Deus Misereatur

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values by Robert M. Pirsig My rating: 3 of 5 stars My son had to read it for a philosophy of science class. After he completed the course he asked me to read it so we could talk. If it hadn't been for my son's request I would likely have put it down a time or two. But, I plowed on over the weeks to see what my son had been reading, and to talk it over with him. A clash of ideas. A wrangling between Western and Eastern philosophy. Layers of story line that include father and son, technology and art, mental illness and mental prowess, rhetoric and dialectic, the one and the many, institutionally trained motorcycle mechanics and those who are motorcycle mechanic-artists, romantic and classic modes of thought, et alia. In so many ways it is a fascinating story. Maybe something of a mystical tale for non-theists with a surprise ending? Now I'm done, and ready to talk. He's already moved on and delving into other t...

Paul and the Giants of Philosophy: Reading the Apostle in Greco-Roman Context by Joseph R. Dodson My rating: 5 of 5 stars How were Paul's writings similar and dissimilar to the paragons of virtue and valor in his day? Did he absorb their categories, and imbibe in their programs, incorporating them into the letters he wrote? These are the types of questions answered in a new 200-page paperback put out by IVP Academic titled, "Paul and the Giants of Philosophy: Reading the Apostle in Greco-Roman Context." The volume is edited by Joseph R. Dodson, associate professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary, and David E. Briones, associate professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia), and pulls together a cast of collaborators from different venues of academia. I was surprised at how straightforward and simple the publication was to read. High School Seniors, College Freshmen, pastors and seminarians alike would be able to delve into this volu...