By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on January 18, 2017
Culture and church appear to have a delicate dance, they move together and help define the characteristics and qualities of each. Their symbiotic relationship requires both to evolve so as to accommodate the development of the other. In reading about the evolution of the British evangelical church and the relationship it has with culture, the…
By: Katy Drage Lines on January 18, 2017
The way the story goes, the modern mission movement began with a refusal to listen to a command: “Young man, sit down. When God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine.” Undaunted, William Carey (1761-1834)— shoemaker turned Baptist preacher and reader of adventure books— emerged as the Father…
By: Rose Anding on January 18, 2017
Introduction Surprisingly, evangelicalism is a global phenomenon: It is not confined to North America or Europe. Global Evangelicalism Theology, History & Culture in Regional Perspective, by Donald M. Lewis and Richard V. Pierard, explores the growth and explosion of evangelicalism through the theological, historical, and regional perspectives.[1]…
By: Mary Walker on January 18, 2017
“The process of change can best be seen as a pattern of diffusion.”[1] Summary In this book, Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A history from the 1730s to the 1980s, historian D. W. Bebbington gives the history of evangelicalism in Britain from its beginnings in the early 18th century through the more ecumenical movement in the…
By: Garfield Harvey on January 18, 2017
We often teach religion in public, but we teach doctrine privately. In Oxford, we learn that the culture is always 5 minutes later than advertised. Brooks believes that the American government lacks an understanding of human nature, which contributes to why strategies often fail. As the American culture continues to teach how to crave success,…
By: Kevin Norwood on January 12, 2017
Teenagers…. Have you ever dealt with teenagers? There are more changes in a teenager in just a few minutes than any other human being that I know. It is incredible how mature one of these strange creatures can appear and then in just a few moments and a few breathes, they can be a huge…
By: Pablo Morales on January 12, 2017
SUMMARY In the book “The Social Animal, The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement,” New York Times columnist David Brooks introduces us to the world of brain research and behavioral science through a literary style that is a marriage between fiction and reporting (anyone who enjoyed this book must watch Brain Games in Netflix).…
By: Kristin Hamilton on January 12, 2017
In 1982 I committed a mortal sin, according to my 11th grade history teacher. I elected not to say the Pledge of Allegiance. I was sorting through what it means to commit myself completely to Jesus and didn’t feel comfortable with the words of the Pledge. “It is a slap in the face of God!…
By: Stu Cocanougher on January 12, 2017
Growing up as a person of European descent in the United States of America, I was raised from birth to be a patriot. In elementary school, my classmates and I learned stories of Christopher Columbus, the Pilgrims, and how George Washington and the armies of the thirteen colonies turned away the evil British redcoats.…
By: Phil Goldsberry on January 12, 2017
Introduction It was good to step out of the “bubble” of my professional, protected, pompous life and read, The Social Animal by David Brooks. Brooks said, “People gravitate toward people like themselves. When we meet new people, we instantly start matching our behavior to theirs.”[1] Jumping into the two fictitious characters of the book, Erica…
By: Aaron Peterson on January 12, 2017
Here we go! Welcome to week one of our spring 2017 semester. I have been so excited. I prepared all last week to get back into our DMIN rhythm of researching, reading, blogging, and Zooming. I even fell asleep Sunday night looking forward to our Zoom at 7am PST Monday morning. However, it has been…
By: Marc Andresen on January 12, 2017
With stellar creativity and evidence of extensive research David Brooks brings us significant understanding of human beings as creatures of society in his book, The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement. Through the medium of story-telling, interlaced with citings from many scholastic books, he demonstrates that even though we may think…
By: Jason Kennedy on January 12, 2017
During the last two centuries, the world has become more and more rational. Emotions have given way to the scientific method. Reason is the king on the mountain of social development at least that has been the thinking since the enlightenment. David Brooks in his highly fascinating book, The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of…
By: Claire Appiah on January 12, 2017
David Brooks – The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement Introduction David Brooks is a renowned writer and commentator specializing in policies and politics. The thesis of this book is, “We are living in the middle of a revolution in consciousness.” [1] Scientific insights gained from geneticists, neuroscientists, psychologists, sociologists,…
By: Christal Jenkins Tanks on January 12, 2017
In Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, Benedict Anderson seeks to propose a nuanced perspective for how we understand and perceive the origin and spread of nationalism. Anderson does a good job of setting up his argument by walking us through a historical perspective that gives way to the deconstruction of…
By: Mary Walker on January 12, 2017
I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; (John 17:15-17a) “This world is not my home I’m just a passing through; My treasures are…
By: Jennifer Dean-Hill on January 11, 2017
My 10th grade history teacher, Mr. Housewright’s, words ring in my ears when reading Imagined Communities. When he asked what is capitalism based on that has built our American nation, we would stare blankly back at him. Then dramatically he would write one chalky, white word on the green chalkboard: GREED. This has always been…
By: Jim Sabella on January 11, 2017
Summary In Anderson’s words, “The aim of this book is to offer some tentative suggestions for a more satisfactory interpretation of the ‘anomaly’ of nationalism.” (Anderson, 4) I admit I find his characterization of nationalism as an “anomaly” both intriguing and a bit counter-intuitive. I would suppose that nationalism is a natural outgrowth of being…
By: Lynda Gittens on January 11, 2017
Author Anderson, Imagined Communities …. After reading Anderson’s book addressing “nationalism”, my mind thought of many clichés. I am a Houstonian by birth living in the largest state in the United States of America, Texas. At least we were until Alaska, but who is considering Alaska. We even have the slogan, “everything is big in…
By: Aaron Cole on January 11, 2017
Summary: The Social Animal by David Brooks is a fascinating book that connects many dots from scientific theory and philosophy to the real world. It is, as the subtitle suggests, a book that gives “the hidden sources of love, character and achievement.” The book takes the reader on a fictitious journey of two people, Harold…
