4/14/10

Current Reading

Ideas run the world, and ideas are often found in books. You'll have to forgive me, but the following is another current list of book readings. Just trying to know the world's ideas.

Deep Church by Jim Belcher- This book is essentially a philosophy of Christian ministry for a local church that listens to the popular criticisms on current Church methodology but still seeks to maintain a deep orthodoxy. It's one of the best books I've read on the subject, and it articulates a view of my own profession that I align with most closely, more than any other book I've read.

Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman- The main thesis of this classic of the last 40 years is that capitalism creates more contexts for freedom- religious, economic, political- than does any other form of economy. Friedman essentially argues that a full-on socialistic democracy is a contradiction in terms. While much of the 20th century proves that empirically, Friedman makes compelling economic arguments.

The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Conner- I'm a southerner. One of my favorite books is To Kill a Mockingbird, which without question is also my favorite movie. There's something about reading southern novelists of the early 20th century that resonates with the places I'm from and my own extended family, which also haunts a large part of who I am. Where others deal analytically with the content of O'Conner or Faulkner, I very much feel what they write in an existential way. I'm loving my journey through O'Conner.

The Christ of the Covenants by O. Palmer Robertson- If one accepts the historicity and infallibility of the Old and New Testaments as inspired Scripture of God, then the inevitable question of the unity of the Scripture arises. While many people have many different views on how the Scripture is unified, I'm entering a historic Christian tradition that accepts a view of the unity of Scripture called Covenant Theology. From what I've heard, Robertson's treatment on this subject is some of the best. I'm about halfway through and am soaking it up.

So happy reading to you. My exhortation is to always be reading something you love, something that challenges you, and something old. Read fiction and non-fiction. Plum the depths of your religious or spiritual tradition. Read books that encourage you. And read books that have influenced the intellectual greats through the ages. I'm still very much a learner in this process and have so much more to read in the years to come.

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