Friday, July 18, 2008

Anti-intellectualism No Answer to Dead Orthodoxy

"At many times in history, Christians reacted against academic versions of theology that deaden life. Examples like the Great Awakenings, the rise of Pietism, Kierkegaard's rejection of state Lutheranism, and the charismatic renewals come to mind. Too often, evangelicals today replace dead orthodoxy with anti-intellectual activism or moralism rather than with theologically vital spirituality. The model of piety valued most among evangelicals typically stresses inward moral holiness and outward Christian service set in opposition to reflective thought.

"...Indeed, the church cannot avoid theology in seeking to fulfill its mission. Though some think they can suspend theology, avoid the academic stratosphere, and achieve practical relevance, they succeed only in replacing a well-considered theology with a hodgepodge of theological scraps randomly interlaced with cultural ideas." - David Clark, To Know and Love God: Method for Theology, pp. 208-209.


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Thursday, July 03, 2008

Books on Marriage

Steve McCoy continues his series of posts on Big 5 book recommendations. His latest entry is on parenting and the one before that was on marriage (at which I chimed in with my picks).

Related, today I came across Paul Buckley's pointer to a helpful comparative chart rating 30 Christian books on marriage in various areas. It came as no surprise to me that two of the most popular volumes fared poorly in the areas of biblical support and theological soundness. Full reviews of each of the books are available here.