Dwarfs and Giants Podcast

 

“Philosophy without the history of philosophy, if not empty or blind, is at least dumb.”

- Wilfrid Sellars, Sciene and Metaphysics: Variations on Kantian Themes (1965)

My good friend Angus Courtney has started his own podcast! It’s very good, and can be found either on iTunes under ‘Dwarfs and Giants’, or on his website http://www.dwarfsandgiants.com/

The podcasts seem to be about history and theology, particularly about how history may have subtly shaped theological ideas and our reactions to them. If you are into either of these topics, or are into listening to smooth, calming baritones speak to you through your iPod, you should check it out!

I’ll be listening.

Princeton 2

I Love Music

Every now and then a song comes along and reminds me that music is one of my favourtie things in life. Thanks to Bel for putting me onto this little number!

Book Recommendation

I am about halfway through the new book by the good bishop, aka. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Ostensibly it is about the remainder of life after conversion, and particularly the importance of character. I’m finding it really stimulating and helpful. The book is trying to fry several fish at once, which at times makes it seem a little unfocused, but its main thoughts emerge clearly enough. The main point could be put like this (apologies to the author for my sloppy summary):

Humans have been created with a job to do. The Ancient Greeks like Plato and Aristotle knew this, and this is why they talked about virtue so much. Virtue is just a rough-and-ready translation of the Greek word arête which also means something like ‘excellence’, or ‘success’. The Greeks answered these questions falsely, but they were onto something with making virtue an important ethical category. To answer the question, ‘What is it to live a virtuous life?’ or ‘What is an excellent human life?’ or ‘What is a life of success?’ we need to have an answer to question of the ends of humanity. What is the purpose of humanity? What is its role in creation? What did God create and redeem humans to do? Answering these questions Christianly, must involve telling the story of the creator God, his relationship with Israel, and the job the disciples took upon themselves after the resurrection.

The book’s answers to these questions have been a little inspiring. At once they have tried to be more descriptive than ’give glory to God’, and more motivating then ‘don’t sin’. Here’s an excerpt to whet your appetite.

Worship and stewardship, generating justice and beauty: these are the primary vocations of God’s redeemed people. And the habits of the heart, mind, and life to which we are called are designed to form us, gradually and bit by bit, into people who can, with the hard-won “second nature” that we call virtue, freely and gladly take forward these tasks.

- N. T. Wright, After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters (2010), p. 83

Like his previous Surprised by Hope (2007), this is a really accessible book that is aimed at the popular level. It does a great job of retelling the whole biblical narrative, and presenting an account of how disparate parts of the bible fit together into the one story. Along the way it reclaims some important spiritual terrain of everyday life that evangelicals of the past few decades have been in danger of abandoning – including the importance and role of aesthetics, justice and work.

Heartily recommended!

p.s. I have a North American copy of the book, published by Harper Collins. In the past, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has published his popular level books with different publishers in North America and the rest of the world, and sometimes with entirely different titles. So if you’re hunting for this book in Australia, it may have a different name and cover. All part of his cunning ‘shock and awe’ infiltration tactics designed to distract us I suppose!

New York 2

Good espresso coffee. Dinosaurs. Jazz in the streets. Beautiful parks. New York has it all!