Justin Graves

Good overview of modern Russia

Revisado: 09-03-19

Great lecture series. There was no shying away from tough issues or difficult questions. Soviet Russia was criticized fairly, but it also was given credit when due. Modernization or industrialization were not seen as an inherent good, but so too agrarianism was not.

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A Must Read

Revisado: 05-06-19

The author is extremely knowledgeable, and the stories are enthralling and keep your attention. Each and every chapter introduces new characters, heroes, antagonists, and "decent people" who humanize the conflict in Israel and Palestine. If you want to understand the facts on the ground and how we got there, this book is for you.

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Excellent Work

Revisado: 02-16-19

Book Review:

I just finished "Francis of Assisi: The Life" by Augustine Thompson. This was a short book, just at 200 pages, and although it occasionally delved into nuanced theological and historical questions, it is quite accessible for everyone.

There were three major takeaways for me with this book.

First, trauma builds prophets. Francis lived his early life comfortably among the aristocracy of Assisi as a wealthy merchant's son. Although he was known for generosity to the poor and some level of piety, it wasn't terribly notable. It was not until 1202, when Francis participated as a soldier in a military campaign, that his life changed. This campaign was a horrendous failure, and Francis watched good friends die on the battlefield before he suffered a year imprisoned under poor health. This trauma, similar to PTSD pushed him towards the radical, and it seems he continued to struggle with this trauma throughout his life.

Two, it is ok to be uncertain. Francis shows us that the fragmentation of identity and belief is not just a post-modern event. Francis was constantly torn between different realities. He wished for simple humility, but instead was thrust into a leadership position. He wanted submissive lay piety, but Pope Innocent III made him a preacher. He desired personal poverty, but compassion for the poor and sickly required resources to care for them. Nature held beauty, but it also tormented him with ailments and vermin. These conflicts led to contrary and ever-changing rules and beliefs throughout his entire life. And yet, through this conflict and uncertainty, he was still an effective man.

Three, believers craft saints, not human beings. As Thompson artfully points out over and over, Francis was being remade into a saint, miracle-worker, and typology of John the Baptist and Jesus before he died and against his will! Did Francis really have stigmata? Did he perform miracles? Could he command wolves to obey him? We do know from eye-witness material that Francis had wounds imitating the Passion, was given credit for healings, and he seemed to have a unique ability to gain the trust of animals. But this does not make a saint. Instead, Francis was integrated into the historical milieu of his day, creating a Francis of myth which took the place of the human being who actually existed. Today, we do the same thing, creating "Francis the Environmentalist," "Francis the Communist," or "Francis the Mystic," figures who are not at all like the Francis of Assisi.

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Conclusion

This was an absolutely wonderful book. My only serious critique would be that Thompson seems to, ironically, introduce a dichotomy similar to the "Jesus of History and Jesus of Faith" into the discussion, framing Francis as a modernist typology for Christ! But, despite this primarily literary flaw, this is a masterfully researched and accessible book which I would recommend to anyone interested in St. Francis, church history, or practical Christian faith.

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