nathan

Simple Christianity

Revisado: 09-15-24

After self-studying theology for several years, I kept neglecting Mere Christianity by CS Lewis. Although I knew the Bible and the basics of theology, I kept putting this book off. The "mere" title of the book implied that it was at the minimal a discussion of the basics of Christianity. At the most, an apology of Christianity. The latter is exactly why I put this book off. I hate Christian apologetics. Most of this branch of theology is a confusing set of various arguments arguing that this and that proves the existence of God. The book is at the same time both a guide to basic Christianity and an apology of Christianity. But, it's from a "layman's" experiential perspective and not boring philosophical explanations way beyond the understanding of person who hated intro to philosophy.
Lewis makes it clear that the "larger" questions of theology should be left to the "experts," the theologians.
In Book 1, "Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe." Lewis picks up where he left off in the Abolition of Man discussing natural law and how Jesus is its fulfillment.
In Book 2, He discusses Christian beliefs not from the standpoint of any one form of Christianity, but what all Christians believe despite their many differences otherwise.
In Book 3, He discusses Christian morality including, sex, marriage, and the Christian virtues.
In Book 4, Lewis ventures into basic theology discussing the trinitarian relationship and how it changes us into a new creation.
Great read. Highly recommend for students of Christian ministry and new converts.

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Discovering CS Lewis

Revisado: 09-10-24

First time I've listened to or read CS Lewis. Long time coming. He doesn't disappoint especially with The Great Divorce. Enjoyed the allegory of what should be the widening gulf between Heaven and Hell. The narrator was flawless with his imitation of the various characters and spot on.
The narration of the Abolition of Man was by a different narrator I believe. At least that's what the audio said. TGD was by Simon Vance and the later was by another person with a British accent. This narration was dull, but maybe that was because the format of the book was lecture form. Lewis made up for it in a very coherent discussion of the Tao and what could happen (has happened) when "the conditioners" have power over the "conditioned" to the point where they own the latter and even hate them Great read in preparation for a book I've long neglected, Mere Christianity.

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Truth

Revisado: 08-29-24

I’ve listened to Candace’s show for awhile. I kept putting off reading this book even though its sub title is intriguing. Finally after Candace recommended various books on culture I decided the best place to start was with her own book. I know Candace is a great speaker and debater. And she doesn’t give a flip what her haters think of her. What I found out in this book is that Candace is an exceptional writer. What makes her show great and this book is her attention to detail. That’s because she carefully researches her subject before reporting on it. It was a plus having Candace narrate the book. The book is summarized in a quote from the author. “Freedom is personal responsibility.” This is the theme. With each chapter she discusses each obstacle to this theme that keeps her community from getting off the second plantation, perpetual government support and realize that success in life is not found in the government but in a person taking charge of their life and telling the government where to put their patronizing welfare.

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Thought-Provoking

Revisado: 08-24-24

Thought-provoking book that took 20 years of intense research to produce. Without the author's persistence, we wouldn't have this book that makes one question the real motives behind the Manson murders. The author makes it clear that it's not his intention to say why these murders occurred or what the real motives were, but that they didn't occur for the reasons that was reported at the time especially in the book about them, Helter Skelter. This book is spell-binding and hard to stop listening to. I highly recommend it not only because of the well-written text, but the skill of the narrator.

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Title should be introduction to liberation theology

Revisado: 01-11-24

I listened to most of this series a couple of years ago. I finally grew tired of the liberation approach, so I stopped. However, I am researching Catholic Theology and want to compare this to a more traditional approach. I agree with another listener that this series is concerned with the "world," but would disagree that it's not about theology. The lecturer would have you think that most Catholics have scrapped tradition in order to make "theology" more meaningful in this "post-modern world." Liberation theology is a carry-over from the social gospel. It is more interested in saving/helping others in this present world than saving souls. Regardless of which tradition you come from salvation through Jesus Christ toward eternal life has always been the goal of Christianity until the last 100 plus years. This theologian sculpts, rather awkwardly at times, traditional Catholic theology to fit this liberation goal. Early on he makes it clear that tradition isn't that important, but in practice he reinterprets this tradition to fit his liberation agenda. In Catholic theology two major aspects of tradition is the Bible and church history. However, with liberation theology that tradition doesn't determine theology and practice of Catholicisim, but rather the adherents of Catholicism when there is a socio-cultural need. Thus, the Church is more interested in the social than the spiritual when it should be because of the spiritual the Church is concerned with the social. When you redefine tradition to fit a social agenda you no longer have Catholicism or even Christianity, but liberation philosophy with a social justice agenda. Traditional Catholicism preserves the real definition of tradition and from that point helps the poor and needy as evidence of that eternal salvation.

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Very Impressed

Revisado: 04-15-15

Any additional comments?

Professor Brier's enthusiastic approach to the history of ancient Egypt made these lectures interesting. There was a lot of information to cover in the 48 lectures, but he was consistent throughout the course in making it interesting and at the same time instructive.

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Good Introduction to Essay Writing

Revisado: 02-28-15

If you could sum up Analysis and Critique: How to Engage and Write about Anything in three words, what would they be?

Lectures informative and useful.

Any additional comments?

As with her series on the Medieval World, I enjoyed Professor Armstrong's lectures on writing. The primary theme of this series was how to write an essay. All of the lectures supported this theme with lectures 6-10 actually showing how to write the essay. She used examples from popular literature to illustrate how important it is to pay attention to how the author is perceived by the audience. In addition, the use of other genres at appropriate times can also enhance the writing piece. She finished the series by discussing how to edit and rewrite the essay. With this, she used examples from her area of research on King Arthur. This series was a review for me, but also showed me how to use different approaches in my writing.

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Impressed

Revisado: 03-21-14

If you could sum up The History of Christian Theology in three words, what would they be?

Very good overview

Who was your favorite character and why?

Professor Cary was very knowledgeable

Which scene was your favorite?

It was especially helpful the way Cary would compare and contrast throughout the course, such as the differences and similarities between the Eastern and Western churches, or those between Luther and Calvin to name a couple.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Each period of Christian thought was informative, but as my knowledge of medieval thought was especially sparse, Cary's lectures on Anselm, Aquinas, and others were particularly helpful.

Any additional comments?

Informative overview of the history of Christian thought.

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