(My copy of the Thomas Merton devotional I have used for decades.)
NOW READING...
The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution, by Cark Trueman.
This could be the most important book I read this year.
“The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self is perhaps the most significant analysis and evaluation of Western culture written by a Protestant during the past fifty years. If you want to understand the social, cultural, and political convulsions we are now experiencing, buy this book, and read it for all it is worth. Highly recommended.”
―Bruce Riley Ashford, Professor of Theology and Culture, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; coauthor, The Gospel of Our King
Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest, by Zeynep Tufekci.
Tufekci explains in this accessible and compelling book the nuanced trajectories of modern protests—how they form, how they operate differently from past protests, and why they have difficulty persisting in their long-term quests for change.
Cynical Theories: How Activist Scholarship Made Everything about Race, Gender, and Identity - and Why This Harms Everybody, by Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsey.
"Many people are nonplussed by the surge of wokery, social justice warfare, intersectionality, and identity politics that has spilled out of academia and inundated other spheres of life. Where did it come from? What ideas are behind it? This book exposes the surprisingly shallow intellectual roots of the movements that appear to be engulfing our culture."
—Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of Enlightenment Now
"If you want to know the philosophy behind cancel culture and why it is so creepy, get this book. Then, give it to your friends and family."
—Ayaan Hirsi Ali, human rights activist
"Is there a school of thought so empty, so vacuous, so pretentious, so wantonly obscurantist, so stupefyingly boring that even a full-frontal attack on it cannot be read without an exasperated yawn? Yes. It is called postmodernism. If you sincerely want to understand what postmodernism is, read this exceptionally well-informed book by two noble heroes of the enlightenment project. If you have better uses for your neurons and your time, stick to science. It’s the real deal."
—Richard Dawkins, emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford
God, Stephen Hawking and the Multiverse: What Hawking Said and Why it Matters, by David Hutchings.
Inspired Imperfection: How the Bible's Problems Enhance its Divine Authority, by Greg Boyd.
"How do we read and trust a supposedly sacred book when its contradictions and moral ambiguities are so apparent? For all who struggle with these questions, this book is for you. Gregory A. Boyd's theological sojourn has imbibed various communities, experiences, and theological paradigms, all evident in these pages about his life-long grappling with Scripture." --Amos Yong, dean of the School of Theology and School of Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary
The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of our Own Success, by Ross Douthat.
“Douthat’s best book yet, a work of deep cultural analysis, elegantly written and offering provocative thoughts on almost every page. It’s hard to think of a current book that is as insightful about the way we live now as is this one.” —Rod Dreher, The American Conservative
Moral Relativism: A Reader, by Paul Moser and Thomas Carson.
Are all moral truths relative or do certain moral truths hold for all cultures and people? In Moral Relativism: A Reader, this and related questions are addressed by twenty-one contemporary moral philosophers and thinkers. This engaging and nontechnical anthology, the only up-to-date collection devoted solely to the topic of moral relativism, is accessible to a wide range of readers including undergraduate students from various disciplines. The selections are organized under six main topics: (1) General Issues; (2) Relativism and Moral Diversity; (3) On the Coherence of Moral Relativism; (4) Defense and Criticism; (5) Relativism, Realism, and Rationality; and (6) Case Study on Relativism. Contributors include Ruth Benedict, Richard Brandt, Thomas L. Carson, Philippa Foot, Gordon Graham, Gilbert Harman, Loretta M. Kopelman, David Lyons, J. L. Mackie, Michele Moody-Adams, Paul K. Moser, Thomas Nagel, Martha Nussbaum, Karl Popper, Betsy Postow, James Rachels, W. D. Ross, T. M. Scanlon, William Graham Sumner, and Carl Wellman.
DEVOTIONAL BOOKS I AM NOW USING...
Faith that Matters: 365 Devotions from Classic Christian Leaders
Hearing God Through the Year: A 365 Day Devotional (Dallas Willard)
A Year with C.S. Lewis: Daily Readings from His Classic Works
Through the Year with Thomas Merton
A Year with Thomas Merton: Daily Meditations from His Journals
SOME BOOKS I READ IN 2020...
A Change of Affection: A Gay Man's Incredible Story of Redemption, by Beckett Cook.
A War of Loves: The Unexpected Story of a Gay Activist Discovering Jesus, by David Bennett.
Christians in the Age of Outrage: How to Bring our Best when the World Is at its Worst, by Ed Stetzer.
Can We Still Believe the Bible? An Evangelical Engagement with Contemporary Questions, by Craig Blomberg.
Emerging Gender Identities: Understanding the Diverse Experiences of Today's Youth, by Mark Yarhouse.
Why Liberalism Failed, by Patrick Deneen.
Provocations: Spiritual Writings of Kierkegaard
God and the Pandemic: A Christian Reflection of the Coronavirus and its Aftermath, by N. T. Wright.
The Anatomy of Facism, by Robert Paxton.
"So fair, so thorough and, in the end, so convincing, it may well become the most authoritative . . . study of the subject. . . . A splendid book." –The New York Times Book Review
"Useful and timely. . . . Mussolini and Hitler were the prototypical fascist leaders, and Paxton chronicles their rise to power--and their global influence and ultimate fall--with a brilliant economy." –San Francisco Chronicle
"A deeply intelligent and very readable book. . . . Historical analysis at its best." –The Economist
When Narcissism Comes to Church: Healing Your Community from Emotional and Spiritual Abuse, by Chuck DeGroat.
Until Christ is Formed in You: Dallas Willard and Spiritual Formation, Stephen Porter and Gary Moon.
