949 research outputs found
Glen Pettigrove, Forgiveness and Love. Reviewed by Travis Pickell.
No full textReview of Glen Pettigrove, Forgiveness and Love (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012). xvi + 174pp., ISBN 978-0-19-964655-5.
Hannah Arendt famously called forgiveness ‘redemption from the predicament of irreversibility—of being unable to undo what one has done’ (The Human Condition, p. 212). Because right action is not always easy to discern, and when discerned not always easy to enact, we are all likely to be repeatedly in need of forgiveness—of extending it and receiving it. Forgiveness, then, would seem to play an enormously important role in sustaining relations among people, at both the individual and the societal levels—a truth reflected in recent philosophical interest in the concept, and in attempts to bring forgive-ness to bear in the political realm (e.g. South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission). In this helpful volume, Glen Pettigrove, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Auckland, carefully elucidates ‘the nature of forgive-ness, the conditions that make it possible, and the norms by which it is governed’ (p. xiii). In doing so, he makes a compelling case that forgiveness is a more diverse concept than is typically acknowledged in philosophical literature, and, therefore, can be an appropriate action in a wider range of circumstances than is sometimes allowed
Political Affections: Civic Participation and Moral Theology. By Joshua Hordern. Reviewed by Travis Pickell.
No full textReview of Political Affections: Civic Participation and Moral Theology. By JOSHUA HORDERN. Pp. 336. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2013. ISBN: 978-0-19-964681-4.
“Fire tends upwards, stone downwards. By their weight they are moved and seek their proper place ... My love is my weight: wherever I go my love is what brings me there” (Augustine, Confessions 13.9). Augustine long ago recognized that affections are an inescapable dimension of human existence. Why, then, have emotions and affections been so largely neglected, even opposed, in political philosophy? In Political Affections, Joshua Hordern, University Lecturer in Christian Ethics at the University of Oxford and Fellow of Harris Manchester College, explores “the nature of affections, their role in morality, and their significance for political relations” (1). Hordern weaves together insights from political theory, biblical studies, Christian theology, neuroscience, and cognitive psychology in this wide-ranging investigation of affections’ role in human moral and political life
Victor Lee Austin, Christian Ethics: A Guide for the Perplexed: Reviewed by Travis Pickell
No full textReview of Victor Lee Austin, Christian Ethics: A Guide for the Perplexed, Bloomsbury T&T Clark: London, 2012; 177 pp.: 9780567032195, £50.00 (hbk), 9780567032201, £14.99 (pbk), 9780567639998, £14.99 (ebook)
How does one write an introductory text without being overly reductive, on the one hand, or unnecessarily bogging down the reader with finer points, on the other? Imagine trying to make a topic as expansive as Christian ethics intelligible to the ‘perplexed’ among us. Victor Lee Austin, Theologian-in-residence at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue (NYC), admirably navigates between these twin pitfalls in this useful and concise volume
In Whose Image? Travis Pickell on McKenny\u27s Biotechnology, Human Nature, and Christian Ethics
No full textLast semester, a single, hypothetical, issue haunted all our discussions in my co-taught class, “Engineering Humanity: The Promise and Perils of Biotechnology.” “Hypothetical,” that is, until the penultimate week of class when we received word that a Chinese scientist named He Jiankui crossed an ethical red-line, allegedly using CRISPR-cas9 technology to bring the planet’s first gene-edited babies into the world. These twins, Lulu and Nana, had undergone “gene-surgery” (He’s preferred term) as embryos to edit-out a single gene, CCR5, without which He hoped they might become immune to HIV (their father carries the virus). Suddenly, all of our previous hedging, imagine if this technology is ever applied to the human germ-line, seemed somewhat naïve
Book Review: John D. Roth (ed.), Constantine Revisited: Leithart, Yoder, and the Constantinian Debate. Reviewed by Travis Pickell.
No full textReview of John D. Roth (ed.), Constantine Revisited: Leithart, Yoder, and the Constantinian Debate (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2013). xvi + 200 pp. ISBN 978-1- 61097-819-4
How are we to understand the historical and theological legacy of Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor? Some would say that his conversion signals the initiation of a ‘Constantinian shift’ in the church’s self-understanding, the adoption of a heretical Christendom mentality. This shift, marked by an unsavoury union of church and empire, ultimately meant that the church forsook the peaceful politics of Jesus and adopted the worldly politics of the sword. ‘Constantinianism’, thus understood, equals the fall of the church. And given what we know about his life – he was, after all, responsible for the deaths of his father-in-law, two brothers-in-law, one wife, and one son, to name only a few – it may be asked in what sense we should even concede the name ‘Christian’ to this man. Such a perspective on Constantine and his legacy – which is widespread in Christian ethics today – is most closely associated with the work of the late Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder. It is precisely this view that was vigorously challenged by Peter J. Leithart’s Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom (IVP, 2010). Leithart’s book had a two-fold aim, at once historical and theological. The historical aim was to rebut popular caricatures of the man, Constantine. The theological aim, which was primary, was to dismantle Yoder’s declensionist ‘fall’ narrative and to offer an alternative political theology in which Constantine provides ‘a model for Christian political practice’ (Leithart, p. 11
Allan Aubrey Boesak, With Foreword by Nicholas Wolterstorff, Dare We Speak of Hope? Searching For A Language of Life in Faith and Politics. Reviewed by Travis Pickell
No full textReview of Allan Aubrey Boesak, with foreword by Nicholas Wolterstorff, Dare We Speak of Hope? Searching for a Language of Life in Faith and Politics (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2014). xiv + 202 pp. ISBN 978-0-8028-7081-0
‘Hope’ has become something of a catchword in contemporary civic and political dis-course. In 2006, then-Senator Barack Obama published The Audacity of Hope, his visionary manifesto, which was followed two years later by now-iconic presidential election campaign posters, boldly and simply proclaiming ‘HOPE’ to masses of American voters. Over the past decade, we have witnessed the powerful enthusiasm the promise of hope can bring to a civil society desperately longing for a hope-filled politics.
Even so, there are those who would warn against an easy alliance between hope and politics. Some, we might call them ‘realists’, believe that political hope must be severely chastened. The realm of politics aims merely at forestalling the ‘worst-imaginable’ possibilities by attending to the ‘art of the possible’. Better not to raise your hopes too high. Others, rather cynically, claim that politics is an essentially hopeless endeavour, where deceit reigns in the acquisition of power, and where power, once possessed, corrupts its holder. Then there are political activists who fear that hope—especially religious hope—tends to distract believers from the hard work of politics, resulting in a disengaged and otherworldly quietism. For the realist, hope is dangerous. For the cynic, hope is naïve. For the activist, hope is an opiate
Book Review: Craig G. Bartholomew, Contours of the Kuyperian Tradition: A Systematic Introduction, Bob Goudzwaard and Craig G. Bartholomew, Beyond the Modern Age: An Archaeology of Contemporary Culture. Reviewed by Travis Pickell
No full textReview of Craig G. Bartholomew, Contours of the Kuyperian Tradition: A Systematic Introduction (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017). xiv + 363 pp. ISBN 978-0-8308- 5158-4
Bob Goudzwaard and Craig G. Bartholomew, Beyond the Modern Age: An Archaeology of Contemporary Culture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017). xii + 313 pp. ISBN 978-0-8308-5151- 5
Abraham Kuyper stands as a giant of politics, theology, and social philosophy in the Dutch Reformed context. Serving as a pastor, journalist, educator and university founder, political activist, theologian, author, and prime minister in his time, his legacy continues through the neo-Calvinist tradition (sometimes called ‘Kuyperianism’), which has gained considerable influence in the American evangelical Protestant context. If ever one has heard of ‘sphere sovereignty’, ‘principled pluralism’, ‘reformed epistemology’, ‘anti-thesis’ and the impossibility of ‘neutrality’, or ‘Christian worldview’, then one is likely already within the Kuyperian ambit. Anyone who is interested in considering the social and public relevance of Christianity does well to acquaint herself with this school of thought
Julie Hanlon Rubio, Hope for Common Ground: Mediating the Personal and the Political in a Divided Church. Reviewed by Travis Ryan Pickell.
No full textReview of Julie Hanlon Rubio, Hope for Common Ground: Mediating the Personal and the Political in a Divided Church Moral Traditions series (Washington DC: Georgetown University Press, 2016). xxi + 242 pp. ISBN 978-1-62616-306-5
It is no secret that we live in a time of intense polarization, perhaps especially in the American political context. This situation may be explained in a number of ways. Some will point to increasing economic inequality or socioeconomic and racial ‘sorting’. Others may point to the concurrent rise of ‘identity politics’ and the ‘politics of resentment’. Others will highlight the effects of technology, including the rise of algorithm-driven social media networks, on public discourse. Still others will highlight the way the internet has democratized media and journalism, paving the way for hyper-partisan news outlets and an endless cycle of claims of ‘fake news’. Yet others will point to other factors. Whatever we take to be the primary cause (in reality, each of those likely contributes to the problem), we cannot deny the effects: we live in a time when it is increasingly difficult to cooperate with, and in many cases even to communicate meaningfully with, those who differ from us politically, socioeconomically, and culturally. It is enough to make one wonder whether genuine politics, the sort described by Aristotle, Thomas, and the tradition of Catholic Social Teaching (CST), is even possible in our time. Are we left with the bleak choice between Machiavellian Realpolitik and the outright rejection of politics, perhaps through a personal or ecclesiological ethic of nonparticipation
Octavofest Guest Speaker Travis McDade
No full textThis Program is in partnership with Octavofest: Celebrating the Book and Paper Arts.
Program: Professor McDade will begin this program with a general discussion of his research, books, and his latest project, with a primary focus on how thefts of valuable rare books have been handled by the law. This discussion will utilize the 2007, 6th Circuit case of the United States vs. Charles Thomas Allen, II, et al. , utilizing the prosecution of Allen and his colleagues for the theft of valuable rare books from the special collections library at Transylvania University (Lexington, KY) as an example of how the law handles the theft of cultural heritage objects. Law, library and information science, anthropology, museum studies, and art students will find this program of interest, as well as professionals in these fields, and other individuals who value the preservation of our cultural heritage.
Travis McDade is the Curator of Law Rare Books and Associate Professor of Library Service and the University of Illinois College of Law. Professor McDade, a lawyer and a librarian, is the country’s foremost expert on crimes against rare books, maps, documents, and other printed cultural heritage resources. He is the author of three books on the subject: The Book Thief: The True Crimes of Daniel Spiegelman; Thieves of Book Row: New York’s Most Notorious Rare Book Ring and the Man Who Ended it; and Disappearing Ink: The Insider, the FBI, and the Looting of the Kenyon College Library.
Refreshments will be served.
Contact Barbara Loomis at [email protected] for more information
The Author\u27s Series: Writing 101, Publishing and Marketing
No full textThe Author\u27s Series: Writing 101, Publishing and Marketing
Featured Author: Damion J. Walker, Empowering Underserved Communities: Social Equity Through Collective Action & Founder of Cognitive Justice Intl.
Guest Author: Travis Davidson, Overcoming the Odds , Gospel Hip Hop Artis-TX3
Book Signin
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