While I share your unease concerning Comer's work, I'd stop short of dismissing such a broad swathe of Church history. We've been handed down a plethora of wisdom both before and after the reformation, even in the long millennium between Augustine and Luther. To say, "Wanna read some more stuff on spirituality with me? Let’s go to the 17…
While I share your unease concerning Comer's work, I'd stop short of dismissing such a broad swathe of Church history. We've been handed down a plethora of wisdom both before and after the reformation, even in the long millennium between Augustine and Luther. To say, "Wanna read some more stuff on spirituality with me? Let’s go to the 17th century" veers too far into the waters of chronological snobbery that Lewis warns us of in Surprised by Joy.
What's more, it might work against the outcome we'd hope for.
The best outcome is what you suggest. The young man comes away from reading the great works you suggested and does so with a greater understanding of God, a full understanding of his sin, of the grace he's been provided, and invigorated to follow the great commission. The second—which I've seen far more often—is that the young man misunderstands this as proof of progressive theology. New equals better. Quite the opposite of what the reformers would have hoped for. The third—though surely not the final—I can think of, is the rising trend of young men who are finding solace in pre-reformation writings and finding no one in their church who will wisely walk through it with them, they go elsewhere to search it out, falling into the welcome arms of priests in greek and roman robes.
There is a great deal of wisdom in the years before the reformation, even in the writings of those we'd disagree with. To be clear, I have no issue with the books you chose, and I'd hasten to recommend your own book, Humble Calvinism, alongside them as I have many times before, but in our current cultural climate I think some nuance is needed here.
Thank you, brother. You are a constant encouragement. I agree with you! At the end, I was just giving a quick example of the variety of things I'd say. (I picked the Puritan era cause I love it!) In my post at the hyperlink "and more" (after I mention Augustine, Luther, etc.), that goes to a list of books that includes Basil, Patrick, Bernard, Aquinas, and Thomas a Kempis. I love those books! I The snobbery danger is real, and I was trying to keep my economy of words low. I think one reason why I'd still recommend folks to start with Augustine, Luther, Calvin, etc.—1) They are recognizable pillars 2) Their mass popularity has generated lots of easy to read translations of their works. Thanks for the kind engagement and encouragement.
I'm glad to hear it! I love the puritan era too. So much treasure to be discovered there. I also totally agree with you on the translation front. A few years ago I set out to try and understand why we don't read more from that era and translation is a huge part of that. As a result, I'm now two years into studying Latin at University to pursue translation over the next couple of decades. Going to University later in life was a tough call, but I trust it will be fruitful.
While I share your unease concerning Comer's work, I'd stop short of dismissing such a broad swathe of Church history. We've been handed down a plethora of wisdom both before and after the reformation, even in the long millennium between Augustine and Luther. To say, "Wanna read some more stuff on spirituality with me? Let’s go to the 17th century" veers too far into the waters of chronological snobbery that Lewis warns us of in Surprised by Joy.
What's more, it might work against the outcome we'd hope for.
The best outcome is what you suggest. The young man comes away from reading the great works you suggested and does so with a greater understanding of God, a full understanding of his sin, of the grace he's been provided, and invigorated to follow the great commission. The second—which I've seen far more often—is that the young man misunderstands this as proof of progressive theology. New equals better. Quite the opposite of what the reformers would have hoped for. The third—though surely not the final—I can think of, is the rising trend of young men who are finding solace in pre-reformation writings and finding no one in their church who will wisely walk through it with them, they go elsewhere to search it out, falling into the welcome arms of priests in greek and roman robes.
There is a great deal of wisdom in the years before the reformation, even in the writings of those we'd disagree with. To be clear, I have no issue with the books you chose, and I'd hasten to recommend your own book, Humble Calvinism, alongside them as I have many times before, but in our current cultural climate I think some nuance is needed here.
Thank you, brother. You are a constant encouragement. I agree with you! At the end, I was just giving a quick example of the variety of things I'd say. (I picked the Puritan era cause I love it!) In my post at the hyperlink "and more" (after I mention Augustine, Luther, etc.), that goes to a list of books that includes Basil, Patrick, Bernard, Aquinas, and Thomas a Kempis. I love those books! I The snobbery danger is real, and I was trying to keep my economy of words low. I think one reason why I'd still recommend folks to start with Augustine, Luther, Calvin, etc.—1) They are recognizable pillars 2) Their mass popularity has generated lots of easy to read translations of their works. Thanks for the kind engagement and encouragement.
I'm glad to hear it! I love the puritan era too. So much treasure to be discovered there. I also totally agree with you on the translation front. A few years ago I set out to try and understand why we don't read more from that era and translation is a huge part of that. As a result, I'm now two years into studying Latin at University to pursue translation over the next couple of decades. Going to University later in life was a tough call, but I trust it will be fruitful.