John Brueggemann

I read this with one of my book clubs--the one that grew out of my Leadership Development Network class (through the Wisconsin classis of the Christian Reformed Church in North America), but which now includes three Evangelical Covenant pastors, the husband of one of those pastors, a retired doctor who attends a local Evangelical Covenant congregation, and me. (Three of the five Ev. Cov. people are ex-CRC.) While on the one hand, we all found elements in this book that appealed to us who are trying to apply the gospel to what it means to do justly and love mercy, we were at times concerned with how the Brueggemanns used Scripture in a way that was less about gospel and more about simply liberation. On the other hand, recognizing those biases, we all expressed an appreciation for being able to look at the narrative of Scripture in new and challenging ways. In the end, the greatest value of this book was its ability to get a group of us thinking and questioning and discussing and applying both Scripture and general revelation in sociology and economics to our lives as proclaimers and doers of the Word.… (más)

I read this with one of my book clubs--the one that grew out of my Leadership Development Network class (through the Wisconsin classis of the Christian Reformed Church in North America), but which now includes three Evangelical Covenant pastors, the husband of one of those pastors, a retired doctor who attends a local Evangelical Covenant congregation, and me. (Three of the five Ev. Cov. people are ex-CRC.) While on the one hand, we all found elements in this book that appealed to us who are trying to apply the gospel to what it means to do justly and love mercy, we were at times concerned with how the Brueggemanns used Scripture in a way that was less about gospel and more about simply liberation. On the other hand, recognizing those biases, we all expressed an appreciation for being able to look at the narrative of Scripture in new and challenging ways. In the end, the greatest value of this book was its ability to get a group of us thinking and questioning and discussing and applying both Scripture and general revelation in sociology and economics to our lives as proclaimers and doers of the Word.… (más)

A sociologist and a theologian muse on the condition of the Western world in terms of Haidt's construction of six moral foundations: care, fairness, liberty, loyalty, authority, and sanctity.

The son, John, begins each chapter with a sociological assessment of the condition of modern Western society in terms of the moral foundation; Walter the father and theologian then features an exposition of the theological element of the moral foundation, primarily drawn from the OT prophetic tradition.

The two provide incisive critiques of modern culture, uncomfortable for the politically liberal and conservative alike. They both see great rot in how these moral foundations are expressed in our insipid consumerist culture and point to a better, often more authentically Christian and faithful, way forward.

A worthy read about the current condition of culture.

**-galley received as part of early review program… (más)