Postgraduate theology student in the UK. Ordained clergyman. Husband.I have a love for all things alt-rock, Pixar, sports, and good, short literature.On Twitter @toddhwbrewer
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Top Theology Books of 2011
The following is a list (in no particular order) of some of the most interesting theological books published in 2011. Needless to say it’s been a banner year.
Lutheran Theology by Steven Paulson
What is Lutheranism? Rather than answering this question by outlining the history and development of Lutheranism, Paulson goes back to Luther himself to rediscover its long-lost soul, using Luther against Lutheranism and its many failed representatives throughout history. By far, this book is Lutheran theology at its best. Positively, this Lutheran theology is a theology that must be preached and therefore it is the message of the justification by…
The Devil Within: A World Without Voldemort
In a recent NY Times article, A.O. Scott has conducted a fascinating survey of the movie villains of the last year. For Scott, the death of Lord Voldemort marks the end of an era in the American characterization of evil. The rise of the Harry Potter franchise and Voldemort coincided with the rise of terrorism and Osama Bin Laden in the national consciousness. Within the world of Harry Potter, Voldemort embodied evil without qualification in the same way that Bin Laden gave a face to the mercurial threat of terror. Both men offered the possibility that good and evil, right…
Are You Better Than Joe Paterno? David Brooks Thinks You’re (Probably) Not
What would you do if you were Joe Paterno? If it was reported to you that your assistant coach was sexually abusing a minor, would you act differently? In his recent op-ed for the NY times, David Brooks suggests that the answers to these questions are not as straightforward as we might believe. While we wish to think that we would speak up, the data says otherwise. When pressed to act by a moral dilemma, the vast majority of people do nothing at all (humorously illustrated below). Brooks details numerous explanations psychologists give to this inexplicable human failure: Normalcy Bias,…
Friendships and Fender-Benders in Cars 2
The release of Cars 2 this past summer marked the first Pixar movie to receive almost unanimously poor reviews. While some of this criticism was probably veiled jealousy of Pixar’s consistent success, I still have to admit that this film lacked the heart-tugging storytelling I’ve come to expect. The film has lots of flash – with some enthralling technical wizardry, but the substance was disappointingly thin. Or better, I didn’t enthusiastically identify with any of the characters.
The success of a movie usually depends upon the audience’s ability to sympathize with the main character – if we don’t care about them,…
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Another Week Ends: Anti-Tebowmania, Hipster Mormonism, Sixty-Six Books, Coldplay, Hypocrisy, and Tullian Tchividjian’s Story of Redemption
Filling in for DZ this week as the Birmingham Conference kicks off…
1. Can you be a hipster and Mormon at the same time? An interesting NY Times article appearing on Wednesday outlined a Mormon’s guide to looking cool without totally losing your faith (a.k.a “How to be like Brandon Flowers”). It’s a classic case study in the casuistry that arises when navigating between conflicting judgments – slightly appeasing one demand without violating the other, or transgressing just enough but not too much. As Mormonism seeks more and more acceptance from mainstream America, I suspect this will be just one of…
Sanctuary! – a Theological Appreciation of an Old Practice
If you’ve ever seen the Disney movie, or read Victor Hugo’s book – you know about the practice of Sanctuary given by the church to those seeking asylum. While the actual practice of asylum has varied since its first attestation in the year 343, the basic gist is that anyone who was pursued by secular authorities to be punished for crimes committed could find protection by fleeing to the knocker of the church. The idea behind this practice was primarily the maintaining of the distinction between sacred and profane; the boundaries of church were sacred and must not be sullied…
If Loving You Is Right, David Brooks Doesn’t Want To Be Wrong
If you haven’t taken the hint yet and started subscribing to his editorials in the NY Times, David Brooks published another gem this week in which he calls into question the current popular morality built upon the whims of the individual. Brooks claims/laments that the maxim “If it feels right, do it” has separated morality from traditional resources for moral thinking, and long-standing social institutions such as the church, education, or families no longer contribute to ethical debates about right and wrong. Instead, the individual must decide what is right according to the demands of the moment. Ironically, as some…
Louis C.K. on Original Sin
Louis C.K. is obviously speaking in hyperbole for comedic effect, but he’s really on to something here. He expects the worst of people, believing that – at heart – people act according to what’s best for them. This is the Christian doctrine of original sin, which undermines all notions of progress. Or as St. Paul said “no one does good, not even one” (Rom. 3.12).
The upshot to this very morbid worldview is that Louis C.K. is not caught off guard by anything he sees, in fact he’s genuinely surprised that the world has any civility at all. In other words, the less you expect from people the happier you are; you’re less disappointed by others (and your own) failures. But more importantly – you’re happier with whatever little joy/hope/love one is given.
The Modesty Manifesto: David Brooks Goes to Aspen
Please forgive the David Brooks idol worship, but this is just too good to pass up. Here are a few quotes from his highly entertaining and informative talk at the “Aspen Ideas Festival”. Broadly speaking, Brooks advocates a return to an “Augustinian Worldview” and its view of the self which stresses doing nothing, low self-esteem and humility. The full video is below. If you want a typed-out transcript, click here.
We’re really not aware of most of what we do…the human mind can take in 12 million piece of information of which it can be consciously aware of 40. And…
Even As Though There Were No Law: William Tyndale on the Christian Life
Was William Tyndale, a founding father of Anglicanism, an antinomian? The following comes from his Prologue to the book of Romans. In it he outlines a Christian life which is unflinchingly active in works, yet it does so wholly apart from the law. In the economy of the Christian life, the true purpose of the law is to become obsolete. For my money, it’s the closest thing I find to capturing what Paul meant when he said we are “not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:15) The whole thing is worth a read, if you have the time.
To fulfill…
C.S. Lewis on Humility
A great little quote from Lewis’ Mere Christianity on genuine humility. Here humility is not simply defined by self-knowledge – or an understanding of one’s sinfulness. Instead, it is defined by a spontaneous, subconscious self-forgetfulness that extends far beyond the typical categories of virtue or character-building.
Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call “humble” nowadays: be will not be a sort of greasy, smarmy person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody.
Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful, intelligent chap…
Live and Let Live: 30 Rock on “Managing the Crazy”
To my surprise, somehow 30 Rock has gone its entire 5 years without a full Mockingbird treatment (Tina Fey mentions excluded). This is surprising mostly because in addition to being some of the best comedy on television, the show is incredibly thoughtful about human nature and relationships.
To begin with, the first thesis of 30 Rock is that everyone is crazy. For anyone who has seen the show, this is the root of the its brilliance. The viewer is given a God’s-eye-view to see people as they actually are without any filter. Jack (the CEO) is obsessed with his own greatness…
Carl Laamanen: Matt, I love your perspective on this film as much as I love the film....
MargaretE: Just what I needed to read. Thank you!...
Jeff Hual: Very well said. Thank you....
Jon W: Great sermon, Nick!...
Todd Brewer: This article is both amazing and disturbing... not that Target would p...