What I've Been Reading #3

A useful curated list! Maybe.

Every few weeks, I’ll share a few books I’m reading—why I like or don’t like them, a compelling quote, and questions they’ve raised for me. My interests largely lie in theology, Christian living, philosophy, history, and literature. Some weirdo books will sneak in, I’m sure, but you can generally expect that kind of diet.

As an aside, something Matthew Walther once wrote (and told me when we worked together years ago) is that reading one hundred pages a day was no burden. More recently another colleague simply told me, read, and keep reading, no strategy needed. I didn’t believe this, my goal was ten to thirty pages a day, but since consuming multiple genres at once (literature, theology, high-brow, low-brow, etc.) I find that fifty to a hundred pages daily isn’t difficult, and if what you’re reading is excellent, it naturally crowds out the pull of the phone.

Without further ado….

The Holy Spirit: An Introduction by Fred Sanders

The Holy Spirit has been called the shy member of the Trinity, I don’t particularly buy that line, but it reflects a reality that most Christians and even theologians do not think clearly or well about Him. The doctrine of inseparable operations tells us that the Trinity truly works on everything in complete unity and yet, that each person has his own work. The Father’s role is pretty clear in the Bible, as is the Son’s, but for the Spirit, his role can remain fuzzy. This book helps with that. The Trinity does everything as One. When we rightly say the Father is the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the doctrine of inseparable operations pushes us to see that creation is from the Father, through the Son, and in the Holy Spirit.

“The Son and the Spirit were alike in the Old Testament the promise; and are alike in the New sent as fulfilment of the promise.”1 When the time comes for their temporal missions, their distinction comes into sharper relief. We could say they are as clearly different as the incarnation and Pentecost, since the Son assumes human nature and the Holy Spirit is poured out on all flesh. This is true. Yet it might suggest a kind of relay race or tag team: first the Son arrives, and then later the Holy Spirit arrives. In fact, though, we should start noticing the Holy Spirit’s work long before he makes his grand entrance at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is always already present and active in the work of the incarnate Son.”–Fred Sanders, The Holy Spirit: An Introduction.

Question raised: Should we pray to the Holy Spirit? It’s not the regular pattern we see in Scripture. I say yes, but it’s a fascinating question.

J.S. Mill, Autobiography.

Mill’s influence on the liberal tradition is immense. I read On Liberty earlier this year and enjoyed it, but I did not have any real context for Mill himself. His autobiography seemed like an easy way to get that context. It is extremely accessible, and I have to think it is more revealing than Mill intended. You get the head in the clouds vibe. At the same time, the intellectual journey he went on was fascinating. It came with the cost of an incredibly overbearing and unloving father, who does not come off well.

“If I thought anything about myself, it was that I was rather backward in my studies, since I always found myself so, in comparison with what my father expected from me..I assert this with confidence, though it was not the impression of various persons who saw me in my childhood. They, as I have since found, thought me greatly and disagreeably self-conceited; probably because I was disputatious” John Stuart Mill, Complete Works of John Stuart Mill. Kindle Edition.

Questions raised: What the heck was going on in Great Britain from roughly 1650-1850? Owen, Baxter, Bunyan, Watson in theology. Issac Newton in science. Hobbes, Locke, Smith, Mill, Bentham, Hume in philosophy. Swift, Pope, Defoe, Elliot, Wordsworth, Austen in literature. Wilberforce, Newton, and Wesley in abolition. It’s pretty shocking. I can’t readily think of similar productive periods.

The Oxford Book of English Verse, Christopher Ricks, editor.

I will not pretend that I have read this entire volume. When it comes to poetry, I do not know which way is up. But there is an undeniable charm to it. The introduction alone is excellent, it is filled with the kind of color that I miss from modern writing. Consider:

“Nations may gain the arts that they deserve but they do not gain any one art equally, nor does one nation equally gain all of the arts. No sane Briton supposes that the architecture of these islands is by and large a glory, even though pride is to be taken in Sir Christopher Wren (who wins in these pages the serious tribute of a comical clerihew). British music, for all our Purcell and even our immigrant Handel, is not held to hold a candle to German or Austrian music. Some cultural commentators have maintained that the standing of the arts reflects nothing more than a bending of knees before imperial and economic power. But someone would then need to explain why no amount of such power was ever able to gain wide or lasting credit for, say, British sculpture or British cuisine. The poetry, on the other hand, has been acknowledged throughout the world as one of the golden treasuries.” –Ricks

That’s a good pitch for reading British poetry.

Death be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not soe, For, those, whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow, Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill mee;

From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee, Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow, And soonest our best men with thee doe goe, Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.

Thou art slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell, And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well, And better than thy stroake; why swell’st thou then?

One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally, And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.” John Donne, Holy Sonnets, 147.

Question raised: Is writing poetry a skill that can be entirely learned or does it require some type of artistic temperament?

King of Kings by James Baird

I wrote a response to this book in my “Why I’m not a Christian Nationalist” post. I thought the book was important for pastors to grapple with. Baird puts together a cogent, theologically rich, and in some ways, compelling argument for the government to promote Christianity. But then you say that last sentence out loud and problems flood into one’s mind. On one hand, the book is good as an entry into conversation between Christians, on the other hand, the book is dangerous as it says many true things, while giving theological grounding to Christian Nationalists.

“More power means a higher capacity to secure more goods. Therefore, if you have the qualifications, it is good to seek more political power. Of course, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. No one likes a tyrant. Civil officials must stay within the limits that the people have set upon them. Boundaries, checks, and balances are good things. With that said, if a Christian is good at governing, then he should aim to become more powerful. If he has the chance to expand his ability to get more good things to more people, he should do it. That’s a loving thing to do. Moreover, it is good for Christians to unite together, consolidate their powers, and expand their capacity to secure more public goods. That’s loving, too.” –James Baird. King Of Kings (pp. 89-90). Kindle Edition.

Question raised: What is the Christian case for classical liberalism?