Addenda
A monthly e-mail newsletter from MARS HILL AUDIO
July 15, 2006 v Number 29
"The death of a culture begins when its normative institutions fail
to communicate ideals in ways that remain inwardly compelling,
first of all to the cultural elites themselves."
-- Philip Rieff, The Triumph of the Therapeutic:
Uses of Faith After Freud (1966)
New on our desks
Rieff Revisited
We had planned on doing some interviews soon about the work of sociologist and cultural theorist Philip Rieff, plans which became more appropriate with Rieff's death in early July. Prior to his death (he was 83 and had been ailing for some time), our interest was sparked by two publishing "events." [Read more on Rieff Revisited]
The Queen of the Sciences
"[T]heology . . . may find itself the one discipline capable of integrating the otherwise unconnected disciplines that constitute the modern university." Stanley Hauerwas, "Theology as Knowledge: A Symposium" First Things (May 2006) [Read more on Theology]
Back to School Sale
I recently interviewed sociologist Christian Smith about his book Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers. Among his fascinating observations were his comments that Christian teenagers are remarkably unable to define and describe the meaning and significance of their religious beliefs. "There's a lot of talking about difference," Smith said, "but the strategy for dealing with moral disagreement was: you just don't go there, you just don't get into it. I have quite a concern from this project about sort of the lack of training in moral argumentation, about whatever subject. It really seems that teachers, principals, whoever, are not enabling young people to learn: What are your presuppositions? Where are you starting from? What are your commitments? How does that structure a debate? How do you engage someone who's quite different from you in a constructive way? Teens aren't learning that. What they're learning is: we don't want to have conflict here so we're not getting into that."
While the purpose of MARS HILL AUDIO isn't to teach people how to make better arguments, we are committed to helping them understand the consequences of their beliefs in light of the challenges of contemporary culture. College and university students need that help more than anyone. So we think that a subscription to the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal is a great way to help Christian students.
For a limited time we're offering a special subscription rate just for the matriculated, and invite you to consider making a list of college and university students who you think would benefit from listening to the comments and conversations on our Journal. For just $35, students may receive 6 issues of our CD edition (the regular price is $48; we're assuming no contemporary collegian even knows what a cassette is). If you buy a gift subscription, we'll give you a $6 discount on renewing your own subscription (either CD or cassette).
If you want to take advantage of this student subscription rate, you may call our offices to make an order (1-800-331-6407) or place an order on-line (www.marshillaudio.org). You'll need to mention the promotional code ADST06 to receive this special rate.
Meanwhile, we're still at work setting up our mp3 store. Once mp3 subscriptions are available, we'll let current subscribers know about the possibility of converting their current subscriptions to this new format (and receive a modest rebate in the bargain).
Ken Myers in New Jersey
On September 8 & 9, Ken Myers will be speaking at Rutgers Community Christian Church in Somerset, NJ. On Friday evening the 8th, he will present a talk of special interest to university students and young professionals called "Advocates of Deeper Diversity: What Differences Christian Belief Makes (and why many really "tolerant" people don't like us)." In this lecture, Ken will discuss how contemporary social institutions, including those in education, commercial life, and the professions, are increasingly governed by ideas that are post-Christian. These institutions are structured in accordance with assumptions about the nature of personal identity, of justice, of truth, of morality, of meaning, and of society itself that contradict what Christians have historically believed. In light of this condition, Ken will talk about why (and how) Christians need to resist the temptation to conform their beliefs to the "spirit of the age," and about why Christian beliefs matter in all of life.
On Saturday the 9th, Ken will present three talks under the title "The Challenge of Christian Faithfulness in a Post-Christian Age." The talks are entitled "The Comprehensive Scope of the Great Commission," "How Contemporary Culture Encourages a Constricted Faithfulness," and "Deep Discipleship and Everyday Life Together."
For more information about these talks, or for directions to the Church, please contact Cynthia Wong at cynthiawong@rccc.org.
Conference on Christianity and the Environment
The MacLaurin Institute at the University of Minnesota is sponsoring a conference on Christianity and the environment September 22-23, 2006. The conference will explore what it means for people to demonstrate a Christian perspective as they live their lives at the interfaces of three "worlds" (natural, engineered, and human). It will also study how Christian virtues ought to influence public and private policies regarding the interaction of these worlds. Plenary speakers are the Rev. Dr. Rolf Bouma, University of Michigan; Dr. Steven Bouma-Prediger, Hope College; Dr. Cal DeWitt, University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Dr. Susan Emmerich, founder and CEO of Emmerich Environmental Consulting. For information about registration and submitting papers, please visit www.christianenvironmentconference.net.
The Church and Pop Culture
In October, Ken Myers will speak at the annual Ministerial Conference of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho. The conference, titled "The Church and Pop Culture," runs Monday, October 23, through Wednesday, October 25, 2006, at the University Inn/Best Western Convention Center in Moscow. Christ Church invites pastors, elders, deacons (or those aspiring to these positions), their wives, and their teenage sons (14 and up) to attend the conference. The speakers this year include Douglas M. Jones, Peter Leithart, Douglas Wilson, and Nathan Wilson. For information about conference fees, lodging, and registration, call 202.882.2034 or see the conference website at www.christkirk.com.
The Giving Is Easy
According to Mr. Gershwin, the summer months are accompanied by jumping fish, high cotton, and easy living. In some circumstances, rich daddies and good looking mommas are also in evidence, a comforting condition which should cause babies to refrain from crying.
For many nonprofit organizations, life in the summer months is deflected from rhapsodies concerning fish, cotton, or even good looking mommas. Absent a really rich daddy, easy living is hard to come by for nonprofits in the summer, because the donations on which they rely often dry up like shallow creek beds in a drought (sorry: Gershwin has me searching for rural metaphors).
While you're still humming this wonderful tune (and remembering the performance of Anne Brown, Leontyne Price, Janis Joplin, or Miles Davis), please think about sending a mid-summer gift to MARS HILL AUDIO. We're going through a "I Got Plenty of Nuthin'" season right now, and while "nuthin's plenty for me" does carry with it a certain Christian conviction reminiscent of lilies in the field, Christian obedience does require that we pay the bills.
Thanks for your support!
Ken Myers
Subscriber Update
Volume 80 (May/June 2006) of the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal will be mailed this week. This issue's guestlist comprises: Stephen A. McKnight discussing Francis Bacon; Tim Morris and Don Petcher on science and Christology; Vigen Guroian on fragrance as an integral part of gardening and on Orthodox thinker Nicholars Berdyaev; Paul Valliere on Orthodox theology and law; and Calvin Stapert on creation and the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
After Evangelism Conference Lectures
In February, Ken Myers gave four lectures at Christ Presbyterian Church in Marietta, Georgia, under the heading "After Evangelism: The Cultural Lives of Christians and their Neighbors." Those lectures are now available on audio CDs through Christ Presbyterian Church. Information is available at the conference website, where one may also listen to a 38-minute portion from the first lecture (MP3).
Various Details, Disclaimers, Etc.
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Copyright 2006 MARS HILL AUDIO, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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