This year marks the 200th anniversary of one of my favorite books – Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Actually, its full title is Frankenstein: Or the Modern Prometheus. And that is a good reminder that this novel is really about Frankenstein the man, not about his creation. Frankenstein is the one who steals from the gods (God?) the ability to create life from that which is lifeless. And, as long as we are clearing up misconceptions, the novel is not about re-animating the dead, as is often popularly shown in the movies, … [Read more...] about Book Review: Frankenstein
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Book Review: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis. New York, NY: Macmillan, 1962 (Link is to current edition). Summary: The classic collection of letters between a senior demon and junior tempter charged with undermining the new found faith of his “patient.” … [Read more...] about Book Review: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Imago Dei: Vision and Value (Part 4 of 5)
Michael Huerter continues his series responding to The Image of God in an Image Driven Age: Explorations in Theological Anthropology, edited by Beth Felker Jones and Jeffrey W. Barbeau (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2016). See Part 1 of Michael's explorations here, Part 2 here, and Part 3 here. Whether we think of the image of God as being related to human beings' unique rationality, their place as representatives of God's reign, their potential for relationships, or their ability to make moral choices, … [Read more...] about Imago Dei: Vision and Value (Part 4 of 5)
Responding to Overnaming in Academia
Today, Matthew Boedy wraps up his four part series on overnaming. See Post 1 here, Post 2 here, and Post 3 here. For other work by Matthew at the ESN blog, including a series on the academic job search, click here. In this four-part series, I have tried to think about one particular aspect of language: naming. In describing the appearance of our central problem called overnaming, I suggested that when we speak with a moral knowledge we are in fact showing our original sin. But when we speak ethically, we … [Read more...] about Responding to Overnaming in Academia
A Response to Overnaming
In this four-part series, I aim to think about one particular aspect of language: naming. In the introduction, I preliminarily addressed the root of the problem, the Fall. In the second post, I argued the “knowledge of good and evil” we gained at the Fall became the way we separate ourselves from God. We never gained this knowledge as if it was information about good and evil. We instead changed our relationship with naming. Here I want to begin to think through a general response. In the fourth, we will tackle … [Read more...] about A Response to Overnaming