A. J. Dickinson

Important Book, Mar 5 2013

Chris Hedges offers a sombre reflection on America in the early 21st Century, which is easily applicable to my own Canadian context. Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and the Triumph of Spectacle argues that we made five trades. We traded rational and literate discourse for celebrity worship and intentional ignorance. We traded love and empathy for pornography and consumerism. We traded curiosity for entrenchment. We traded happiness and for positive thinking and ignoring reality. We have traded democracy, truth, and confidence for misguided icons, negligence, and shopping. Worse than making these trades, however, is that we think that we are advanced for having done so… Read more

Helpful Book, Jan 17 2013

A "grown-up" Christian faith begs a question. Is what it says about Jesus true? N. T. Wright's Simply Jesus: A New Vision of Who He Was, What He Did, and Why He Matters says that it is true. Wright's thoughts suggest a new vision of Jesus, which he hopes will help people understand their lives today in a new way.

The book has three parts. It defines Wright's questions about Jesus and suggests that they are difficult to answer. It then explains the focus, goals, and method of Jesus public career. Finally, it suggests why Jesus still matters.

Wright uses the image of a "perfect storm" coming from three directions. The first direction is Rome. Rome was the primary… Read more

The book enriched me, it frustrated me, and it confused me., Dec 3 2012

Red Letter Christians are Christians who embrace evangelical theology, while striving to reflect what Jesus said (hence, "red letter"). Tony Campolo and Shane Claiborne had frequent discussions about what being a Red Letter Christian entails. The book Red Letter Revolution: What If Jesus Really Meant What He Said? highlights these discussions. Asking what it looks like when Christians start to be intentional about following Jesus will undoubtedly cause conflict. The authors hope that Red Letter Christians will be a "positive irritant" that will grow in number and naturally become advocates for social justice and illustrators of spiritual disciplines.

The style of dialogue… Read more