Monday, November 11, 2013

Book: Good Ideas from Questionable Christians and Outright Pagans

Today’s Book is just a pull off the shelf. I have a slew of great, good, or useful books that I’d like to share with you.

Good Ideas from Questionable Christians and Outright Pagans: An Introduction to Key Thinkers and PhilosophiesI am, unashamedly, a Christian. A right-wing, conservative lunatic, raving crazy Bible-is-always-right kind of Christian. Inherent in this is the assumptive belief that if we only had the Bible, we would be okay. I firmly support having more than the Bible for learning, but the Bible sits on the top of the stack.

All good ideas in history, though, do not come from the Bible alone. Steve Wilkens Good Ideas from Questionable Christians and Outright Pagans plunges into ten people’s ideas who can, at best, be considered questionable Christians because of their theology. Others are certainly not Christians.

Yet their ideas are helpful. Unlike the classic division phrased by Tertullian of “What indeed has Athens to do with Jerusalem?,” we see that Athens, the land of philosophy and pagans, has something useful to say to Jerusalem, the land of the holy.

The pagans involved, such as Plato and Aristotle, contributed great ideas to civilization. The questionable Christians range from Augustine to Descartes. Some will find these less questionable than others, but all have flawed theological moments or behavioral moments. What can one say? They’re men.

As you seek to broaden your personal understandings of life, as you sharpen your faith by understanding the world, grabbing Good Ideas from Questionable Christians and Outright Pagans will be a great help for you.

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