Faithful Learning and the Christian Scholarly Vocation

by Douglas V. Henry and Bob R. Agee

Book Overview

Christian scholars and teachers everywhere are exploring ever more fully the relationship between Christian faith and the various academic disciplines. Faithful Learning and the Christian Scholarly... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802813984
• ISBN13: 9780802813985
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
• Length: 178 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.9" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Very worthwhile reading

I knew from the title of this book that it would be something I would find fascinating and worthwhile, and I wasn't disappointed. As one who aspires to fulfill a scholarly vocation within the context of a Christian academy, or within a secular academy while preserving my Christian identity, the essays contained in this text are useful. They also frame questions and suggest ways of reflection that opened new avenues for me. For that, I will be always grateful. I have this book sitting on the shelf next to the book `The Scope of Our Art: The Vocation of the Theological Teacher' edited by L. Gregory Jones and Stephanie Paulsell; the former book has for several years been annual reading for me, and this book edited by Douglas V. Henry and Bob R. Agee is destined to become the same, probably at the same time (near the start of each academic year). Among the contributors, a few names were very well known to me (Martin Marty and Parker J. Palmer, the later being author of many books that helped me in my own vocation discernment). While one of the principal subjects I have been teaching in the past several years has been theology, I occasionally have been called upon to teach a history course, a politics course, and even tutor in mathematics and sciences. How does one keep one's own vocation going in disciplines that are not explicitly designed for such Christian expression (and which, in secular/state institutions, might be problematic if expressed in certain ways)? This book address this question, among others. `It is our hope that this edited volume will encourage continued attention to the faith and learning emphasis so important to the revitalisation of the Christian academy.' The book is organised in two broad sections - the first looks at issues of mission, ecclesiology, and spirituality in a theological context of vocation and the life of the mind. How can such scholarship co-exist with the church and religious community? While the editors are from a Protestant background, this book is drawn in a broad, ecumenical form - the first essay addresses issues in terms of Reformed, Anabaptist/Mennonite, Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Baptist paradigms specifically, while drawing broader ideas for others in which to see themselves. The second section looks more at the connections of church/academy and world, and the various issues that surface because of the way our current North American culture views both higher education and religious education with some degree of suspicion. The one disappointing thing about this text for me is that despite the fact that Henry and Agee are the editors, they do not contribute any essays themselves, and their introduction is very brief. I would have hoped for a bit more insight and reflection from the editors in this book. This book is meant to generate discussion - each essay has discussion questions at the end, as well as brief lists of further works or suggested readings. This is not a well-k