Welcome to the Library!
Here I have provided a list of books that I have read, or that I have been recommended by those I trust. Each of the books listed is followed by an abstract of the piece. The book titles have been hyperlinked so that if you desire to purchase the book through Amazon, you may do so.
I have found that these books have really influenced me and the way that I think about Christian and Classical education. Furthermore, they are simply worthwhile reads! They have truly enriched my life in deep ways.
Please feel free to ask me to borrow the books as I have many of them. Enjoy!
I have found that these books have really influenced me and the way that I think about Christian and Classical education. Furthermore, they are simply worthwhile reads! They have truly enriched my life in deep ways.
Please feel free to ask me to borrow the books as I have many of them. Enjoy!
Books Related to Human FlourishingNOTE: By clicking on the title's of the books & essays, you will be directed to amazon.com or more information (such as reviews) and purchase options. If the book is available online at some other source, then I will provide that as well. Eighth-Day Books: Great Classical and Christian Books here! Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation (Cultural Liturgies Vol. I) James K.A. Smith of Calvin College has written this very fine work on how the purpose of Christian education is all about FORMATION and not information. He presents a compelling argument for why we, as humans, are not primarily thinking or cognitive beings (think Descartes' cogito ergo sum, 'I think, therefore I am'). Rather, he makes the case, with St. Augustine in his corner, that we are primarily desiring, worshipping, and affective beings, and that our desires are ALWAYS oriented toward something. It is only a matter of asking 'What are they directed to?, and why?' He argues that the Christians do a bad job overall of combatting what he identifies as the liturgies of the culture - those things that shape our hearts, that point our desires and affections away from God and his Kingdom. Education, therefore, is about redirecting and recovering what we were made FOR as humans: the love and worship of God. I HIGHLY recommend this! A Meaningful World: How the Arts and Sciences Reveal the Genius of Nature. We have this book at the school if you would like to borrow it. Just come see me. Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense. This book is written by N.T. Wright. It has been called by some, "The Mere Christianity of the 21st century." Herein, Wright does a beautiful job of weaving together the broad tapestry of God's Redemptive Story - ultimately redeeming all aspects of creation. I very highly recommend this. One of our very own faculty members, upon reading this said to me, "I never knew the Gospel could be so exciting!" Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church. This is another book by N.T. Wright. It is a more accessible, abbreviated form of his larger work "The Resurrection of the Son of God". In this book, Wright provides a timely reminder and challenge that we must reorient our vision of our lives here and now with the life of God's future that has dawned with Jesus' Resurrection from the dead. He wants us to see all of life: salvation, mission, ministry, education, etc. all through the lenses of creation, resurrection, and new creation! I HEARTILY recommend! The Abolition of Man. I realized that I did not have this work listed. This work is short, but do not be deceived. It can be heavy at times. C.S. Lewis here has critiqued what was for him the current state of where education was heading. Particularly, he was concerned with what would happen when we divorce morals and ethics from education. He critiques a textbook of his time and mines the variety of cultural religions to show that some absolute morals, ethics, and aesthetics exist across the spectrum and are shared with the Judeo-Christian belief system. This book has proved to be prophet in the least and a clarion call for us today. It is a must read. NOTE: click HERE to read the full-text version online in case you did not want to purchase it from Amazon (click on the title above). Education for Human Flourishing: A Christian Perspective. Another faculty member has read this book, which was co-written by a Wheaton College professor, Steven Loomis. Summarily, the book is concerned with the split that has occurred between morals and academics. Leaning on the classic work, "The Abolition of Man" by C.S. Lewis, this book could be a thought provoking and challenging book that is FOR holistic Christian education. Thesis: "The purpose of this book is to revive and ground a perennial philosophy of eduction that integrates essential tenets of the Christian faith." The Weight of Glory: This is a collection of essays/talks that Lewis gave and was compiled by Walter Hooper. Here is a quote from his talk, "The Weight of Glory": "Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink...and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased" (p.26). Lewis beautifully and hauntingly why we do not "rub shoulders with mere mortals." Here, Lewis speaks of what it really means to love our neighbors. The Great Divorce: Take a tour through Heaven and Hell! You may be surprised how Lewis describes this. To Lewis, heaven is the place where everything is REALLY REAL. Heaven is not a ghostly, cloudy place with harps, etc. Rather, Lewis sees heaven as very physical, but more physical than you and I know in our experience. This is a place where it hurts, at first, to walk on the grass, or to walk on the water. Over time, we adjust to this new physicality, but as we do so, we find ourselves ever growing. Along the way we meet a variety of characters in whom we see ourselves. |
Essays & ArticlesThe essay that began the Classical Christian Movement that we see today was Dorothy Sayers' "The Lost Tools of Learning." You can find it Here.
August, 2012: "The Church Fathers on Creation Part 1: Why do we care what the early fathers think?" (CiRCE Institute). April-May, 2011: "The Art of Seeing" (CirCE Institute) The art of seeing?! I think I see just fine, thank you. However, we might ask the question, "How do I approach education? A text of literature or the Bible? A piece of art? A piece of music? What is the end goal of our educational pursuit in all of its facets? February 11, 2011: This is a very fine essay on "How to Mark a Book" by Mortimer Adler. I would highly recommend it. It is more accesible, and give us a lot to chew on in relatively few words. March 2, 2010: -This article is an edited interview with Nicholas Wolterstorff entitled, "It's tied together by shalom." In here, Wolterstorff describes the Hebrew word, shalom, and its broad translation being "FLOURISHING". I love this word very much! I would heartily recommend this short interview as he applies this concept of shalom to education. -Another great interview of Robert Louis Wilken entitled, "Ordered from the Beginning." Here, Wilken goes back into the structure/order of the early Church and shows how it is within this framework that there is true endurance of the faith. Here is an excerpt with a particularly classical flavor: "By reading books that are old, you acknowledge a kind of humility … because you acknowledge your dependence, that your thoughts trail behind others’. Which means there’s a receptivity and humility by going to texts that have been proven either because they’ve been used a lot or they have a kind of authority… You give them something. Which means you’re more open. When one begins to hear somebody who speaks with depth, wisdom, intelligence or elegance, you don’t start with being critical. You want to absorb. You want to take in. But the process of taking in generates something within you. But you don’t live where or when that person lived, so you’re going to have different thoughts. There’s a kind of vitality that springs from such interaction." -Here is an article from Christianity Today (Christian History) that I read a while back on the impact that the music of J.S. Bach was having on Japanese musicians. There was something so orderly and beautiful about Bach's music that many of the musicians were converting to Christianity.
Here is an interview of Walter Hooper, the editor of C.S. Lewis' posthumous works of the last 45 years. Hooper got to know Lewis before he died and has spent his later life compiling essays, letters, and other writings of Lewis for the public. Mark Neal, a friend of mine, conducted the interview in October which has been published both for the Naperville Examiner and the California C.S. Lewis Society. Here is the article.
Clyde Kilby was an English professor at Wheaton College for many years, and his influence continues still today. I have scanned two pdf files (below) of his "Resolutions for Mental Health". I have found that when I periodically refer to them, I am reminded of who I am, and who I am called to be - often much different than how I feel in the present moment. Enjoy!
Personal WritingsBelow are links to some of my personal writings.
1. October, 2010: I had the great privilege of writing a book review on four creation care books that were released earlier this year. After the review, I offered my own thoughts on the matter. You can read it here online, or in the October print edition. 2. I wrote this post on my church's men's ministry blog. I have been reflecting on the idea of prayer and work (ora et labora), and how we are like Jesus and Paul in that we are both priests and sacrifices in the world and for the sake of the world. |