Currently Reading:
Flickr Photos
Category Archives: Books
You Are Here (When Is That?)
The first half of Yuval Levin’s The Fractured Republic is an attempt to explain the contemporary American landscape by revisiting the major trends of the twentieth century. It’s a tall order that, from my perspective, he handles well and without … Continue reading
Nostalgia and Our Fractured Republic
If there’s a book out this summer that’s worth your time and money, it’s Yuval Levin’s The Fractured Republic. I read it a few weeks ago and have been mulling over it ever since. In the book, Levin draws a … Continue reading
Once More with Affection
Wendell Berry’s case for affection is an interesting and potent one, especially in light of a contemporary culture that seems content on consuming itself. And because of its limited use, affection could be a term that helps reinvigorate something vital … Continue reading
Epistemological Humility
Throughout his lecture on life in light of affection, Berry attempts to remind us of the significance of the local and the personal. Certain kinds of knowledge, certain kinds of ways of life, are ultimately antithetical to “the good life.” … Continue reading
Two Kinds of Knowledge
Abstraction is a powerful thing. It works in favor of whoever can wield it, really. Wendell Berry knows this, particularly when it comes to how we see the places around us (just as much as the people, really). In his … Continue reading
The Root and Fruit of Affection
Yesterday I wrote a bit about Wendell Berry’s “rescue” of imagination as preparation for understanding the importance of affection (which I will take as at least a form of what others might call love). Both terms are used by Berry … Continue reading
100 Years and the Land of Mordor
The New York Times recently posted a short piece about the life of JRR Tolkien and its connection to The Lord of the Rings. The author, Joseph Loconte, recently published a biography connecting Tolkien and Lewis. The article begins: In … Continue reading
Affection is Rooted in Imagination
What’s been interesting to me over the last few years of thinking through things like James K. Smith’s cultural liturgies concept (teased out well in You Are What You Love) is how the idea of what you love and how … Continue reading
Think Ahead: Books, Books, Books (or Just Keep Swimming)
In his letter to college freshmen who are Christians, Stanley Hauerwas introduces the idea of students being theologians, which he contextually defines as thinking about what you are learning in light of Christ. This does not happen by making everything … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Faith, Internet, Teaching
Leave a comment
The Back-Drop for the Age
This past weekend I had the opportunity to sit around a breakfast table and talk about James K. A. Smith’s You Are What You Love. It was an interesting conversation for me, as I’ve been pretty invested in Smith’s thinking … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Faith, Internet
Leave a comment
Space Enough, and Time 