By: Jonathan Lee on February 24, 2023
Tom Holland, the author of Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind, is a British writer who wrote novels and historical non-fiction books on topics of classical and medieval history. In Dominion, Tom analyzes the rise and impact of Christianity on the western world. He divides the book into three parts – Antiquity, Christendom, and…
By: Kally Elliott on February 24, 2023
There is a member of our family who we all, and I do mean ALL of us, allow to set the agenda. She is needy, definitely the most anxious member of the family, afraid of her own shadow, and constantly demanding attention. Always watching, following us from room to room, she is undifferentiated and fully…
By: Dr. Michael O'Neill on February 24, 2023
The Map That Changed the World by Simon Winchester offers an engaging perspective into one man’s incredible journey towards creating something truly revolutionary, driven solely by passion and dedication. Similarly, Marshall’s book, Prisoners of Geography, provides a comprehensive overview of each region’s geopolitical dynamics, as well as its cultural influences from ancient times to the…
By: Denise Johnson on February 24, 2023
It is not hard to see that we no longer live in a Christian dominated society. The fluidity of thought, values, and the definition of what is right and wrong changes so quickly it is hard to keep up. All the while there is one group or another crying out that their human rights have…
By: Tim Clark on February 23, 2023
I’m going to start this post with a confession. As I was reading A Failure of Nerve, Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix [1]by Edwin H. Friedman, I thought about the people at church who approach me after a sermon and ask, “have you been reading my mail?” Most often I have no clue what…
By: Jana Dluehosh on February 23, 2023
The Time that is Given to us. The Lord of the Rings, honestly one of most favorite movies. Bet you thought I was going to say book didn’t you. I’ve tried many times to read the book and only get to the end of book one and I’m done. I get exhausted trying to figure…
By: Adam Harris on February 23, 2023
Tennessee, my home state, was the setting for the famous “Scopes Monkey Trial” where the theory of evolution was debated as whether this subject was appropriate to be taught to students in school. Many in the early 1900’s believed this theory directly contradicted the creation story found in Scripture. Since then, more Abrahamic faiths have…
By: Jenny Dooley on February 23, 2023
I approached Edwin Friedman’s book, Failure of Nerve, with a great deal of curiosity and a fair amount of apprehension. I am quite familiar with the practice of non-anxious presence discussed in his book and yet I notice myself faltering in certain anxiety prone situations. In my attempts to restore equilibrium and balance I…
By: Nicole Richardson on February 23, 2023
Humanism adheres to the understanding that each human has value and dignity; because of that inherent value humans have no need of religion to define what is moral/ethical/good. Humans can be good without God. Postmodern thinkers push back on the “one truth” because one’s experience is more revelatory to define one’s truth; truth is relative. …
By: Jonita Fair-Payton on February 23, 2023
WARNING! This post may not be for you! I share: 1. My Heart 2. My Authentic Space 3. My Introspective Thoughts (I met with my Coach an hour before writing it) So, govern yourself accordingly, there is no love lost between us if you skip over it without reading. For everyone else, I invite you…
By: Troy Rappold on February 23, 2023
In his 2019 book, Dominion, author Tom Holland attempts to explain how Christianity became “the most powerful hegemonic cultural force in the history of the word” (p. xxv). It is not a history of Christianity per se, but rather he seeks “to explore how we in the West came to be what we are, and…
By: Pam Lau on February 23, 2023
I was a young adult, eager and enthusiastic, with my first experience of anxiety. Maybe 19? Maybe 20? The memory is still blurred. But I remember the thinning of my feelings as my heart palpitated wildly beneath my chest, the involuntary panic that I would never want another soul to know I carried around in…
By: Michael Simmons on February 22, 2023
Tom Holland’s book Dominion is a wonderful book for anyone interested in the ubiquitous nature of Christianity in global development, particularly Western thought. Holland’s book is about 500 pages long and broken into three sections, which outline this development from Christ to today. Fortunately for me, Dr. Clark only assigned us to listen to Tom…
By: Mathieu Yuill on February 22, 2023
Many people have been quoted as saying versions of this, but Maya Angelou is probably the most recognizable person to have said “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” She said it in 2003 which was only…
By: Caleb Lu on February 22, 2023
“It’s over Anakin, I have the high ground!”[1] My brothers and I throw this quote around from time to time to make fun of everyone’s least favorite Star Wars trilogy. It’s a funny exchange (supposedly very serious) between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin as they engage in a lightsaber duel that ends with Anakin jumping up…
By: Cathy Glei on February 22, 2023
What is going on? I have never witnessed so much anxiety in children as I have in the last five years. Previously in my role as a Kindergarten teacher, I witnessed so many children who came to school with so much fear and anxiety and I often wondered “what is going on?” Children, as early…
By: Todd E Henley on February 22, 2023
The vagus nerve is the longest nerve of the autonomic nervous system and is one of the most important nerves in the body. The vagus nerve helps to regulate many critical aspects of human physiology, including the heart rate, blood pressure, sweating, digestion, and even speaking. When a person has an argument, series struggle, or…
By: Kayli Hillebrand on February 22, 2023
In Tom Hollands comments during the “Theos Annual Lecture” he captured the essence of his book Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind, articulating just how influential Christianity has been in the shaping of society. Holland, an accomplished historian, author, and broadcaster with the BBC focusing on historical documentaries, provides the audience with a deeper…
By: Roy Gruber on February 22, 2023
Tom Holland is an award-winning historian, author, and broadcaster. In Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind, Holland tackles social and ecclesiastical theology and its influence on the Western world. Classified under theology, Holland demonstrates how Christianity began humbly but grew to dominate Western culture and thought and continues to do so today. Holland states…
By: David Beavis on February 22, 2023
A common illustration of the great effect of small mistakes involves navigation. Whether one is steering a ship or flying a plane, the slightest unremitted adjustment in the direction can throw one completely off course. A single degree of difference can cause one to be thousands of miles off the intended destination. A Lesson…
