Uncertain Future, and Books!

It's been a while since I last posted. Lately, most of my posts have occasional. Something I've read online, or seen somewhere has occasioned my posts. Even now, this post is somewhat the case.

In their second podcast, the guys over at The Theology Studio played an interview they had with John Milbank. If you don't know who John Milbank is, he is one of the professors in the Theology Department here at Nottingham where I'm studying. In it, Milbank commented that graduate students (which here includes PhD students) probably should not have blogs. He sees it as an attempt to attain status and followers without putting in the work it takes to get the degree, or to get published. Note, despite what some say, Milbank is not saying blogging is bad, but that grad students probably shouldn't be blogging. This has made think about my own blog, which if I write in order to attain followers, I certainly do a bad job of it. So, the future of this blog, is for now in the proverbial wall.

In the second part of this post, I want to highlight some texts I've read over this past academic year. I won't give full on reviews, just a general list, a link to the texts on goodreads.com.Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene is an excellent, semi-Arthurian, unfinished, epic poem about a group of knights (one being a woman) who pursue virtue. All men, and young boys, should read this epic in order to learn about virtue in the Elizabethan period.

 Norman Russell's The Doctrine of Deification in the Greek Patristic Tradition is a text that has helped me form my own thoughts on the doctrine of deification. If you want to know more about deification, but don't want to read this hefty text, feel free to message me.

Chesterton and Tolkien as Theologians: The Fantasy of the Real by Alison Milbank (another professor in Nottingham's theology department and wife of John Milbank). I've loved Tolkien for as long as I can remember. Just last night I made a comment saying I cannot remember a time when I was not reading Tolkien. That being said, this book provides an interesting interplay between the similarities and differences in Chesterton and Tolkien. I certainly enjoyed reading someone who takes Tolkien seriously as a theologian.

 After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory by Alasdair C. MacIntyre. This book was an excellent introduction to understanding philosophy and virtue, which I've done quite a bit more reading since. I'll probably need to come back to this book once I've done some more reading. My favourite chapter in this book (whose number I cannot remember) dealt with virtue and the heroes in Jane Austen's novels.

 Emma by Jane Austen. When I first started reading Emma, which came after seeing the Kate Beckinsale version of the film, I have to say, I didn't care for it. Emma was self-important, a busybody, and pretentious. Yet I stuck it out, and now it is perhaps my second favourite Austen novel, Pride and Prejudice will always be my favourite. Emma is the only of Austen's heroines who not only needs, but truly undergoes character transformation.

 Introducing Radical Orthodoxy Mapping A Post Secular Theology by James K.A. Smith. This book introduced me to the ideas from the theological sensibility known as Radical Orthodoxy. It is a decent read on Radical Orthodoxy, looked at from a sympathetic and critical (Dutch Reformed) perspective.

 Theology and Social Theory: Beyond Secular Reason by John Milbank gave voice to many of my own feelings, some I didn't know were in me till I read this book, about secularism and rational autonomy (i.e. that they don't properly exist). My main critique of this book is while being an excellent critique it does not offer much. However, Milbank's writing since has removed many, though not all, of my issues with this book.

 There and Back by George MacDonald. Having long been a fan of MacDonald, particularly his Phantastes. This book had a rather Dickensian feel to it where the rich fall on hard times, become virtuous living with the working classes and, in MacDonald, come to belief in the one, true God.

 After Writing: On the Liturgical Consummation of Philosophy by Catherine Pickstock. This text was difficult for me. Her interaction with philosophy often overshot my knowledge. Nevertheless, Pickstock gave me language to talk about things that are simultaneously active and passive.

This is only a short list of the books I've read since September '11. Nevertheless, these are some that I read for the first time and that had an incredible impact on me, my research, and my understanding of theology (which is to say all of life).

What books have you read? Have you read any of these? What did you think of them? Please do comment, I promise to engage in conversation.

On Reading Fiction: A Response to The Art of Manliness

The Art of Manliness and Reading Fiction

The Art of Manliness recently put out an article on why men ought to read more fiction. The article centred around the idea that reading fiction improves one’s theory of mind. As I understand it, theory of mind is what allows to understand and contemplate other minds (i.e. Using theory of mind, I can discern what another individual is thinking in a given situation). I suppose we might call this a person’s ability to ‘read people’, to a gain an understanding of what they’re thinking and how they’re feeling without them telling us. According to the research Brett McKay did for this article, men are apparently more deficient at this than women. I often think of Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory:

One way for men to increase their theory of mind is to read more fiction. It appears that reading the narratives and dialogues contained within fiction works as kind of theory of mind exercise. Thus, allowing oneself to be enmeshed in a good novel is practice for ‘reading’ people in the real world. McKay notes that according to the research, it does not matter what kind of fiction a man reads, all fiction reading will increase his theory of mind ability. McKay cites a telephone interview he had with a Dr. Oatley, a proponent of the idea that reading fiction increases men’s theory of mind. According to Dr. Oatley the kind of fiction men ought to read is a null question, ‘[Dr. Oatley’s] response [to the question of what kind of fiction men should read] was to read whatever interests you, whether it’s highbrow Russian novels or lowbrow dime paperbacks.’ If the end is simply increased theory of mind ability, then the means is whatever kind of fiction you choose to read.

Men Certainly Ought to Read Fiction

I’ll be honest, I really enjoy reading The Art of Manliness. I think McKay tackles real issues and needs in men’s lives today, as well as provides articles that are simply fun. McKay’s encouragement for men to read more fiction is laudatory. Having been an avid reader of fiction for my entire literary life, I must say that I do not fit the paradigm of men who do not read fiction, but I will certainly take any exhortation to read more. I also think that the result of reading fiction McKay introduces, increased theory of mind, is one of many reasons for men to be reading more fiction. I do wonder, however, if the conclusion of the article is useful. The idea that because reading anything increases theory of mind leads to the conclusion that one then ought to read anything. For many this will lead to read only what is simple or perhaps literarily bad. The exhortation for men to read fiction is not enough, we need men (and women) to be reading good fiction, even if it has no more of an affect on the increase of one’s theory of mind.

Why Read ‘Good’ Fiction

Reading, and especially reading fiction, must be more than about one goal. If our goal was only to increase our theory of mind, then why not read what is simplest? Why challenge ourselves to read anything of substance if a comic book or trashy romance novel will do the same without over taxing our minds on other issues like morality, philosophy, or religion. Reading any fiction may increase our theory of mind, but only reading ‘good’ fiction will increase our vocabulary, our knowledge of the world and people, and our understanding of life.

Why Even ‘Good’ Fiction Is Not Enough

Even then, reading Evelyn Waugh, or Kurt Vonnegut, or Oscar Wilde (all typically recognised as ‘good’ authors by the literatti) is deficient. As a Christian, I committed to an understanding of the world that centres around who God is and how he has, does, and will interact with this world. A Christian worldview must recognise that there is no secular autonomy. This means that when authors attempt to deal with issues they see as universals they are still approaching them through their individual (and corporate) presuppositions. Some do this consciously. Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series is intended as a kind of anti-Chronicles of Narnia. He intends to introduce his audience (children) to atheism. Others, however, inject their presuppositions somewhat (if not totally unconsciously). Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle does just this. Paolini betrays his secular understanding of reality when he shows the dwarves, the only religious peoples, as simple, particularly when compared to the almost purely rational elves. Thus we cannot take for granted any autonomous universality. I’m not saying we should not read such authors, simply that we must (as Christians) take into account the implicit and explicit presuppositions and implications of any fiction we read and hold it to the divine standard, which is the only standard. All participate in this standard to some extent and it is our job to increase our participation in it and recognise where others do participate and where they deviate.

What Are We to Read?

In the end, I recommend that we read what good fiction. By good fiction, I do not necessarily mean what is considered good by English professors or professional critics. Instead I mean we ought mainly to read fiction that participates in the divine standard. I don’t mean we should read only cheesy Christian fiction, or even that we should read only fiction written C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, G. K. Chesterton, and others of that ilk. My suggestion is that we read fiction that is both good in terms of the level of writing (in style, grammar, and vocabulary) and that is good in terms of how well it participates in God. When we read fiction, we ought to be changed (in fact we are changed or, if the fiction is poor, we are maintained or even decreased). We ought to read books that make us think about real issues, but we must read with discernment and try and root out the presuppositions behind a text. 

So, by all means read simple fiction. I love reading comic books and certain children’s fiction (though I submit that good children’s fiction is often only simple in style and vocabulary, but that the ideas presented are still good and useful for personal growth). Do not, however, stop with simple fiction. Challenge yourself in both the level of writing and the ideas presented. Above all, remember that there is no universal autonomy. If God is the creator of this world then all of creation participates in God. Thus, while all truth is God’s truth we must still be careful about the presuppositions underlying any work of fiction (really anything, not simply fiction). All creation may participate in God, but all rational creatures can still work against that participation (hence the fall of Satan and the Fall of humanity). What kind of fiction we read may not make a difference in the increase of our theory of mind, but it does make a difference on how actively we participate in God.

Some Recommendations 

Finally, here are some books I’ve read that I think will help both increase your theory of mind as well as your participation in God (this list is by no means comprehensive, nor will each book be as good, in either sense, as one another or others you may have read):

Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis

Perelandra by C. S. Lewis

That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis

The Simarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Phantastes by George MacDonald

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald

The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser

The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (really any Jane Austen)

See my Goodreads page for books I've read and check out some of my friends and what they've read as well (in fact, just sign up for Goodreads and ask to be my friend, but mention this post or else I might not add you back).

What do you think? What kind of fiction should we be reading?

Why I'm Still in the Restoration Movement

Since leaving Lincoln Christian University (in fact, while I was still a student there), I have noticed that some of my friends and classmates have made some drastic decisions. Some have left the faith altogether. Others have left the Restoration Movement (a nineteenth century American church movement dedicated to non-denominationalism, the unity of all believers, and the Bible as the source of Christ’s authority, through the Spirit, on Earth). Others still spend a lot of time complaining, either about their churches in specific or the Restoration Movement in general. Seeing these comments on Twitter and Facebook, hearing about them friends still in Lincoln has made me ask myself why I still associate myself with the Restoration Movement? Why haven’t I moved on, either to disconnected (or evangelical) non-denominationalism? Or, why haven’t I joined some denomination? It is true that I currently worship at a Free Evangelical church, but that is primarily because I now live in England where the Restoration Movement has not seen the same level of dispersion as it has in the United States where it began.

I would like to organize this post around one of the movement’s most famous (and appropriated) slogans: “In essentials, unity; in opinions, liberty; in all things charity (love).” This I feel helps me paradigmatically show how and why I wish still to associate with and belong (if I can use the term belong for something that technically only exists as an ideal that men and women attempt to live out) to the Restoration Movement.

In Essentials, Unity

While there can be, and often is, much fighting over what all counts as essential, the center of the core is Jesus Christ, Son of God, our Saviour and Redeemer, who died for our sins, rose from the dead, and is returning. By being part of the Restoration Movement I can fellowship with any and all believers who hold to this core. We can agree on this as core. To be part of a denomination might require acquiescence to other points of doctrine (perhaps even ones with which I wholeheartedly agree) that are beyond the core. While individuals within and without the RM might act against this principle, nevertheless, to truly grasp the ideal of “in essentials, unity,” is to be reminded that our brothers and sisters in the faith are everywhere and in every group that calls itself Christian.

In Opinions, Liberty

Related to the above, our freedom in opinions allows room for debate, for scholarship, for uncertainty. It allows, in short, for differences in theology and praxis. I myself am of a more liturgical and sacramental bent. I think my studied opinions on these matters are important and can help us better understand, worship, and obey God in our daily lives. Nevertheless, I would not and, if I wish to keep true to the ideal, cannot force others to conform to my ideas with the threat of disfellowship or excommunication. We can be more unified in our essentials if we can be free in our opinions. This reminds me that we’re fallen and while we are our working toward perfection and Christlikeness each and every day of our faith, we do not, and cannot, plumb all the mysteries of God.

In All Things, Love

The final point is perhaps the most important. In all we say and do, it is to be done in love. Believers are to be loved as brothers and sisters, nonbelievers are to be loved as image bearers of God, as people who do not yet know Jesus and need to. This is not to say that other denominations, movements, or individual churches do not hold themselves to these very ideals, many do. Like us in the Restoration Movement, they also fail.

I chose to remain with the Movement that taught me this principle and also because I feel that in it, I have the most freedom. In this movement, I have the most freedom to learn from other denominations, from Church History. I'm not bound to Calvinism or Arminianism. I'm not bound to transubstantiation or Zwinglianism. I'm free, free to explore, to understand, to learn about God from all who call on the name of Jesus as Lord. I’m not asking for all other Christians to leave their denominations and join us. I’m not even asking all denominations to cease existing and to become one large, unified, Christian family (though I would love to see this). I’m simply trying to say that rather than jump ship, I’m choosing to remain, at least in heart and action, with the Restoration Movement. When I face problems within it, I try to remind myself of this and other principles of the movement. I try to enact change rather than complain (although I do more than my fair share of complaining too).

What about you? If you’ve left, why did you leave? If you’re complaining, what can you do to make things better, besides leave?

The Advent of the Coming King

What is Advent?

Last night, Lauren and I gathered with several other Americans (and Brits, one Australian, one German, and one South African) for a Thanksgiving meal. While we were cleaning up I made a comment about Advent being tomorrow. I then had a little girl ask me, “What is Advent? Is it like the Advent calendar?” Before I had a chance to answer she was off to play with her friends. It made me think, however, that the Advent calendar, that frustrating, daily chocolate dispenser which begins on 1 December is what so many think of when they here Advent. This is not quite what Advent was intended to be.

Advent is intended to be a period of waiting and preparation for the coming Messiah. The Old Testament promised His coming so the people of Israel were waiting. Mary and Joseph were told of his coming and so they waited. Even today Christians know He is coming again and so we wait. Advent is waiting.

Why Observe Advent?

Observing Advent, the whole Church calendar for that matter, can be an important of a Christian’s life. Advent, properly observed, can be a chance to reclaim Christmas, to be reminded of the importance of the gift of God’s own Son and what the Incarnation has done for us (something I’ll write about later). I hear so many Christians complain about the secularization of Christmas. Well, observing Advent can be a great way to be reminded that the world waited for a Savior, and that we now wait for His return.

How to Observe Advent

There are many options when it comes to how you observe Advent. The easiest, by far, is to get your hands on a lectionary. A lectionary is a collection of Scriptures arranged around the Christian calendar in a three pattern (if you were to do the daily readings, you would read the whole Bible in three years). There are many lectionaries available both online and in book form. Some come with prayers and other readings, others are just lists of the Scriptures to be read. These Scriptures have been selected to fit the season of the Church calendar and are being read by Christians in church and at home around the world. If you get a Catholic lectionary it will also have readings from the Apocrypha, a series of books that most don’t consider to be inspired by the Holy Spirit but still beneficial in what they teach.

Some other options include lighting candles each night and saying a prayer of reading Scripture. That’s what Lauren and I plan to do. Any good lectionary will tell you what colors you ought to use (for Advent it is usually 3 purple, one pink for the Sundays before Christmas and a white one for Christmas Day; Lauren and I are using four red candles, a tradition which has been introduced by some Protestant groups).

No matter how, I recommend you observe Advent at home, and at church if you can convince your leaders or are one of them. The Church year begins with waiting reminding us both that our Savior has come and will come again. Join me in anxiously and hopefully waiting the coming King through Advent.

Passages for the First Week in Advent from the Book of Common Worship:

Sunday: Isaiah 64.1-9; Psalm 80 1-8, 18-20; 1 Corinthians 1.3-9; Mark 13.24-end

Monday: Isaiah 2.1-5; Psalm 122; Matthew 8.5-11

Tuesday: Isaiah 11.1-10; Psalm 72.1-4, 18-9; Luke 10.21-24

Wednesday: Isaiah 52.7-10; Psalm 19.1-6; Romans 10.12-18; Matthew 4.18-22

Thursday: Isaiah 26.1-6; Psalm 118.18-27a; Matthew 9.27-31

Friday: Isaiah 29.17-end; Psalm 27.1-4, 16-17; Matthew 9.27-31

Saturday: Isaiah 30.19-21, 23-26; Psalm 146.4-9; Matthew 9.35-10.1, 6-8

Moved to England

For those who don't already know. Lauren and I have moved to Nottingham, UK so I can do my Ph.D. at the University of Nottingham. In order to keep friends and family up to date on the doings and happenings there, we have also started a new blog. Come by and check it out: davidlaurenmosley.wordpress.com. I'll still post here, hopefully with a little more frequency, but for now, more new things will be posted on the new blog. Thanks for following and for reading.

Our Founders Did Not Fight to Create a Country of Whiners: My Second Letter to the Editor of the Jacksonville Journal Courier

To the editor,

There have been two recent events, along with comments in the Open Line that have sparked this letter. The first is the recent inundation and subsequent boil order Jacksonville endured. The second is the Fourth of July. These two events caused this reader to pause and consider the nature of a citizen in the United States of America. What is our duty as citizens of this nation? How are we to handle corrupt politicians, natural disasters and public offices being ineffectively run?

In answer to the above questions for many is to complain. For many, this reader included at times, the problems in our nation spark sessions of intense puerile whining. This however, is not the proper response. The founders of this nation did not fight and die to create a country of whiners. Instead they gave of us a government of options. As Lincoln said it is a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” This government, this nation, is ours and if we do not like the decisions being made we have a voice to affect change. The effectiveness of our voice depends on how we use it.

Newspapers across the nation have sections like our Open Line and they often look the same. Many people, who remain anonymous, use them to complain about their local government and what a terrible job they are doing. This reader submits that there is a better way to accomplish change: write to your public officials. Do you not like how the water situation was handled? Then you should write a letter to the person you find responsible. Be respectful, remind them you are a voter and ask why things were done one way and were not done another. Simply complaining will get you nowhere, taking action can.

Recently, this reader submitted a letter on our need to elect virtuous leaders. Now, I call us to be virtuous citizens who take action to see positive changes made in our government. This country was once great, perhaps the greatest, it can be so again if we, its citizens, step up to our duties and do what is required of us.

Resolve to Elect Virtuous Leaders: My Letter to the Jacksonville Journal Courier

To the Editor,

For the last few weeks, the media has published various articles concerning the impropriety of Anthony Weiner’s conduct via Twitter. This one scandal reminds us that our politicians are imperfect, as if we were not already well aware of this issue. Beyond that, it causes us to question whether or not such improprieties have a negative or neutral affect on one’s ability to do one’s job.

As usual there have been countless answers to this question. Some think that immoral personal behavior outside of the workplace should have little or no say in whether a person is competent and capable to do a given job. In a recent article from June 14, Joe Mathis wrote, “If Washington were emptied of every politician who…engaged in unseemly behavior––well, our nation’s capitol would be a ghost town.”  He continues to point out that infidelity would have no affect on how other individuals such as paper salesmen and accountants perform their jobs. Sandy Banks in an article from June 15 reminds readers that Weiner is not alone in behaving inappropriately toward women and that this may be the norm for all men, or at least the wealthy and powerful according to Mathis.

What each of these and many other journalists have missed is that the problem lies not in whether men like Anthony Weiner should step down from office, but why are men such as Weiner elected in the first place? It is this reader’s contention that if our government is corrupt, it is so because we keep electing corrupt individuals. This problem is bipartisan. Immorality in personal life leads to immorality in public and official life. An accountant who cheats on his wife might have no scruples about cheating on taxes. A politician who lies about lewd photographs might lie about policies and bills. All Americans ought to be held to a higher standard, but our politicians even more so. Politicians are more than policy makers, they are leaders who our citizens ought to aspire to be like. If we are to continue having a great country that leads the world in right living, then we must elect politicians who are virtuous men and women who strive to be blameless and upright in their conduct at home and in the government.