give readers an overview of the various Christian perspectives on an issue, and allow them to make up their own mind on which is the best position. (Brazos Press has also recently published a book in a similar vein, entitled Christianity and the Postmodern Turn: Six Views.) The Counterpoints series has three sub-series:

• Counterpoints: Bible & Theology
• Counterpoints: Exploring Theology
• Counterpoints: Church and Life

I confess that I like these kind of "multi-perspective" books because they feature top-notch scholarship and promote civil dialogue amongst Christians. They teach us how to disagree, and how to consider opposing views instead of dogmatically ignoring a view you don't agree with. They help avoid the straw person fallacy, foster critical thinking, and demonstrate that Christian unity doesn't require uniformity on every topic.

Still, it's interesting to think about what the popularity of these kind of books signals about Christianity in the 21st century. After all, it's hard to imagine the Counterpoints series being published one hundred years ago. Is it possible to interpret the success of these books as a result of the pluralistic contemporary culture that Western Christianity exists within, a culture that loves "perspectives"? Or to see them as an example of the fractured or branched nature of the church?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that while I'm looking forward to reading some of these books, I'm also curious about the changes within the Western Christian subculture, and in the larger Western culture, that led to a desire for these kind of books.

Thoughts?