| Title | : | Making the Best of It: Following Christ in the Real World |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0195173589 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780195173581 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 370 |
| Publication | : | Published January 1, 2008 |
In Making the Best of It, John Stackhouse explores the history of the Christian encounter with society, the biblical record, and various theological models of cultural engagement to offer a more balanced and fruitful alternative to these extremes. He argues that, rather than trying to root up the weeds in the cultural field, or trying to shun them, Christians should practice persistence in gardening God's world and building toward the New Jerusalem. Examining the lives and works of C. S. Lewis, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer for example and direction, Stackhouse suggests that our mission is to make the most of life in the world in cooperation with God's own mission of redeeming the world he loves. This model takes seriously the pattern of God's activity in the Bible, and in subsequent history, of working through earthly means--through individuals, communities, and institutions that are deeply flawed but nonetheless capable of accomplishing God's purposes. Christians must find a way to live in this world and at the same time do work that honors God and God's plan for us.
In an era of increasing religious and cultural tensions, both internationally and domestically, the model that Stackhouse develops discourages the "all or nothing" attitudes that afflict so much of contemporary Christianity. Instead, he offers a fresh, and refreshingly nuanced, take on the question of what it means to be a Christian in the world today.
Making the Best of It: Following Christ in the Real World Reviews
-
Whew, I started this in seminary and finished it 11 years later - at a time when the question of a Christian's place in the world is becoming more difficult to answer.
Stackhouse certainly provides plenty to chew on. He begins with a discussion of H. Richard Niebuhr's categories of "Christ and Culture," offering a critique and reappropriarion. He then engages with Reinhold Niebuhr's political views, C.S. Lewis's portrayal of the life of an individual believer, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer's take on social responsibility, covering much ground in the introductory chapters.
Stackhouse then works to construct a model of Christian ethics, employing a tetralectic of Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience, humbly trusting God to guide us through our limited knowledge and interpretation.
Finally, he places us within the story of Scripture and asks, "who are we for Jesus Christ, today?" And offers insights for Christian vocation and an attitude of "realism" in this world. -
This is a book that has interesting sections, and then long pieces (such as much of the last stretch) where, as in a book that has forgotten what the plot was supposed to lead up, rambles its way to a finish. That's not entirely fair, because even in the rambling sections (tidily written, but also repetitive) there are things I highlighted because they stood out as important. it's just that the book's shape doesn't quite come off, and by the time I was working through the last (long) pages, I felt as though the author had said a great deal of it before.
The overviews and long quotes from Niebuhr and Bonhoeffer were both good, because neither of them are authors I was much familiar with. C S Lewis, in a sense suffers from overkill: so much of what's written about him here and the many quotes are already very familiar.
Thank goodness for being able to highlight paragraphs and even pages: those sections are the ones I'll remember from this book. And Stackhouse's writing style, which, for a theologian, is very readable. Hopefully I won't remember so much the feeling of déjà vu that the last section aroused. -
Review
here. -
Pretty interesting book. Really deals with ethics and provides a framework for ethics in the real world. He argues that real world situations don't necessarily have the perfect ethical answer.
His theological framework is this:
1) Creation mandate - was never revoked. Still continues
2) The greatest commandment - Love God and Love others.
Other commandments are all subordinate to these commandments and should be read within the context of these commands. For example, the great commission exists because if we make disciples, we're loving them by introducing them to God, and we're loving God by getting more people to worship him. He concludes that because of this framework, it's okay that we do not know the consequences of every action that we do. Sure, if we go to war there might be some unintended or unforeseen consequences. But because we're seeking to fulfill these commandments above, overall good is being done.
He then applies a lot of specific issues to this theological framework. For example, should we go to war? Stackhouse argues that if it is a just war, we should go to war while acknowledging that peace is the ultimate answer. It might not be the answer right now in this real world situation that is corrupted by sin, but in the future, peace will be the answer. So we go to war, knowing that it's not completely right, but God is okay with that. On top of that, there could be another group of people that believe in pacifism. God might be telling them to protest the war. So God's will is captured in that 1) we went to war but 2) there are people protesting the war. In that tension is where God is really at.
He deals with a lot of the stuff that the emerging church people have been trying to address but he doesn't talk about the emerging church movement or anything.
The first half of the book is pretty boring though, where he talks about the history of this type of ethic, the Niebuhrs, Bonhoffer, CS Lewis and how those people approached it. His theological framework is also not very encompassing. It doesn't address every aspect of the bible and it doesn't seem very well integrated. He seems to elevate the creation mandate to the same level as the greatest commandment without much reasoning behind that. It's also not very gospel integrated. NT Wright's theological framework is much more Christ and gospel centered and shows how the two commandments really relate to each other and are necessary for each other. But Stackhouse didn't bring those aspects of the gospel in. It seems like there are just two separate commandments. -
John Stackhouse builds on the "Christ and Culture" literature and attempts to find a way between those Christians who argue for a cultural conquest and those who proclaim cultural withdrawal. Stackhouse bravely seeks a solution in cultural persistence, a new sense of Christian Realism, truthful to the nature of things, "...especially to the nature of Jesus Christ as we know Him, and hear His call, today" (p 309). He seeks to add to "...the articulation and defense of a realistic Christian mode of engagement with most modern cultures today." (p 44). Building on the idea of our place in the Christian story (CS Lewis), that our identity and ethic is to be found in the form of Jesus Christ in the church (Bonnhoefer), and the seminal work on Christ and Culture by Niebuhr, Stackhouse proposes a solution full of paradox, ambiguity, ambivalence, irony and even outright danger. Christians should seek to "make the best of it", acknowledging that we live in a dialectic that calls for patience, compromise and persistence - a "holy discontent" that will characterize who we are till the new Jerusalem descends. A brave book challenging both the transformative model of Kuyperians and the radical orthodoxy of Millbankians, and may I dare to say, helping to steer many Christians into a sigh of relief? No, we do have to conquer the world, and no we do not have to withdraw ourselves from the world. But, what are the implications? Persistent engagement is where the heart of real Christian ethic lies. And, may I hasten to say, that is where the real difficult choices are to be made. Stackhouse, in fact, made Christian ethics a great deal more complicated. And for that I applaud what he has done.
-
This was a really excellent and inspiring book. I loved the analysis in Part 2 of Lewis, Niebuhr, and Bonhoeffer, though it would have been nice to see a little more integration between that section and Part 3 (Stackhouse says up-front that he's not going to do that). My favorite sections would have to be the chapters near the end of the book on "Vocation" and "Principles of Christian Realism." Some very powerful thinking and an insightful analysis of culture! Stackhouse's contention for the essential role of paradox in ecclesiology -- what I like to think of as a radical ecumenicism (and what Jean-Luc Nancy might call an "inoperative community") -- is especially compelling.
-
The fact that I found this book difficult to finish is due more, I believe, to the fact that my mind is getting older and my life more difficult, than to any shortcoming of the book. I needed to have a clear and focused mind to consider the topics approached, and so often chose lighter reading when I could otherwise have spent time working through this one.
There is much valuable teaching here, with a justly balanced view point on how we as followers of Christ should live our lives and connect with the lives of others in today's world. -
Go by the title on the photo. This book is heady, but interesting. It kept me up at night even when I was sleepy, but I didn't end up finishing it because I had it out a month from the library and have been too tired and busy to finish. He starts off discussing others' writings, and then presents his treatise for how Christians need to live in our world. I'd like to finish it. It's a topic that I have been wrestling with this year.
-
Dense and wonderful, a healthy, holistic perspective on Christian engagement with culture. It's helpful to be familiar with Niebuhr's five "Christ and Culture" paradigms ahead of time, but Stackhouse does a good job introducing them if you haven't. This book continues to impact me, both in my ordinary following of Jesus and as a pastor in my preaching and pastoral care.
-
Best book I've read this year!
