By: Julie Dodge on January 24, 2014
As I soothe my slightly taxed brain, it begins to make sense to me that we were asked to follow up Charles Taylor’s Modern Social Imaginaries[1] with Zygmunt Bauman’s Collateral Damage.[2] In Modern Social Imaginaries, Taylor described the long march of the Western European and North American social imaginary to individualism, presumed equal participation in…
By: Sharenda Roam on January 23, 2014
Let me tell you, if you will, about a book that completely changed my attitude. As a faculty member in higher education it is my responsibility to assist students in their learning process. When I was an undergrad student studying at the university it seemed some professors decided that their job was to “break down”…
By: Becky Stanley on January 23, 2014
Most mission agencies, NGO’s, churches and philanthropic institutions whether representing missions, or serving orphans, providing aid for disaster relief or development programs have experienced a decline in donations. On the surface the obvious reason stated is the Global Financial Crisis. But I sense a deeper crisis, one that is sad and nonchalantly stated as ‘compassion…
By: Sandy Bils on January 23, 2014
After reading the first three pages, I looked up our module schedule again, to make sure, that I didn’t order the wrong book by accident. I assumed, that the book I was reading was not on the reading list for our doctor of ministry program. (Especially after reading Charles Taylors challenging magnus opus “A Secular…
By: Sam Stephens on January 23, 2014
The ‘Bhopal Gas Tragedy’ as the incident is widely known, happened in North India in 1984 as a result of the leakage of toxic gasses from a chemical plant. The Indian public was awakened on a large scale for the first time to the dire consequences of disregard for the environment. The incident took the lives…
By: Deve Persad on January 23, 2014
Up the coast in Northern Ireland, in the county of Antrim, sits Dunluce castle. From many angles it still look majestic and strong, sitting upon a thick carpet of deep green grass, held high against the sky. But to look from the water, straight up the cliffs, you realize that something went wrong. Thought to…
By: Chris Ellis on January 23, 2014
The world is not as it should be. There is hurt, despair and brokenness. There is violence against women and children, civil wars around the world, cancer, famine, global warming and those are just a few of the popular ills of the world. What are we as followers of Jesus to do? Should we bury…
By: Garrick Roegner on January 23, 2014
Don’t believe the devil I don’t believe his book But the truth is not the same Without the lies he made up. Don’t believe in excess Success is to give Don’t believe in riches But you should see where I live. I, I believe in love. Don’t believe in cocaine Got a speedball in my…
By: Richard Rhoads on January 23, 2014
I have a good friend named Marilyn. Marilyn is one of the kindest and most gentle humans I know. For years Marilyn has worked as a message therapist. In fact, one of the best I know. In her free time she cares for a significant HIV community in our local area. Her passion always inspires…
By: Phil Smart on January 23, 2014
Miracles, Miracles, Miracles – Active Hope by Macy and Johnstone Macy and Johnstone in Active Hope remind us that “our views about what’s normal are shaped by what we see.” When reading about other paths to joy and other ways to fulfillment, this phrase rings so true. From a non-Christian premise, Active Hope proposes three…
By: David Toth on January 22, 2014
Chose a positive attitude, engage habits that contribute to your life goals, be good to Mother Earth in all your endeavors (and maybe even make her your chief priority in life), partner with others who are doing the same, and enlist as many as possible to join the journey! (Oh, and by the way, do…
By: Fred Fay on January 22, 2014
The is a sense that we all feel frustrated with the world as it is and get angry enough to say, “Why does this happen?” or “Why doesn’t someone do something about this?” We live in this world and want to make it a good place to live and yet often do not feel at…
By: Bill Dobrenen on January 19, 2014
There is a fun game that we play when friends come over sometimes called “Imagine If…” This game allows each player to link a real person (known to all the players around the board) to something that best describes that person. For example: “Imagine if Bill were a type of music. Would he be…
By: Becky Stanley on January 19, 2014
A Secular Age by Charles Taylor prescribed as the first reading for this semester is a fascinating read exploring the empirical understanding of the historical development and implications of western secularism both for the present and the future. Taylor introduces the term “exclusive humanism” at the beginning of his analysis of the present condition of…
By: Mitch Arbelaez on January 19, 2014
Modern Social Imaginaries Standing on the premise that modern society has come about through countless struggles in order to first build, and then maintain the social framework that the world now understands as the modern western world, Charles Taylor, crafts a wonderful read, outlining the developments of our distinct modern western society, characterized by…
By: Mark Steele on January 18, 2014
Charles Taylor in his book A Secular Age won the Templeton Prize for his brilliant work explaining the story and evolution of secularism. In his book, he explains that secularism is much more complex than defining it as belief versus unbelief (Taylor 2007). He says that secularism is not simply the absence of religion, it…
By: Miriam Mendez on January 18, 2014
I was intrigued by the first sentence on the back cover of Modern Social Imaginaries, “Charles Taylor is internationally renowned for his contributions to political and moral theory, particularly to debates about identity formation, multiculturalism, secularism, and modernity.” As I engaged in reading “Modern Social Imaginaries” I found myself being challenged and invited to understand…
By: John Woodward on January 18, 2014
In Charles Taylor’s Modern Social Imaginaries we are treated to wide ranging study of our modern mentality describing not only what it is but also how it came about. Drawing on history, philosophy and social theory, Taylor discerns a dramatic shift in how people imagine their lives today from their imaginaries of the past. The…
By: Ashley Goad on January 18, 2014
(This week, I am in Uganda, and because of this, I am typing from my iPhone. I pray for your forgiveness of the numerous errors!) I have had a lot of time for introspective reflection. We were on three airplanes for a total of 22 hours, and it gave me an opportunity to let my…
By: Telile Fikru Badecha on January 18, 2014
Charles Taylor’s book on Modern Social Imaginaries offers great insights on the development of the ideas of social imaginaries in the Western modernity. Taylor makes clear in the introduction that his reflections in this book are solely on Western history and culture, which requires more time for me to understand his views and translate them…
