Short book review: Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith by Fr. Robert Barron

Although Fr. Barron clearly, as the title itself indicates, intended this book to be an introduction to Catholicism, I think that what he has written here is an excellent introduction to Christianity as a whole. And I say that in spite of the two swipes (on pages 3 and 164) he takes at the Orthodox Church, of which I myself am a member. Other than perhaps his understanding of the interrelations of the three divine persons in the Trinity, which seems to be based largely around the filioque, and, of course, his discourse on papal infallibility, there was hardly a thing I could find with which I disagreed. In fact, that may be the greatest message that I took away from the book, probably contrary to Fr. Barron's desires: that perhaps East and West aren't so different after all.

Fr. Barron is, in turns, poetic and intellectual throughout the book. His initial descriptions of the Incarnation (pages 9-10) and the liturgy (pages 172-4), for instance, are so beautiful they could easily become verse. And his discussion of God (chapter 3), for example, wonderfully breaks down very difficult and rather heady concepts in language that anyone can understand. Adding to the beauty of the book are the black and white photographs of some of the most beautiful sites in Christendom sprinkled throughout the book and the wonder-evoking set of color photographs in the center.

Also contributing to the excellence of this book are the numerous short quotations, bits of wisdom, and anecdotes sprinkled throughout. For these, Fr. Barron draws especially heavily on modern Christian thinkers like Paul Tillich, Thomas Merton, and Edith Stein, giving us a presentation of a Christianity that has grappled with the great problems of the modern and postmodern world and its thought as encapsulated by such figures as Marx and Freud (whom Fr. Barron references specifically). In course, he demonstrates to the reader that Christianity is not the medieval superstition and antiquated silliness some would like to paint it as, but it continues to be what it has always been: the Truth, the way to Life from the realm of unbecoming.

I recommend this book as an introduction to Christianity for the newcomer and an engaging refresher for the experienced – with a uniquely but not exclusively Catholic flavor. I especially recommend that all Catholics have a read of this book.

Why I'm not an atheist 11: If you don't go to church, you're not a Christian

Why I'm not an atheist 10: The Holy Orthodox Church

The humor of the Incarnation

It all begins with a jest. The essence of comedy is the coming together of opposites, the juxtaposition of incongruous things. So we laugh when an adult speaks like a child or when a simple man finds himself lost amid the complexities of sophisticated society. The central claim of Christianity -- still startling after two thousand years -- is that God became human. The Creator of the cosmos, who transcends any definition or concept, took to himself a nature like ours, becoming one of us. Christianity asserts that the infinite and the finite met, that the eternal and the temporal embraced, that the fashioner of the galaxies and planets became a baby too weak even to raise his head. And to make the humor even more pointed, this incarnation of God was first made manifest not in Rome, Athens, or Babylon, not in a great cultural and political capital, but in Bethlehem of Judea, a tiny outpost in the corner of the Roman Empire. One might laugh derisively at this joke -- as many have over the centuries -- but, as G.K. Chesterton observed, the heart of even the most skeptical person is changed simply for having heard this message. Christian believers up and down the years are those who have laughed with delight at this sacred joke and have never tired of hearing it repeated, whether it is told in the sermons of Augustine, the arguments of Aquinas, the frescoes of Michelangelo, the stained glass of Chartres, the mystical poetry of Teresa of Avila, or the little way of Thérèsa of Lisieux. It has been suggested that the heart of sin is taking oneself too seriously. Perhaps this is why God chose to save us by making us laugh.

Fr. Robert Barron, Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith, pp. 9-10

The mystery of the Incarnation demands our joy

Short book review: France in the Enlightenment by Daniel Roche

This relatively lengthy book is actually not a single book at all but a collection of small books on just about every topic one can write about in regards to the Enlightenment. There are chapters on perception of space and time, on the relationship of the king to his subjects, and on such seeming minutiae as the rise in the popularity of coffee and chocolate. And Daniel Roche masterfully weaves all of these various subjects together into a single, cohesive whole, explaining, for instance, how new trends in furniture during the Enlightenment were linked to new ideas of space, freedom, and luxury.

Before approaching this book, I knew a fair amount about the great thinkers of the Enlightenment and their ideas. I had read Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. But, in retrospect, I hardly understood the Enlightenment as a whole and had no conception whatsoever of the way the various pieces fit together. Roche did that and more, filling in the numerous blank spaces in my understanding of the Enlightenment as a whole and of particular aspects and personalities of the Enlightenment and, perhaps most importantly, bringing them all together in a cohesive way.

Roche's assessments are always fair and well-reasoned. Where disagreement exists on any matter, he never fails to point out the disagreement, to summarize the best arguments for both sides of the divide, and to direct us to the best proponents of each position.

This is a fascinating book from front to back and one that I highly recommend for anyone with an interest in history and/or who is seeking to understand the Enlightenment and the effect that it continues to have on us today.

Why I'm not an atheist 9: Mystical experiences

Pagan origins of Christmas

A Hindu scholar on what it means to be human

Sex Ed. and the Enlightenment

In this society impotence and sterility were a source of dishonor and a butt of mockery. Few cases achieved notoriety, however. Men dealt with problems of this sort by consulting a magician, priest, or physician. A vast literature offered advice on procreation -- "unraveling the braid of Venus" and overcoming other curses that prevented conception -- designed to produce vigorous, healthy, handsome offspring. Contemporary science confirmed the fecundating omnipotence of paternal semen, but not without controversy. In 1673 Stenon and De Graaf discovered the female ovaries. "Fertility is wholly vested in the female," Maupertuis asserted. But the roughly contemporary observation of spermatozoa by Ham, Leeuwenhoek, and Hartsoeker reinstated the male virtue. It would be a century more before the necessity of both egg and sperm was demonstrated. Procreation meanwhile remained a teachable art with its own psychology, dietetics, gymnastics, and even meteorology. In this golden age, paternity was a struggle.

Daniel Roche, France in the Enlightenment, pg. 525

The Art of Dying Well by Peter Fenwick

Thanksgiving

Why I'm not an atheist 8: Meaninglessness

Why I'm not an atheist 7: Christ is Risen!

All share in the joy of Christmas

Why I'm not an atheist 6: The Resurrection of Christ

Short book review: Africans: The History of a Continent by John Iliffe

This book was a superb overview of the history of Africa. For the great length of history and great geographic area that this book covers in only about 300 pages, Illife does a fantastic job of ensuring that the reader is familiar with the great events of African history, spending just the right amount of time on each topic and always sure to discuss the various economic, political, cultural, religious, etc. factors of each period and place. For those who know little (as I did) about the history of Africa and want to begin to learn more, this is definitely the book to start with.

Short book review: History of Africa by Kevin Shillington

I have to be honest and admit that until reading this book I was very uninformed about the history of Africa outside of Egypt and Ethiopia and in any other periods than the ancient and Medieval. This book was a great general introduction to the history of Africa from the dawn of man through to modern times. The illustrations and pictures, both modern and historic, that were featured were very helpful in bringing the subjects to life. The flow of the text itself helped very much in connecting the dots and helping me to understood the flow of African history from one event, period, person, etc. to the next. Overall, I would recommend this is a good general introduction to the history of Africa that would come in use to someone who, like me, knew little to nothing about the history of this great continent.

Why I'm not an atheist 5: Christ-Myth Hypothesis

Why I'm not an atheist 4: The phantom menace of "religion"

Why I'm not an atheist 3: Moral objections

Why I'm not an atheist 2: Oustanding examples

Why I'm not an atheist 1: Logical inconsistencies

Reflections on humanity with a Baptist pastor

Видеоклип "Хвали, душе моя, Господа"

Nigel Beale - You are Your Passion: How I Became a Literary Tourist

Nigel Beale is the Literary Tourist. He has packaged up his passion for books and has been traveling across North America to explore rare book libraries, hunt through used bookstores, attend author readings, and generally enjoy the literary things in life. In his journey, he has found the golden key to open the door to making a living doing what you love.

His website: Literary Tourist

A Baptist pastor on what it means to be human

Ritual in Worship

Stupid Atheist Tricks 3: Antisemitism

Hellenism, Judaism, and the formation of Western Civilization

Short book review: The Renaissance Philosophy of Man, ed. Ernst Cassirer

This book is a fascinating introduction not just to the "Renaissance philosophy of man" (as the title has it) but to Renaissance philosophy in general. The introductions to each piece presented are excellent and informative; I was particularly impressed with the editors' linking of the Renaissance with the developments of the Middle Ages which produced the movement, factors too often overlooked and too great to be missed. The pieces selected are simply amazing. Pico della Mirandola's "Oration on the Dignity of Man" has been one of my favorite pieces of writing in all of history (not just the Renaissance) since the first time I read it. It was illuminating to be able to see it placed within the context of the spectrum and historical development of Medieval and Renaissance thought, to see where his ideas came from and where they led to in the minds and hands of others. I recommend this book for anyone interested in the Renaissance, anyone interested in filling in the gap between Medieval and Enlightenment philosophy, and anyone interested in being a human being.

Graham Hill: Less stuff, more happiness

5 Logical Fallacies That Make You Wrong More Than You Think

Cracked.com (yes, I'm actually an avid reader there) published an article today on "5 Logical Fallacies That Make You Wrong More Than You Think." As with most Cracked articles, it's funny, vulgar, and extremely informative. I recommend giving it a read!

Origins of the dignity of man

The idea of the dignity of man has a long and rather complex history. The praise of man as the inventor of the arts and crafts, as a microcosm, as a being distinguished by speech and by reason, is a common theme of ancient thought and literature. The notion that man is closer to God than any other earthly creature appears in Genesis and pervades all the Old Testament. Early Christian emphasis on the salvation of mankind and on the incarnation of Christ also implied a special position of man in the world, and some of the Church Fathers developed this notion and fused it with the conceptions inherited from pagan antiquity. All these ideas were repeated with new emphasis during the Renaissance. Gianozzo Manetti composed a treatise On the Excellency and Dignity of Man as a counterpart to Innocent III's work On the Misery of Man. Ficino, in his Theologia Platonica, gave an additional philosophical importance to the conception by stressing man's universality and his central position in the universe. Pico, who was undoubtedly familiar with most of these previous statements, introduced, however, an important new element. He emphasized not so much man's universality as his liberty. Man is the only creature whose life is determined not by nature but by his own free choice; and thus man no longer occupies a fixed though distinguished place in the hierarchy of being but exists outside this hierarchy as a kind of separate world.

Paul Oskar Kristeller, The Renaissance Philosophy of Man, pg. 219