Review: Without Buddha I Could not be a Christian by Paul F. Knitter

What it’s About In Without Buddha I Could Not be a Christian, theologian Paul Knitter explores numerous intersections of Christianity and Buddhism and the ways in which they both give shape to his own religious/spiritual life, beliefs, values, and ethics.1Paul F. Knitter, Without Buddha I Could not be a Christian (London: Oneworld Publications, 2013). Writing Read More…

Review: The End of Education by Neil Postman

This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series Postman on Education

What It’s About At last we’ve come to the end . . . the end of this blog series, of Neil Postman’s major works on education, and, perhaps, as the foreboding title of the present work suggests, of education itself, or at least one form of it. In The End of Education Postman makes the Read More…

Review: The Mirror or the Mask by Lydia McGrew

What It’s About In a previous post I reviewed New Testament scholar Michael R. Licona’s book, Why Are There Differences in the Gospels?, in which he makes the case that many differences between the four Christian Gospels can be accounted for by their authors’ use of certain compositional conventions, or devices, common to the genre Read More…

Review: Teaching as a Conserving Activity by Neil Postman

This entry is part 2 of 3 in the series Postman on Education

What It’s About In part 1 of this series, we looked at Teaching as a Subversive Activity, in which Neil Postman and co-author Charles Weingartner make the case that the American public education system is in need of major reforms if it is to be effective in preparing students for the challenges of the ever-changing Read More…

Review: Why Are There Differences in the Gospels? by Michael R. Licona

What It’s About The title says it all. In Why Are There Differences in the Gospels? New Testament scholar Michael R. Licona addresses the longstanding issue of the numerous differences between the four Gospels of the Christian Biblical canon: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.1Licona, Michael R., Why Are There Differences in the Gospels?: What We Read More…

Review: Teaching as a Subversive Activity by Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner

This entry is part 1 of 3 in the series Postman on Education

In this series, I review what I take to be three of Neil Postman’s most influential works on education. First up (below) is Teaching as a Subversive Activity (1969), to be followed in part 2 by Teaching as a Conserving Activity (1979), and finally part 3 will bring us to The End of Education (1995). Read More…

Review: Scripture and the Authority of God by N.T. Wright

What It’s About In Scripture and the Authority of God, N.T. Wright explores the concept of the authority of the Bible, focusing not so much on whether or to what extent the Bible is authoritative, but on what “authority” should mean in the first place when it comes to reading, studying, and following the Bible.[1] Read More…