booklogging

This is such an intriguing book for Christians. I would judge that the author has a good working knowledge of Catholicism and is able both to articulate theories of atonement and to make links between the main theme of this story and the thought of Teilhard De Chardin. Not to mention recycling a term from patristic discussions: 'hypostatic union'. In addition one of the strong and main characters is a Roman Catholic woman priest (!). The main theme in this story paddles round the edges of, what would be in Christian terms, theodicy and the meaning of redemption. I'll not say more, except that I may write more about it in due course and that it should be read by Christians interested in the possibilities of scifi.
For me a big part of the interest, as with other books in this series is the exploration of corporate dimensions of being human. And in this case of emergent properties of human co-operation and intelligence.
Amazon.co.uk: Transcendent: Destiny's Children Book 3 (Gollancz): Books: Stephen Baxter

Labels: Christian, fiction, powers

Good to see someone taking up the possibilities of thinking opened up by choas theory. Useful, and good also to see the urban church being taken seriously. Kester writes well and at times not only are the ideas being expressed stimulating but his turn of phrase is engaging.

My lasting impressions of this book are of a good use of the basic ideas about complexity from the sciences and of a nice way with language.. I think that the implications of complexity for the urban church are well explored and largely helpfully These are issues we need to get to grips with and Kester does it well.
Amazon.co.uk: The Complex Christ: Signs of Emergence in the Urban Church: Books: Kester Brewin

Labels: Christian, mission, urban

Good overview of the evolutionary perspectives on knowing. The importance of this book is the model developed strongly questions a model of perception and epistemology of representation. Well written with the interested amateur in mind

I'm linking it with Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and Its Challenge to Western Thought in that it is about rooting knowing in embodied human experience.
Amazon.co.uk: The Tree of Knowledge: Biological Roots of Human Understanding: Books: Humberto R. Maturana,Francisco J. Varela

Labels: biology, epistemology

Mainly a book concerned with historical roots to the modern-day phenomenon of Wicca. In so do we look more widely at particularly Victorian esorteric CHristianity and how some of it shaded into more magical and occultic pursuits via ritual. We emerge with a sense that part of the impetus to Wicca derives from certain concerns to do with empowerment, ritual, nature and especially a search for legitimacy by appeal to ever-more ancient 'authority' in Britain's far past.

On the way there is a lot of useful information about the thought-worlds of some of the founding figures of neo-Paganism and their 'debt' to the Christian fringe. For me it was useful too to see why it was that there seemed to be similarities between aspects of Freemasonry and Wiccan rituals and also to have a better sense of who and what the OTO and Golden Dawn were.

Labels: Christian, Wicca