• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Emerging Scholars Blog

InterVarsity's Emerging Scholars Network

DONATE
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About Our Bloggers
    • ESN Writing Inquiries
    • Commenting Policy
  • Reading Lists
  • Scholar’s Compass
    • Scholar’s Compass Discussion Guide
    • Scholar’s Compass Posts
    • Scholar’s Compass Booklet
  • Connect
    • Membership
    • Events
    • Donate
    • Contact Us

Marilynne Robinson

Come Home [Balm in Gilead / Summer Read…Quote…Reflect]

July 19, 2019 by Tom Grosh IV Leave a Comment

Marilynne Robinson's novels are meant to become transparent as we read them. The stories are not ends in themselves. They are windows that allow us with a metaphysics, a description of the being of the world and the people within it. To read these novels is to be called to a conversion, not only of the heart and soul, but especially of the mind. Robinson wants us to recognize that we have squandered an intellectual inheritance that took our ancestors centuries to build. She calls us to repent of embracing the wisdom of … [Read more...] about Come Home [Balm in Gilead / Summer Read…Quote…Reflect]

Filed Under: Devotional, Quotes Tagged With: Balm in Gilead, intervarsity press, Marilynne Robinson, novel, Read...Quote...Reflect

Great Theology, Teachableness, & John Calvin [Balm in Gilead / Summer Read…Quote…Reflect]

July 12, 2019 by Tom Grosh IV Leave a Comment

In an essay on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, [Marilynne] Robinson declared that "great theology is always a kind of giant and intricate poetry, like epic or saga. It is written for those who know the tale already, the urgent messages and the dying words, and who attend to its retelling with a special alertness, because the story has a claim on them and they on it. Theology is also close to the spoken voice." In Gilead we are indeed listening, or rather overhearing, the dying words of the venerable, ailing, seventy-six-year-old … [Read more...] about Great Theology, Teachableness, & John Calvin [Balm in Gilead / Summer Read…Quote…Reflect]

Filed Under: Devotional, Quotes Tagged With: Balm in Gilead, dietrich bonhoeffer, intervarsity press, John Calvin, Marilynne Robinson, Read...Quote...Reflect, Timothy George

The praise that pours forth from the lips of . . . [Balm in Gilead / Summer Read…Quote…Reflect Series]

July 5, 2019 by Tom Grosh IV Leave a Comment

The praise that pours forth from the lips of [John] Ames and Augustine, moreover, is particular. No vague thanks here. There is an earthiness to these confessions: "You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put to flight my blindness. You were fragrant, and I drew in my breath and now pant after you. I tasted you, and I feel but hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain the peace which is yours" [Augustine, Confessions 10.27.38]. This … [Read more...] about The praise that pours forth from the lips of . . . [Balm in Gilead / Summer Read…Quote…Reflect Series]

Filed Under: Devotional, Quotes Tagged With: Augustine, Balm in Gilead, Confessions, intervarsity press, Marilynne Robinson, Read...Quote...Reflect

Healing…Fiction…Connectedness [Balm in Gilead / Summer Read…Quote…Reflect]

June 28, 2019 by Tom Grosh IV Leave a Comment

All that Gilead puts to us is the plain reminder goodness is not enough. Goodness, self-defined and self-contained, is something which will be poisonous if we're not careful. Without the wound, the openness, the crack that connects us to reality, to one another, and to God, healing doesn't happen. The “good“ can so easily come to believe that healing is natural and simple. But revelation tells us that healing is indeed the restoration of a broken nature, but precisely because our nature is broken, this healing must be … [Read more...] about Healing…Fiction…Connectedness [Balm in Gilead / Summer Read…Quote…Reflect]

Filed Under: Devotional, Quotes Tagged With: Balm in Gilead, fiction, healing, intervarsity press, Marilynne Robinson, Read...Quote...Reflect, rest, Rowan Williams, Shawn E. Okpebholo

Best Christian Book: What Have You Added to Your Reading List?

April 9, 2013 by Micheal Hickerson 5 Comments

Thank you, Andy, for your amazing breakdown of the advanced metrics of the Best Christian Book of All Time Tournament. One of Andy's findings was that the Tournament seedings came much closer to an ideal seeding than the most recent NCAA Men's Basketball tournaments. (However, I do note as a proud UofL alumnus that this year, at least, the #1 overall seed justified its ranking. Go Cards! #L1C4) Perhaps this represents my in-depth understanding of ESN members' voting tendencies —or, more likely, I was simply quite … [Read more...] about Best Christian Book: What Have You Added to Your Reading List?

Filed Under: Best Christian Book of All Time, Christ and the Academy Tagged With: henri nouwen, John Calvin, Julian of Norwich, Marilynne Robinson, Shusaku Endo, thomas aquinas

Primary Sidebar

Become a Member

Membership is Free. Sign up and receive our monthly newsletter and access ESN member benefits.

Join ESN Today

Scholar’s Compass Booklet

Scholar's Compass Booklet

Click here to get your copy

Top Posts

  • Rest and Flourishing: ESN Weekly Summer Readings for Faculty (Small Group or Individual)
  • Book Review: The Problem of Pain
  • A Prayer for Those Finishing a Semester
  • The Message of Genesis 1
  • Faith and Reason, Part 2: Augustine

Facebook Posts

Facebook Posts

Footer

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

Recent Posts

  • Encouraging One Another
  • Science Corner: Grandmother, What Grey Fur You Have
  • ESN Conversation: Nailing It

Article Categories

Footer Logo
© 2025 InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®. All rights reserved.
InterVarsity, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, and the InterVarsity logo are trademarks of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA and its affiliated companies.

Member of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Contact Us