Review of "The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity" by Philip Jenkins

In The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity, Philip Jenkins paints a picture of the future of Christianity in colors unfamiliar to typical American thinking. He clearly delineates the characteristics of the rapidly growing Christian churches outside Western Europe and the United States: conservative and charismatic. He illustrates the potential conflicts between Christianity and other major religions such as Islam or Hinduism. And he speculates about what the effects will be on established churches of having a Christian majority outside the West. The information he presents is fascinating and paradigm-altering. His writing is clear and his organization straight-forward. Nevertheless, I found the book to be tedious. The writing is dry and seemingly designed only for the utilitarian purpose of conveying information, far removed from any literary pleasure. But the information contained in this book is critical for formation of an accurate picture of the past, present, and future of global Christianity. On those grounds I recommend it to anyone interested in the growth of the Christian church, although I wouldn’t recommend it for reading enjoyment.

Review of "The Language of God" by Francis S. Collins

The Language of God was an immensely enjoyable read, particularly for me as a scientist far removed from the DNA world. I have not seen the basics of evolutionary theory presented as clearly and simply as Collins does here. However, the book does not deliver what some might hope it does or even what the header suggests: evidence for belief. But this is for two obvious reasons, which Dawkins would do well to remember. First, Collins is not a philosopher. But he does not try to be--he merely describes the arguments (mostly articulated by C. S. Lewis) that persuaded him to become a Christian. For Collins, the Moral Law is the most convincing. For me as a scientist and a Christian, the Moral Law is less convincing than other evidence related specifically to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Second, Collins is not a Biblical scholar either. Like the philosophical discussion, Collins simply articulates his position regarding the first few chapters of Genesis. The bridge he develops to traverse from a literal interpretation of Genesis to a more figurative one is tenuous at best. Thus, Collins has the potential to aggravate both Christians and non-Christians. But Collins excels at combating a view often promoted in popular culture and espoused by of the reviewers of this book and some of my own students--that science and faith are incompatible. Strangely, it is far more frequent for a professor in the humanities or social science to tell me how science has nudged out faith than it is for a practicing scientist to articulate the same. The greatest contribution that Collins makes is his own statement of faith as a respected scientist. If this book does anything, I hope that it checks those who attempt to use science to discredit faith. So, although I don't agree with all of Collins's arguments, I stand with him as one of the myriad of believing scientists to say that science and faith are compatible. And I recommend this book to anyone who wants to be fascinated by the natural world.

Further comments on the Bush administration

Along the same lines as the previous article that I recommended by Peter Feaver, this Wall Street Journal column by William McGurn highlights some of the glaring oversights in the media coverage of the recent Scott McClellan book. This article illustrates the significant change in strategy signified by the Surge in Iraq and the firing of Donald Rumsfeld, both of which demonstrated the administration's willingness to not only change directions when necessary but to take responsiblity for failed policies. It also gives some rarely heard praise and respect to the President.

Assessment on the "Surge" in Iraq from a policymaker

Although politics and foreign affairs are generally not the focus of my blogs, I ran across this article (linked to the title of this blog) by Peter Feaver and couldn't help but notice it. I am particularly interested in his comments as I have tried a couple times to get him to speak here at Cornell, but it turns out that he is a really busy guy. In any event, his first hand experience pertaining to the development of the most recent strategy in Iraq, namely the Surge, makes his assessment of the successes and continued challenges of that strategy all the more enlightening. It is a perspective that, apparently, is out of favor with the majority of the media outlets.