Addenda No. 3, May 2004

Addenda

A monthly e-mail newsletter from MARS HILL AUDIO

May 15, 2004 v Number 3

"[I]t could be argued that the world of humane good sense, clarity and peace promised by modernity, if only we let go of God, has not been forthcoming. Natural science has turned out to be dumb with regard to values and ends for which it supplies the means in ever more astonishing, if troubling, abundance. The social sciences, far from explaining everything, have no convincing rational for themselves except as successive rhetorics of power and control and are therefore pathways to nihilism. It should trouble us that one of the greatest successes of the so-called collapse of totalizing meta-narratives or of any attempts to establish truth, meaning and value is the production of the ideal late-capitalist consumer, whose objectives stretch no further than acquiring something, reducing it to rubbish, and going on to the next desirable commodity."

--Janet Martin Soskice, "All That Is," a review of David Bentley Hart's

The Beauty of the Infinite, in Times Literary Supplement, April 9, 2004

New on our desks

Creed & Culture

ISI Books, a division of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, has published Creed & Culture: A Touchstone Reader, a collection of essays first printed in Touchstone magazine during the first ten years of its existence. Included are "Christ & Culture: A Dilemma Reconsidered" by James Hitchcock, "T. S. Eliot on Literary Morals" by Russell Kirk, and "On Recovering Poetry for Our Children" by Steven Faulkner. In the introduction, the collection's editor James Kushiner writes: "Many of the essays we published in our first ten years are no longer available but are no less valuable today than when they were first published. In this book we offer a selection of the finest essays published during Touchstone's first decade--essays that speak conscientiously for the gospel in a still bent time in which creed and culture seem to be at grave risk."

In addition to many other fine essays, Creed & Culture includes writings by past MARS HILL AUDIO Journal guests Vigen Guroian, Leon Podles, and Thomas Howard. Find out more about Creed & Culture, including how you may order a copy for yourself or for a gift.

Atlantic Monthly Interview with Bernard Lewis, "Islam's Interpreter"

Professor Bernard Lewis has spent several decades studying the Middle East and Islam, and Oxford University Press has recently published several of his essays on these subjects in From Babel to Dragomans: Interpreting the Middle East. The publication of the collection is the occasion for an interview with Lewis in the Atlantic Unbound in which Lewis offers his thoughts on the region's future, particularly regarding how America is handling its involvement in Iraq: "I'm cautiously optimistic about what's happening in Iraq. What bothers me is what's happening here in the United States."

Lewis discussed one of his more well-known works What Went Wrong: Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response on Volume 59 of the Journal. MARS HILL AUDIO published a full-length version of the interview as Conversation 19, "The Crisis of Islam and the Crisis of the West."

I Wonder What the King Is Doing Tonight

The legends surrounding the figure of King Arthur are fascinating on many levels. The stories themselves are often compelling and exciting. But the origins and evolution of the stories are also intriguing. In some of the accounts, pre-Christian elements are shaded with Christian concerns, in others the Christian element dominates with echoes of a pre-Christian past. Themes of redemption and justice are commingled with expressions of treachery and revenge. On Volume 27 of the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal, Ken Myers interviewed Stephen Lawhead about his retelling of the Arthur story. To revisit that subject, we are now making available on-line an essay called "The Matter of Britain: An Introduction to Arthurian Legend," written by Jonathan G. Reinhardt, who worked with us in the summer of 2003. Jonathan's essay looks at the ideas that are associated with the Arthur myths, as well as the many sources that combined to form a memorable and evocative body of stories

Resources mentioned on Volume 67

Several of you have called or sent e-mail requesting links to the on-line resources mentioned on Volume 67 (March/April 2004) of the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal. Here are some of the items mentioned in this issue: "Postmodern Irony and Petronian Humanism" (from R.R. Reno's In the Ruins of the Church); "The Organization Kid" by David Brooks (from The Atlantic Monthly); and Mark Edmundson's "On the Uses of a Liberal Education." To review this list, and for future reference, see our online Listener's Guides (please note this: this link will not be active until May 20).

Guest Profile: Quentin Schultze

"The beginning of all good human communication is listening. If we gab all the time, whether in person or on-line, we live noisily--and foolishly. Such egocentric racket is a major human problem; it leads to greater isolation and incoherence, not to better communication. The more we try to communicate without first listening, the more confused, frustrated and manipulative we become. This is partly why so many people's lives today are technologically rich and relationally poor. Listening is an under-appreciated art in the information age. Monks during the Middle Ages often lived by a wonderful rule: 'Speak only if you can improve upon the silence. '"--Quentin Schultze

Understanding the art of human communication, and sharing the results of his labor, is the vocation of Calvin College professor Quentin Schultze. No mere theoretician, Schultze is deeply concerned with, among other things, the ways in which an overabundance of readily accessible information can distract us from acquiring wisdom, and how increasingly ubiquitous means of instantaneous communication threaten to cheapen and fragment rather than enhance communication between human beings.

On Vol. 59 Schultze discussed Habits of the High-Tech Heart: Living Virtuously in the Information Age, arguing that people ought to be very deliberate in how they use new communication and information technologies, striving for moderation, wisdom, and humility. Without such virtues we may find "that informational abundance further confuses us about the nature and purpose of living." Schultze would have us avoid the technological infatuation and digital utopianism that are all too common in our media, educational institutions, and even churches. Instead, he offers wise guidance on how to be responsible stewards of technological developments, so that we might spend our limited time and energy on the cultivation of character and authentic, intimate human communication.

Schultze was a guest on the very first issue of the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal (then the MARS HILL Tapes) back in 1993, discussing Pat Robertson's plans at the time for a cable channel devoted to Christian game shows--24 hours a day. On the upcoming issue, Vol. 68 (May/June 2004) Schultze will discuss his new book, Christianity and the Mass Media in America: Toward a Democratic Accommodation. Stay tuned.

Emerging Scholars Network

The Emerging Scholars Network (ESN) is a new endeavor by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship that seeks to identify, encourage, and support the next generation of Christian scholars so that they might be a leavening influence among the people, ideas, and structures of the academy. Membership in the ESN is free and is open to undergraduate and graduate students, professors, researchers, campus ministers, and others in academic or related vocations.

ESN members may receive discounts on books from InterVarsity Press and Eerdmans, and members have access to on-line discussion groups on topics of interest to Christians in academia. But the most valuable benefit of membership, it is hoped, will be the network itself as a means of fostering mentoring relationships between students and teachers, and collegial relationships among scholars in the same fields or in geographic proximity.

For more information, including the ESN Mission Statement, endorsements from various people in academia, a summary of the benefits of membership, and the on-line membership form, see www.emergingscholars.org.

"Conjugal Happiness" and the American Way

"There is certainly no country in the world where the tie of marriage is more respected than in America, or where conjugal happiness is more highly appreciated." Alexis de Tocqueville made this observation nearly 180 years ago, and twentieth-century leaders from Theodore Roosevelt to Ronald Reagan have affirmed Tocqueville's insight.

Tomorrow morning, frequent MARS HILL AUDIO Journal guest Allan Carlson will give a lecture entitled "'Conjugal Happiness' and the American Way: On the Special Relationship between Marriage and the American Experience" at the Family Research Council (Washington, D.C.) in which he explores the unique role played by traditional marriage in the shaping of American life and national identity. Among other themes, Dr. Carlson will explore the assumptions about marriage that informed the framers of the U.S. Constitution, how marriage has unified the nation and shaped critical institutions, and how America's "culture of marriage" was reinvigorated in the mid-twentieth century. And of special interest, given recent events, Dr. Carlson will discuss the ways in which America still retains a "marriage culture" and how the efforts to redefine marriage undermine this culture.

This lecture will be given on Wednesday, May 19 at 11:00am at FRC. For those of us not able to attend this lecture, it will be broadcast live online. For more information, call FRC at 202-637-4614 or send e-mail to FRCLectures@frc.org.

Audio Files, Printable Files, and Past Issues of Addenda

Subscribers to the CD version of the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal receive an additional conversation at the end of disc 2 of each issue. A few months ago we made these "bonus tracks" accessible to our cassette subscribers in the form MP3 audio files. Several listeners noted that the manner in which we had posted these tracks on-line was awkward and difficult to navigate. We have rearranged these files on our CD Bonus page; they are now much more accessible and we encourage you to take a listen.

Another area of on-line navigational difficulty has been the arrangement (or lack thereof) of the various printable documents (essays, fundraising letters, etc.) that we have posted over the past year. Therefore, we have created a new PDF webpage in which we have collected and arranged these items. Among other things you will find recently posted essays by Gilbert Meilaender, Tom Howard, and R. R. Reno.

Past issues of Addenda are also available on-line.

Spring Fundraising Letter

As a non-profit organization, MARS HILL AUDIO relies on the generosity of donors for around 20% of its operating budget. Our main vehicles for raising these necessary funds are two fundraising letters sent out each year, one in the spring and one in the fall. More than mere pleas for money, these letters have an educational purpose, focusing on some aspect of the work of MARS HILL AUDIO or on a topic that is of special interest to Ken Myers; they are really essays with a reminder at the end of why you may want to support the work we do. The Spring 2004 letter has recently been sent out; it is also available on-line. Also available are an on-line contribution form and downloadable, printable contribution form.

Another way in which our subscribers have been extremely helpful to us is by referring others to the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal. The reply form that comes with the fundraising letter includes a section for writing in the names of friends, family, colleagues, or acquaintances you think would be interested in and benefit from the Journal. We encourage you to return this form to us even if you decide not to enclose a contribution. You may also refer people using our on-line form or e-mail. Each referral will receive a no-obligation demonstration copy of the Journal.

Listener Mail

There are two new letters posted to our new Listener Mail page, and we encourage you to send your submission to letters@marshillaudio.org. We will acknowledge receipt of your e-mail, but, depending on the volume, we may not respond to it beyond that. If you would prefer to send a letter, please see our mailing address at the end of this newsletter. If we decide to print your letter we will include your name unless you request to remain anonymous.

Various Details, Disclaimers, Etc.

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