A Christian defense of the church-state divide.
Harker (Youth Ministry in Crisis, 2004, etc.) warns of threats to the separation of church and state in this examination of America’s religious climate.
Many believe that the United States’ tradition of separating government and religion is the key to its greatness. Others believe that it’s holding the country back. In this book, Harker asserts that the latter position has been gaining strength in American politics and is poised to bring about lasting damage to the republic: “the theocratic impulse is not only alive and well in America but flourishing in ways that could barely have been imagined half a century ago.” He takes as his central issue the idea of Sunday legislation, or “blue laws,” that enforce traditional notions of Sunday as a day of worship and rest, while also defending the secular, constitutional foundations of American liberty. From the first Sunday legislation passed at Jamestown to the evangelical-backed rise of Donald Trump, Harker attempts to identify those strands within American Protestantism that tend toward theocracy and to counter them with biblical quotes, church history, Catholic perspectives, and Enlightenment-influenced Protestant values. Harker writes in a scholarly, sometimes-knotty prose that moves comfortably through the realms of history, politics, theology, and philosophy: “The autonomy of reason is a Greek legacy within Roman Catholicism that gives ultimate shape to Catholic natural law.” However, his train of thought may not always be crystal clear to readers who may occasionally become confused about how particular arguments relate to his thesis; for example, at one point, it’s initially unclear how a discussion of Vatican II and Catholic “higher values” relates back to the evangelicals he’d discussed earlier. The specialized nature of the material suggests the author is writing for other religious thinkers and not a general audience. Still, the mere fact that Harker is making a theological case against theocratic laws, however, is notable in itself, and the depth of his knowledge is impressive and authoritative. Whether such a strategy will change minds remains to be seen, but the author’s ideas will hopefully help to bring the debate into new territory.
A Christian defense of the church-state divide.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5437-4366-1
Page Count: 248
Publisher: PartridgeSingapore
Review Posted Online: March 22, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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