"The Liberating Arts: Why We Need Liberal Arts Education" (Jeffrey Bilbro and Jessica Hooten Wilson, eds)

TITLE: The Liberating Arts: Why We Need Liberal Arts Education
AUTHOR: Jeffrey Bilbro and Jessica Hooten Wilson, eds
PUBLISHER: Walden, NY: Plough Publishing, 2023, (224 pages).
 

It is no secret that many of the world's most talented people choose the sciences instead of the arts. Just take a look at the richest people on earth such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, or Bill Gates. They are both in the science and technology industry. In fact, many of the biggest companies in the world are in the technical stream, like AT&T, Amazon, Apple, FaceBook, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Tesla, Toyota, TSMC, etc. With money as a key driving force in the world economic system, no wonder many talented people are lured away into the sciences in search of monetary gains. Does that render liberal arts education irrelevant? Even professors in the liberal arts stream struggle with job insecurity. This is made worse by lower student enrolment in the liberal arts. If all the best people jump ship toward the technology sector, what would happen to the arts and liberal arts? While we are free to pursue any course of study up the tree of self-fulfillment, how about using that freedom beyond self-accomplishment toward the greater good? This book brings together a collection of essays to show us why liberal arts education remains highly essential and relevant to society at large. Not only that, the contributors attempt to show us that it helps model the conversations that we ought to have on a daily basis. Instead of providing "best practices," the articles demonstrate how the liberal arts open up opportunities for all spheres of life. It is time to highlight the importance of liberal arts education and this book argues for that through many different perspectives. They deal with the purpose of liberal arts.

"Free to Believe" (Luke W. Goodrich)

TITLE: Free to Believe: The Battle Over Religious Liberty in America
AUTHOR: Luke W. Goodrich
PUBLISHER: Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah, 2019, (288 pages).

Religious Freedom is not something to be taken for granted. We see it in some communist countries where governments persecute religious people. We see it in secular states that continue to jettison matters of faith outside public circles. We are seeing religion being pushed to the margins in many parts of the world, including the traditionally religious West. With Western Europe mostly secular today, the issue of religious freedom is becoming more urgent each day. The interesting question is this: If the freedom of religion has already been enshrined in the constitution, why do we still need to battle over religious liberty? In order to deal with this question, author and senior counsel Luke Goodrich explains why this problem has become more acute over the years. Beginning with a real case of a Christian School Teacher suing the Church affiliated with the school over wrongful dismissal, we see how secular civil law meets with a Church claiming to follow religious instruction. Can a Church be sued for discrimination if she was just observing their religious obligations? What about gender selection that pits biblical obedience against secular laws? Then there is the baker refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding. These are some of the examples of how religious freedom as we have known from the past is no longer the same in the present and the foreseeable future. In writing this book, the author aims to answer three key questions:

1. What is Religious Freedom?
2. What are the Most Serious Threats to Religious Freedom?
3. What Can We Do About It?

"Forerunners of the Faith Manual" (Nathan Busenitz)

TITLE: Forerunners of the Faith: 13 Lessons to Understand and Appreciate the Basics of Church History
AUTHOR: Nathan Busenitz
PUBLISHER: Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2020, (112 pages).

The great Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said: "Life is lived forward but understood backwards." In trying to make sense of history, we are in effect trying to understand the meaning and significance of how past events have impacted or are still influencing our modern world. As a kid, history is one of those subjects that tend to be old and boring. Who wants to study the past when the future is so much more exciting? Once we get older, we realize that many things that we are trying to solve in the present have happened before in the past. In fact, the more we know of the past, the better we are able to plan for the future. With regard to faith, it is no different. In this survey of Church History, Church Age, or some might prefer to call it the History of Christianity, author and professor Busenitz divides post-Resurrection age in four periods:

1. The Apostolic Age (1st Century)
2. The Patristic Age (2nd-5th Centuries)
3. The Middle Age (6th-15th Centuries)
4. The Reformation and Modern Period (16th-20th Centuries)

"The God Guarantee" (Jack Alexander)

TITLE: The God Guarantee: Finding Freedom from the Fear of Not Having Enough
AUTHOR: Jack Alexander
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2017, (226 pages).

Every generation, people would say that their era is tougher than their predecessors. There is not enough time to do all they wanted to do. There is not enough people to do what the community need to do. There is not enough resources for us to give, to live on, or to help others with. There are anxieties of lacking what we need. There are also uncertainties that surround our future. Most damning of them all is the fear that prevents us from exercising our fullest potential and to live out our faith. According to author and motivational speaker, Jack Alexander, all we need to change our paradigm of lack to contentment. There is no need to fear about not having enough. The root of an ungenerous heart is fear. Thus, Alexander helps us to change this perspective and to understand and practice biblical generosity. I like the way Tim Keller explains in the foreword that this is not a "self-help" nor a "stewardship" book, nor a "devotional," but a book that would "send you to your knees." I like that.

Alexander dispels the scarcity mentality that paints us as victims needing more. He writes: "All the money in the world can't uncover a deeply embedded sense of scarcity." That is so true. If our hearts are not at peace, no amount of encouragement or serenity can change us. So, the author shows us that God has created us and provided for us in more ways than we could ever imagine. We doubt because we are too engrossed in independence and self-sufficiency. We doubt because of lack of faith in God. By taking on Jesus's practice of taking the bread, blessing it, breaking it, and giving it, Alexander gives us a framework to hone our contentment in God and to develop our conviction in generous giving. First in CAPACITY, we discover capacity as we take stock of what we already have. Second in CONSECRATION, as we bless God and be thankful for them, we invite God in to work in us. Third in CHALLENGES, we re-order our lives as we breaks the old set paradigms. Fourth in COMMUNITY, we give and provide for others.

"Counter-Culture, Revised Edition" (David Platt)

TITLE: Counter Culture: Following Christ in an Anti-Christian Age
AUTHOR: David Platt
PUBLISHER: Carol Stream IL: Tyndale-Momentum, 2017, (320 pages).

The world we live in is increasingly anti-Christian. Many of the traditional beliefs are being challenged. Literal understanding of the Bible is being pushed back by liberal inclinations. Same-sex marriages are not only becoming a right for many, some circles even see it as the norm and marriage as something less than ideal. It creates a false impression that what is termed legal is legitimate. Those who hold on to orthodox beliefs are becoming ostracized and ridiculed for being old-fashioned. How do we speak the truth in love? What does it mean to live as believers in an increasingly unbelieving world? What do we do with split opinions and old paradigms being overturned with erroneous thinking? For author David Platt, following Christ is increasingly becoming a call to live counter-culturally. Concerned with the tendency of many believers to flee or take flight of challenging circumstances, he exhorts us to risk it because it is worth it. Platt writes that this book is about:

"helping us think through how to live out that gospel in our lives, families, and churches in an age of sexual confusion, legal abortion, rampant materialism, violent racism, escalating refugee crises, diminishing religious liberties, and a number of other significant social issues. This book is about refusing to retreat from these realities, instead choosing to face them with a fearless faith that is full of hope in Christ and free to love even those who would belittle Christian belief."

"Truly Free" (Robert Morris)

TITLE: Truly Free: Breaking the Snares That So Easily Entangle
AUTHOR: Robert Morris
PUBLISHER: Nashville, TN: Thomas-Nelson, 2015, (240 pages).

Freedom is much touted and cherished in the West. From the Declaration of Independence to the enshrinement of freedom in anthems, oaths, and pledges, we may have from time to time be guilty in taking our common freedoms for granted. In fact, we may enslaved more than we are aware of. When Christ came to set us free, we will be free. Unless we become deceived, distracted, discouraged, or depressed. According to lead pastor and author, Robert Morris, for one to be truly free, discipleship and deliverance must go hand in hand. He laments the fact that Christians who are supposed to be living in freedom are unfortunately living in enslavement and snares to several temptations. In a series of what looked like three-point sermons that make up the chapters of this book, Morris begins by systematically using the biblical principles and teachings of Scripture to remind us that freedom in Christ means following Christ and being delivered from the trickery of the evil one and the temptations of the world, and the vulnerabilities of the flesh Dispelling two popular myths, he draws from the wisdom of CS Lewis who wrote in the popular book, The Screwtape Letters:

"There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them."

"A Heart for Freedom" (Chai Ling)

TITLE: A Heart for Freedom: The Remarkable Journey of a Young Dissident, Her Daring Escape, and Her Quest to Free China's Daughters
AUTHOR: Chai Ling
PUBLISHER: Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale Publishers, 2011, (370 pages).

Mention Tiananmen Square and what comes to mind for most people? Yes. Despite the famous history and the memorable monuments there, Tiananmen Square will always be remembered infamously for the student protest movement in 1989. On June 4th of 1989, the world reeled in shock as they watched the mighty Chinese Red army tanks steamroll the entire student movement, crushing the bodies as well as hopes of many of protesters. In one day, the movement for greater democracy was dismantled. It is one thing for us to watch the pictures on TV and to listen to news reporters giving their observations. It is yet another to hear from someone who was at the heart of the movement, the heat of the crisis, and the head of the student organization leading the protests.  With high ideals and hopes for a better country, Ling and her associates are Chinese patriots who loved the people of China. They stood for Chinese ideals and share the vision of a greater and better China for all. This book gives us a bigger picture and a deeper understanding of the contexts leading to the uprising, the massacres, and the aftermaths of the whole movement. While it is a personal autobiography of Ling, it is also a lens in which outsiders can see the workings and complexities of a growing economic force.

Book Review: "Chaos and Grace"

TITLE: Chaos and Grace: Discovering the Liberating Work of the Holy Spirit
AUTHOR: Mark Galli
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2011, (203 pages).

When Mark Galli writes, he makes me ponder. Most importantly, he has the ability to rummage through my comfort zones and to rake up any leaves of comfort and complacency. This book is no different. In "Chaos and Grace," Galli points his guns at our human tendency to want to control our lives. When men tries to control their lives or the lives of other people, they will be tempted to even try to control God. The result is emotional chaos and spiritual pandemonium. Until one learns to submit to the Holy Spirit prompting us to relinquish control to God, we will learn to see grace and to live in freedom to God.

Galli argues rightly that Christianity is more than a religion, more than inspiration, more than programming, and more than a 'religion of comfort and encouragement' (17).  He writes:

"But this God seems addicted to risk rather than religion, to freedom rather than control, to love rather than law." (33)

Going through the Old Testament and New Testament, Galli breezes through the beginning of the Bible with an insightful look at the intentional way God injects chaos in his creative act of revealing his goodness. He points out the deteriorating level of human control addiction from Adam/Eve to Shinarian's Tower of Babel; from Abraham's trying to control his future and yet unable to control his offsprings. In the New Testament, Galli describes how sin is essentially a refusal to trust God. He says:

"Sin is fundamentally a desire for order where God does not want order and to control that which God does not want us to control." (75)

The second part of his book goes into specific applications with regards to how we can learn to relinquish control from ourselves, to release control to God. This is true freedom, where the Holy Spirit will be free to act, and human beings free to obey.  Galli provides at least eight ways to do just that.

1. We need to move away from the 'horizontal' focus on the needs of people, to the 'vertical' focus of what Christ has done, is doing, and will be doing.
2. We need to move from our self-centered versions of justice, reasoning, and controlling to the Holy Spirit's act of grace.
3. We need to move from wilful optimism of our human wisdom to a sharp hope on the Resurrection of Jesus.
4. We are not called to be 'Christian marketers' but we are to be 'witnesses for Christ.'
5. We need to get away from enslaving ourselves with trying to manage our spiritual lives, to letting God manage us.
6. We need to move away from a fear-driven control that tries to hide our human shame, TO an obedience that is laced with 'risk-filled' commands.
7. We need to move away from the seductions of power to live simply on the simple promise of God.
8. We need to snap out of worldly imagination of utopia to a godly embrace of church.

My Comments

Galli shines in his critique of the controlling disposition of many church people. With his keen understanding on contemporary church life, and deep awareness of the prevailing American context of comfort, security, and control, Galli tries hard to wake the Church up. He does a brilliant job to remind readers not to be too one-dimensional in their Christian living and thinking. Living a Christian life cannot be limited only to the human emotions of good feeling, great preaching, or professional programming. He is spot on about the nature of human addiction to control. Using powerful stories from the Bible, he argues convincingly that God often use 'chaos' to rough us up, in order to bring us back to God. In fact, while many believes that mercy, peace, and blessings continue to be seen as evidence of God's grace, Galli is wise to point us about the other dimension. Chaos can also be seen as a grace of God. This particular insight is certainly worth the price of the book. The Grace of God is present even when Chaos Reign or Grace Shines.

Ratings: 4 stars of 5.

conrade

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"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group".