Just Finished Reading: Faith in the Age of Reason by Jonathan Hill
This little volume has been sitting on one of my shelf units for some time now. I picked it up a few weeks ago for a change of pace. On reading the blurb I almost put it back unread when I discovered that it was part of a series of books on key figures and periods in Christian History. But I thought, what the heck, and gave it a go.
It actually turned out to be a pretty good overview of the period known as the Age of Reason – which the author dates from 1648 – 1789. I had assumed, wrongly it turned out, that the book would be viewing the period from a Christian perspective. What it actually did, which (as far as I can recall) none of my previous history books on the period have done, is to weave religious happenings into the otherwise secular story of that period. Some of the names I recognised: Luther, Calvin and so on… Many, though, I did not. I did however recognise most of the Enlightenment scholars mentioned. Some of the streams of Christianity I recognised too – though again many I did not. What impressed me most about this little book is its even-handedness. I was expecting it to be either overly critical of Enlightenment advances in thought or overly sympathetic to the Christian responses but the author managed throughout to steer a middle course pointing out the strengths and the weaknesses of both sides. I actually learnt quite a lot about the period that is, from my reading to date, either ignored or side-lined. I certainly have a more rounded opinion of the period and I shall delve continue to into it in future. Overall this was a pretty good introduction to the intellectual life of a fascinating period in European history.
4 comments:
Thanks for the review. I'll have to put this on my history list.
In my experience with IVP (I'm in their book club), their historical and philosophical offerings are generally even-handed in that they have a wide view of the material and they are written by actual credentialed scholars.
Hey LB..... There will be more religion based books reviewed here next year. I'm planning to catch up on some things that have been sitting unread on my shelves for some time.
Oh... IVP?
The author of this particular volume has a 1st Class degree in Philosophy & Theology and an MPhil in Theology so he should certainly know his stuff. The book is part of the Lion Histories of Christian Thought.
According to Amazon, the publisher is InterVarsity Press. I can find others of the series at the IVP website but not this particular book. I'm currently reading several books about or set in the Middle Ages. I may skip the Renaissance and proceed directly to the Enlightenment. Luther and Calvin, of course, are associated with the end of the Middle Ages and I would like to know more about the transition from that point into the Enlightenment. This book seems like an excellent starting point.
LB said: Luther and Calvin, of course, are associated with the end of the Middle Ages and I would like to know more about the transition from that point into the Enlightenment. This book seems like an excellent starting point.
I certainly think it will fit that particular bill. Enjoy.
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