Bestsellers in Academic Religion Books

Here are the top 20 courtesy of Library Journal.

1) Opening the Qur’an: Introducing Islam’s Holy Book
Wagner, Walter H.
University of Notre Dame Press
2008. ISBN 0268044155 [9780268044152]. $45

2) What Happened at Vatican II
O’Malley, John W.
Belknap: Harvard University Press
2008. ISBN 0674031695 [9780674031692]. $29.95

3) Constant Fire: Beyond the Science vs. Religion Debate
Frank, Adam
University of California Press
2009. ISBN 0520254120 [9780520254121]. $24.95

4) Your Spirits Walk Beside Us: The Politics of Black Religion
Savage, Barbara Dianne
Belknap: Harvard University Press
2008. ISBN 0674031776 [9780674031777]. $27.95

5) Mexican American Religions: Spirituality, Activism, and Culture
Espinosa, Gaston
Duke University Press
2008. ISBN 0822340984 [9780822340980]. $94.95

6) Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty: Emerging Conflicts
Laycock, Douglas
Rowman & Littlefield
2008. ISBN 0742563251 [9780742563254]. $85

7) Tenacity of Unreasonable Beliefs: Fundamentalism and the Fear of Truth
Schimmel, Solomon
Oxford University Press
2008. ISBN 0195188268 [9780195188264]. $29.95

8) Buddhism & Science: A Guide for the Perplexed
Lopez, Donald S.
University of Chicago Press
2008. ISBN 0226493121 [9780226493121]. $25

9) Dreaming in the World’s Religions: A Comparative History
Bulkeley, Kelly
New York University Press
2008. ISBN 0814799566 [9780814799567]. $75

10) Catholic and Feminist: The Surprising History of the American Catholic Feminist Movement
Henold, Mary J.
University of North Carolina Press
2008. ISBN 0807832243 [9780807832240]. $32

11) Society Without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment
Zuckerman, Phil
New York University Press
2008. ISBN 0814797148 [9780814797143]. $35

12) Maimonides: The Life and World of One of Civilization’s Greatest Minds
Kraemer, Joel L.
Doubleday
2008. ISBN 038551199x [9780385511995]. $35
13) New Frontiers of Jihad: Radical Islam in Europe
Pargeter, Alison
University of Pennsylvania Press
2008. ISBN 0812241460 [9780812241464]. $34.95

14) Theology in the Context of Science
Polkinghorne, John
Yale University Press
2009. ISBN 0300149336 [9780300149333]. $26

15) Created Equal: How the Bible Broke with Ancient Political Thought
Berman, Joshua
Oxford University Press
2008. ISBN 0195374703 [9780195374704]. $39.95

16) Beyond Tolerance: Searching for Interfaith Understanding in America
Niebuhr, Gustav
Viking
2008. ISBN 0670019569 [9780670019564]. $25.95

17) Peculiar Life of Sundays
Miller, Stephen
Harvard University Press
2008. ISBN 0674031687 [9780674031685]. $27.95

18) Russian Orthodoxy Resurgent: Faith and Power in the New Russia
Garrard, John Gordon
Princeton University Press
2008. ISBN 0691125732 [9780691125732]. $29.95

19) Superstition: Belief in the Age of Science
Park, Robert L.
Princeton University Press
2008. ISBN 0691133557 [9780691133553]. $24.95

20) Bible and the People
Ferrell, Lori Anne
Yale University Press
2008. ISBN 0300114249 [9780300114249]. $32.50

Philosophy Word of the Day – John Calvin and Philosophy

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One can scarcely imagine a figure with a greater reputation for disapproval of philosophy than John Calvin. The French expatriate penned some of the most vitriolic diatribes against philosophy and its role in scholastic theology ever written. Thus, in one way, this reputation is rather well-earned, and an article upon Calvin in an encyclopedia of philosophy can be rather brief. However, in another way, Calvin’s consideration, knowledge, and use of philosophy in his own work refutes the obscurantist representation left by a surface-level reading. A closer reading of Calvin’s great work, the Institutes of the Christian Religion, along with his commentaries and treatises demonstrates that instead of denying the importance of philosophy, Calvin generally seeks to set philosophy in what he regards as its proper place. His vehemence stems from his belief that the rationalism of some of the scholastics had displaced God’s wisdom, most securely found in the work of the Holy Spirit in the scriptures, as the pinnacle for knowledge of the divine.

Given Calvin’s occasional antipathy for philosophers, it is all too tempting to dismiss him as someone who knew very little philosophy, striking out at that which he did not know. However tempting that may be, it simply is untrue. In the Institutes, his treatises, and the commentaries, Calvin continually demonstrates a familiarity with both general and specific philosophical knowledge which seems to have been gained through his own study of their writings. What seems most significant about Calvin’s use of philosophy is that in general, he refuses to accept a philosophical system. Instead, he considers philosophy as the history of human wisdom’s attempt to search out answers to the questions of human existence. Thus, philosophers and their theories become paradigms for consideration, rather than structures for the organization of thought.

Hence, Calvin’s effort at using philosophy must be understood as part of his humanism, rather than a tool of the coherence of systematization of his thought. Calvin placed logic in the curriculum of the Genevan Academy. He could illustrate faith with the four-fold causality of Aristotle. He can use the thoughts of the philosophers as aids to training the mind, and believed that not many pastors, and certainly no doctor of the church could be ignorant of philosophy. However, that respect lived in constant tension with his irritation at the efforts of philosophy (and philosophers) at exceeding their proper place.

(Excerpted from Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

How the Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt Went to Number One on Amazon.com

A true and hilarious tale.  : )  As reported by The Week:

A new sub-genre of humor has just been born, said Steve Johnson in the Chicago Tribune. Call it “Customer Review Comedy.” A tongue-in-cheek post by an Amazon reviewer has turned the Three Wolf Moon T-shirt into the online retailer’s No. 1 sensation. It all happened after New Jersey law student Brian Govern reviewed the shirt, which he didn’t own, saying it “Fits my girthy frame, has wolves on it, attracts women.”

Sales of the Three Wolf Moon T-shirt have gone through the roof since the comedy free-for-all went viral, said ABC News. And the attention is still building—750 people have posted “over-the-top testimonials” on Amazon, and a Brooklyn comedy troupe has even posted a video on YouTube. (watch the Three Wolf Moon T-shirt comment mash-up) The T-shirt is now Amazon’s top-selling clothing item, and the attention is still building.

The craze is so out of hand that the maker of the Three Wolf Moon T-shirt—New Hampshire‘s The Mountain—appears nervous, said Meghan Daum in the Los Angeles Times. The company posted a comment on Amazon scolding some reviewers for making fun of people who buy the shirt by suggesting they’re low-class. But, come on, the snarky comments are a delightful bit of satire targeting the “nonsensical, irrelevant, and grammatically challenged” online customer review.

Who vs. Whom Explained

This is one of the great mysteries of the English language.  Fortunately, Brian Klems at Writer’s Digest has a straightforward explanation.

Q: No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to use “who” and “whom” properly. Can you set the record straight on when to use each?—Anonymous

A: The confusion between “who” and “whom” is one of the most common problems writers face. It can be tricky to find the correct use, and sometimes you may feel like locating the person who invented both words and smacking him upside his head. But there is a difference.

“Who” is used as the subject of a verb or complement of a linking verb. It’s a nominative pronoun. It was Carl who broke all the pencils in the house. When writing a sentence, first find the verb(s)—“was” and “broke.” Then, find the subject for each verb: “Carl” and “who.” Since “who” is a subject, it’s correct. Who needs a crayon to write this down?

“Whom” is used as the object of the verb or the object of a preposition. It’s an objective pronoun. You asked whom to the dance? In this case, the subject and verb are “You asked.” The pronoun following the verb is the object of the verb, therefore “whom” is correct. He’s already going the prom with whom? This pronoun is the object of the preposition “with,” so “whom” is the right pick. Be careful, though. Make sure the prepositional pronoun in question isn’t also a subject—if it is, then you use “who.” For example, I cheered for who played hardest. While the pronoun follows a preposition (for), it’s also the subject of the second verb (played). When placed as a subject, always use “who.”

One way to remember is to check to see which pronoun can replace the questionable word. It’s a little trick I learned back in elementary school: If it can be replaced with “he,” you use “who”; if “him” fits better, use “whom.” Sometimes you may need to split the sentence to see it. For example, It was Carl—he broke all the pencils in the house. “Who” should be used here. You asked him to the dance? “Whom” is the correct choice. This doesn’t work all the time, but when applicable, it can save you a few puzzling minutes.

And when in doubt, recast the sentence to avoid the issue altogether.

Philosophy Word of the Day – Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947)

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Alfred North Whitehead was a notable mathematician, logician, educator and philosopher. The staggering complexity of Whitehead’s thought, coupled with the extraordinary literary quality of his writing, have conspired to make Whitehead (in an oft-repeated saying) one of the most-quoted but least-read philosophers in the Western canon. While he is widely recognized for his collaborative work with Bertrand Russell on the Principia Mathematica, he also made highly innovative contributions to philosophy, especially in the area of process metaphysics . . . .

Whitehead’s decades-long focus on the logical and algebraic issues of space and geometry which led to his work on extension, became an integral part of an explosion of profoundly original philosophical work He began publishing even as his career as an academic mathematician was reaching a close. The first wave of these philosophical works included his Enquiry into the Principles of Natural Knowledge, The Concept of Nature, and The Principle of Relativity, published between 1919 and 1922. These books address the philosophies of science and nature, and include an important critique of the problem of measurement raised by Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity. They also present an alternative theory of space and gravity. Whitehead built his system around an event-based ontology that interpreted time as essentially extensive rather than point-like . . . .

But the pinnacle of Whitehead’s metaphysical work came with his monumental Process and Reality in 1929 and his Adventures of Ideas in 1933. The first of these books gives a comprehensive and multi-layered categoreal system of internal and external relations that analyzes the logic of becoming an extension within the context of a solution to the problem of the one and the many, while also providing a ground for his philosophy of nature. The second is an outline of a philosophy of history and culture within the framework of his metaphysical scheme.

(Via Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Philosophy Word of the Day – Thomas Reid (1710 – 1796)

Doug Geivett recently posted this summary of philosopher Thomas Reid on Squidoo.com.

Thomas Reid was the most significant philosopher of the Scottish Enlightenment. He greatly influenced the thought of America’s founding fathers, and set the tone for early American higher education (mainly at Princeton).

Reid’s contemporary, David Hume, is better known. But Reid was an acute thinker who recognized the intellectual and cultural cul de sac of Humean skepticism for what it was.

Three reasons to love Thomas Reid

First, Thomas Reid is the father of modern Common Sense philosophy. His method of philosophical analysis is exemplary and worthy of emulation by the coming generation of philosophers.

Second, Thomas Reid was the clearest and most incisive contemporary critic of David Hume and his skepticism. The world has yet to digest Reid’s importance on this point.

Third, Thomas Reid wrote with such clarity that he is a joy to read, and with such subtlety that he is misunderstood by some very clever contemporary philosophers. For example, it is mistakenly supposed by many that Thomas Reid was what is now called an “externalist” in epistemology, when there is considerable evidence that he was an “internalist.” The confusion is due less to Reid’s exposition than to modern predilections in philosophy.

For more on Thomas Reid see here and here.

Good Website – Artsandfaith.com

I discovered this site when I read that Image magazine had recently acquired it.  Looks like a great resource for anyone interested in the intersection of faith and the arts.  Image gives a good summary of its features:

A&F has been around for a number of years and is particularly strong in the areas of film and music—which makes for an excellent complement to Image‘s strengths in literature and visual art. For example, A&F’s Film forum contains over 5,000 posts with nearly 80,000 replies! The range of discussions is wide, from responses to recently released films, CDs, and books to conversations about issues like the shrinking of print criticism in magazines and newspapers. Current hot topics include Angels and Demons and Rachel Getting Married in film, mewithoutYou and “New Stuff Worth Hearing” in Music, and Columbine and the late David Foster Wallace in Literature and Creative Writing. A&F is also a great place to learn more about what’s out there and what’s soon to be released. For you writers out there, the section “Work in Progress” is a terrific place to share your work and get critiques from fellow writers [Emphasis mine]. And there’s an announcement section where you can post information about your upcoming conferences, exhibitions, concerts, and more. We’re hoping that you will not only come on over to ArtsandFaith.com but register and post there, too. Don’t just be a lurker: dive on in and join the fun! Our existing Image Forum will be integrated into the A&F board shortly. Register at ArtsandFaith.com.

Good Blog – Winfried Corduan

Winfried Corduan, who taught philosophy and religion at Taylor University for 20 years, has a great blog covering lots of topics in theology, philosophy, church history, and related subjects.  Recently, he’s working on a series of posts on modern theology, like this one on Catholic theologian Hans Kung.  Here’s an excerpt:

Küng’s first work attracted quite bit of attention.  It was entitled Justification, and its thesis was that the Reformation rested on a gigantic misunderstanding.  Using Karl Barth as his representative for Protestantism, he tried to show that both Luther and the Church overreacted, and that it never should have come to a split.  This certainly was an interesting thesis, though it seems to me that it’s a whole lot more plausible to let the Reformers speak for the Reformers themselves, in which case there would be an issue after all. In case you’re interested, a much more realistic treatment from the Catholic side, that does not try to rationalize away important differences, can be found in Michael Schmaus’s 6-volume set Dogma, particularly in the last volume, also entitled Justification.

Religious Groups Provide a Quarter of All U.S. Aid to Developing Countries

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Churches and ministries are making a significant contribution to developing countries.  Ministry Today explains,

A new study indicates that religious organizations make up almost a quarter of all U.S. giving to developing countries. In fact, churches, ministries and similar entities sowed a whopping $8.6 billion into foreign soil in 2007.

According to the study by Hudson Institute’s Center for Global Prosperity (CGP), church donations to international relief organizations based in the U.S. jumped 17 percent from 2006 to 2007, with 74 percent of American congregations giving toward global aid agencies. The average church gave $11,960, and more than a quarter of those gave directly to programs in other countries for a combined $3.3 billion. Other means of church giving included short-term mission or service trips (34 percent of all congregations did this), as well as long-term development projects (30 percent) that contributed more than $1.4 billion to aid countries.

Contrary to what many claim, Christianity is doing a world of good.

Philosophy Word of the Day – Virtue Epistemology

Virtue epistemology is a collection of recent approaches to epistemology that give epistemic or intellectual virtue concepts an important and fundamental role. Virtue epistemologists can be divided into two groups. Virtue reliabilists conceive of intellectual virtues as stable and reliable cognitive faculties or powers and cite vision, introspection, memory, and the like as paradigm cases of intellectual virtue. These virtue epistemologists tend to focus on formulating virtue-based accounts of knowledge or justification.

Virtue responsibilists conceive of intellectual virtues as good intellectual character traits, traits like attentiveness, fair-mindedness, open-mindedness, intellectual tenacity, and courage. While some virtue responsibilists have also attempted to give virtue-based accounts of knowledge or justification, others have pursued less traditional projects, focusing on such issues as the nature and value of virtuous intellectual character as such, the relation between intellectual virtue and epistemic responsibility, and the relevance of intellectual virtue to the social and cross-temporal aspects of the intellectual life.

(Via Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

What do you think?  Do virtues like fair-mindedness or intellectual humility play a significant role in knowing?  Are there Scriptural insights that are relevant to this question?