By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on February 15, 2017
It is no secret that capitalistic societies have influenced a consumer mentality in churches and society. I appreciated the clear summary and strong points Miller addresses to the negative effects of consumerism and the impact this is having on society and religion. Although he offered some tactics to combat consumerism in his final chapters for…
By: Katy Drage Lines on February 15, 2017
“People now readily engage all of culture, including their religion, as an object for passive consumption, rather than active, tradition-bound engagement.”[1] Vincent Miller, in Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture, makes a strong case for the origins of consumerism. As a Catholic scholar, Miller also provides an argument for how religion…
By: Jim Sabella on February 15, 2017
Miller, Vincent Jude. Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture. New York: Continuum, 2004. Summary: We often don’t take the time to stop and notice it, but if we listen carefully, we will hear a constant song playing in the background of our everyday lives. Someone said it like this, “we are…
By: Phillip Struckmeyer on February 11, 2017
An Odyssey of Epic Proportion The term odyssey is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as a voyage or series of experiences that give knowledge and understanding through many changes of fortune. To me, LPG5 has been a true odyssey marked by amazing global experiences, an exponential increase in knowledge through diverse exposure to powerful texts,…
By: Pablo Morales on February 10, 2017
In his first book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, Mark Noll lamented on the lack of cultivation of the mind that characterized much of evangelicalism. In his sequel, Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind, the author provides a theological framework that is meant to serve Christians in their intellectual pursuits. SUMMARY Using…
By: Jason Kennedy on February 10, 2017
One of my favorite family vacations every year is not on an island or a lake. No, my bliss is found in the mountains. Every year we load up our kids and go to Utah or Colorado for a bit of skiing. My oldest daughter, Clara, is a great little skier. In her young age…
By: Chip Stapleton on February 10, 2017
One of my favorite stories about John Calvin was relayed to me by one of my seminary professors during a class on Calvin and his writings. We were discussing Calvin’s views on the Eucharist and Dr. Achtemeier told us that Calvin was adamant that the Eucharist should be celebrated weekly during worship – but the…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on February 9, 2017
“Thus, the market system seems to have grown up after the Fall rather than having been inherent in God’s original design. As such, it can never lead to salvation. It will not, left to its own devices, usher us back to the goodness of the Garden.” [1] One thing is clear, capitalism is not a…
By: Kristin Hamilton on February 9, 2017
It seems safe to say that the Reformers were not big on balance and personal boundaries. In fact, the way Weber describes Calvin and Luther in his book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, shows me these two theologians can be held responsible for the crippling fear I will not make enough money,…
By: Kevin Norwood on February 9, 2017
Most famous theologians have a book that they have written concerning Christology. What is Christology? Christology is Christian reflection, teaching, and doctrine concerning Jesus of Nazareth. Christology is the part of theology that is concerned with the nature and work of Jesus, including such matters as the Incarnation, the Resurrection, and his human and divine natures and their relationship.[1] Mark A Noll’s Christology…
By: Aaron Cole on February 9, 2017
Summary: Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind by Mark A. Noll is in essence a treatise on everything in our life and world can all be understood by knowing the person of Jesus. Noll goes to great lengths theologically and academically to not only present his view but to also prove it. He…
By: Phil Goldsberry on February 9, 2017
Introduction My religious roots as a child were in a classical Pentecostal tradition. It was balanced but narrow in scope, some of that due to the lack and exposure to the “life of the mind” as Mark Noll references it. It was not a literacy issue; it was an exposure and…
By: Aaron Peterson on February 9, 2017
Towards the end of his ministry on earth, Jesus turns and looks at his students and tells them that he, himself, is the way, the truth and the life. If you add to this declaration one part patristic creeds and one part a burning passion for study, you end up with Mark Noll’s book, Jesus…
By: Marc Andresen on February 9, 2017
From the the first pages of the Introduction to Jesus Christ and the life of the Mind, this book had a different and more positive tone than The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. The words, the topics, the stated goals are positive and are intended to encourage learning and thinking because of the realities of…
By: Stu Cocanougher on February 9, 2017
. The earning of more and more money, combined with the strict avoidance of all spontaneous enjoyment of life, … is thought of so purely as an end in itself. (15) . Labor must, on the contrary, be performed as if it were an absolute end in itself, a calling. But such an attitude is…
By: Jim Sabella on February 9, 2017
Weber, Max, Talcott Parsons, and R.H. Tawney. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2003. Summary: Most of us have seen the commercials about the DNA testing that helps one know the origins of their family tree. One guy says, “I thought I was Italian and my test showed I…
By: Garfield Harvey on February 9, 2017
In Noll’s book, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (1994), he insisted Christians should pursue their beliefs on the biblical affirmation of creation. In other words, we should stand on our theological convictions, then explore and understand how creation should function under God. Such exploration would undoubtedly motivate Christians to pursue the role of science…
By: Mary Walker on February 9, 2017
Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?” or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God. Proverbs 30:8,9 In his book, The Protestant Ethic and…
By: Geoff Lee on February 9, 2017
Weber’s Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism In this work on the intersection of religion, society and economics, Weber considers the link between Protestantism and wealth and capitalism. He tries to explain how capitalism was created by looking at religion and the Protestant Reformation. The this-wordly Protestants, particularly the Calvinists, seem…
By: Katy Drage Lines on February 8, 2017
Max Weber’s The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is considered one of the most important 20th century works on sociology.[1] Capitalism has existed in various forms and to various degrees throughout history, as has greed and wealth. But not until the sixteenth century did its modern form rise to become the dominant global…
