Addenda
A monthly e-mail newsletter from MARS HILL AUDIO
September 15, 2006 v Number 31
"[O]n the personal level, if mobility is the material mark of
globalization, its spiritual mark seems to be, for lack of a better
term, secularity, in the broadest sense — the weakening of
tradition, the loss of individual and cultural memory, the fading of
those forms by which transcendent order has heretofore
been made incarnate in daily life."
-- Joshua P. Hochschild, "Globalization: Ancient and Modern"
(The Intercollegiate Review, Spring 2006)
New on our desks
Studies of Milton and Conrad Are Alive and Well in Seemingly Unlikely Spots
Guests on various editions of the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal have considered the state of education at the university level. Most recently, on Volume 78, professor Mark Bauerlein notes that colleges and universities enable students to pursue nearly everything but an education rich in the humanities. [Read more on Studies of Milton and Conrad]
Congratulations to Wilfred McClay
Congratulations to MARS HILL AUDIO Board Member Wilfred McClay, who will be receiving the 2006 Richard M. Weaver Prize for Scholarly Letters from the Bradley Institute for the Study of Christian Culture at Belmont Abbey College. Bill, along with his connections to us and his academic life, is contributing editor to Touchstone, First Things, and other publications, and a member of the National Council for the Humanities. The prize, says the Institute's brochure, makes "a bold statement: that culture is more important than politics, that ideas count for more than issues, and that the health of the society can more easily be measured by the quality of its thought than by its GNP." We agree, and think there could be no better recipient than Dr. McClay, who will receive the award at the Institute's annual Ingersoll Symposium, held on the campus of Belmont Abbey on October 20th and 21st. For more information about Richard Weaver and why such an important prize is named for him, see our Richard Weaver page as well as the information at the Bradley Institute website.
Audio Reprints
Since MARS HILL AUDIO was launched 14 years ago, we have been committed (in the words of our mission statement) "to produce creative audio resources that encourage Christians to grow in obedient wisdom concerning the cultural consequences of our duty to love God and neighbor." Obedient wisdom is the goal, and audio is our chosen means. In between the starting point and the finish line are lots of things to read. Since our products have a limited amount of time in people's lives, and since audio is not always the best medium to explain complicated matters, we are very eager to get our listeners to read things that they might not have known about. We are bibliographic scouts, reporting back on some beneficial routes between where you are and where you hope to be.
Almost all of the guests on the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal are authors of recent books, and our interviews are intended as introductions to those books. These authors may or may not share our Christian convictions, but all of them have displayed in their writing a perceptive understanding of how contemporary cultural life has been (and is being) shaped by various ideas and institutions.
We occasionally feature writers who have written especially insightful articles in magazines or journals. Now, we are introducing a new series of audio products intended to offer a more direct access to some of the articles we think are helpful in achieving our mission. MARS HILL AUDIO Reprints are readings of entire texts of articles taken from some of the best journals and magazines in print, and we hope to start making a lot of these available. They will range in length from 30 to 60 minutes, and will be available as MP3 downloads (which may then, if you prefer, be burned to a CD for an alternate form of portability).
The first three Reprints are now available for order. Roger Kimball's "Leszek Kolakowski and the Anatomy of Totalitarianism" is an appreciative introduction to the writing of one of the 20th century's most penetrating thinkers about politics, culture, and religion. This article (taken from The New Criterion, the journal Kimball serves as editor) focuses on Kolakowski's critique of Marxism and Communism. Kimball makes the point that such a critique is not just of interest to diehard cold warriors. As Kolakowski himself has written recently, "Communism was not the crazy fantasy of a few fanatics, nor the result of human stupidity and baseness; it was a real, very real part of the history of the twentieth century, and we cannot understand this history of ours without understanding communism. We cannot get rid of this specter by saying it was just 'human stupidity,' or 'human corruptibility.' The specter is stronger than the spells we cast on it. It might come back to life."
The second of our Reprints (and yes, we realize that they are only metaphorically re-prints, but the spirit of wisdom is not afraid of metaphors) is by Matthew B. Crawford, called "Shop Class as Soulcraft." Dr. Crawford's article (which comes to the aid of our long-suffering project of fighting the Gnostic denial of the importance of the body) celebrates manual work and craftsmanship. As Crawford beautifully notes: "The satisfactions of manifesting oneself concretely in the world through manual competence have been known to make a man quiet and easy. They seem to relieve him of the felt need to offer chattering interpretations of himself to vindicate his worth. He can simply point: the building stands, the car now runs, the lights are on. Boasting is what a boy does, who has no real effect in the world. But craftsmanship must reckon with the infallible judgment of reality, where one's failures or shortcomings cannot be interpreted away." Three cheers for reality! Crawford's article, by the way, was in The New Atlantis, one of our favorite journals, and a periodical from which you will see/hear more Reprints from us in the future.
Finally, we have an article written by Joshua P. Hochschild called "Globalization: Ancient and Modern," taken from a recent issue of The Intercollegiate Review. This article touches on a number of themes that show up regularly in our Journal, especially place, memory, and the importance of local community. Hochschild alerts us to the fact that, for a word that is tossed around so insistently, "globalization" is a remarkably badly defined concept. This essay uses the fuzziness of globalization and its attendant enthusiasms to introduce some important categories in thinking about politics and the order of Creation. If you enjoyed our recent Conversation with Russell Hittinger on "Church, State, and Society in Catholic Social Teaching," or if you're interested in the Reformed ideas about "sphere sovereignty," you'll be interested in Hochschild's article.
One last note: like most of our work, these Reprints get better with repeated hearings, so for only $3.00 each, you're getting a lot of listening time, not to mention resources toward obedient wisdom.
Science and Theology Features on This Month's Audition
The current issue of our podcast, Audition, includes portions of interviews with Thomas Torrance, Sir John Polkinghorne, and Michael Aeschliman, all addressing the question of the place of science in Western culture and the relationship of science to theology. Also in this issue are an interview with Russell Hittinger (a guest on Volume 81) and a reading by Vigen Guroian from his book Inheriting Paradise. Audition is valuable yet free, and your friends should know about it.
Calling for Poster Posters
The current issue of Audition lends itself well to a discussion group for college students, particularly those in the sciences who are wrestling with how their Christian faith should and does influence their discipline and work. MARS HILL AUDIO wants to let students know about this helpful resource, and about forthcoming issues of Audition. We’ll be designing posters to announce each issue of our podcast, and a handful of people who work with students have volunteered to post the signs where students will see them. If you or anyone you know would like to be part of that handful, please e-mail us at mp3@marshillaudio.org and we’ll e-mail you a pdf file every month, from which you can print the posters. Thank you!
Summer Inventory Sale
Our year end inventory is September 30. In order to ease the counting, we’d like to "move" overstocked issues on cassette. Until we run out, the price is $3 per cassette plus shipping and handling, $3 for the first item plus $1 per item up to $7 maximum. These prices are exclusively for Addenda customers; the web site won’t reflect sale prices, so mention "Summer Inventory Sale" in the Comments section of your on-line order form to receive the reduced rates (cost will be adjusted when we process your order). Sale applies to U. S. customers only and ends September 30. Items included in the sale are:
MHAJ 55, with Robert George and Mark Noll
MHAJ 57, with John Hare and Steve Bruce
MHAJ 58, with Francis Fukuyama and Ted Prescott
MHAJ 59, with Bernard Lewis and Alan Jacobs
MHAJ 60, with Russell Hittinger and Leon Kass
MHAJ 61, with Michael L. Peterson and Barbara Dafoe Whitehead
MHAJ 62, with Alissa Quart and Lilian Calles Barger
MHAJ 64, with Ralph C. Wood and Jeremy Begbie
MHAJ 67, with R. R. Reno and J. A. C. Redford
MHAJ 68, with Robert Gagnon and Quentin Schultze
MHAJ 69, with John McWhorter and Barrett Fisher
MHAJ 70, with Christine Rosen and Dana Gioia
MHAJ 71, with Peter Augustine Lawler and Roger Lundin
MHAJ 73, with Richard John Neuhaus and Susan Srigley
MHAJ 74, with Brad Wilcox and Jeanne Murray Walker
MHAJ 75, with John Lukacs and Eugene Peterson
MHAJ 77, with Eric Miller and Lisa de Boer
MHAJ 78, with Elisabeth Lasch-Quinn and Thomas de Zengotita
MHA Con. 18, "Human Life, Human Dignity," Leon Kass
MHA Con. 19, "The Crisis of Islam and the Crisis of the West," Bernard Lewis
MHA Con. 20, "Texts, Sex, and Sanctity: Robert Gagnon on Homosexuality and the Bible," Robert Gagnon, with an article by Philip Turner
MHA Con. 21, "Science and Theology from the Bottom Up: Sir John Polkinghorne on Enriching the Dialog," John Polkinghorne
MHA Anth. 3, with essays by Gina Bria, Wendell Berry, and Gilbert Meilaender
Conference on Christianity and the Environment
The MacLaurin Institute at the University of Minnesota is sponsoring a conference on Christianity and the environment September 22-23, 2006. The conference will explore what it means for people to demonstrate a Christian perspective as they live their lives at the interfaces of three "worlds" (natural, engineered, and human). It will also study how Christian virtues ought to influence public and private policies regarding the interaction of these worlds. Plenary speakers are the Rev. Dr. Rolf Bouma, University of Michigan; Dr. Steven Bouma-Prediger, Hope College; Dr. Cal DeWitt, University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Dr. Susan Emmerich, founder and CEO of Emmerich Environmental Consulting. For information about registration and submitting papers, please visit www.christianenvironmentconference.net.
The Church and Pop Culture
In October, Ken Myers will speak at the annual Ministerial Conference of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho. The conference, titled "The Church and Pop Culture," runs Monday, October 23, through Wednesday, October 25, 2006, at the University Inn/Best Western Convention Center in Moscow. Christ Church invites pastors, elders, deacons (or those aspiring to these positions), their wives, and their teenage sons (14 and up) to attend the conference. The speakers this year include Douglas M. Jones, Peter Leithart, Douglas Wilson, and Nathan Wilson. For information about conference fees, lodging, and registration, call 202.882.2034 or see the conference website at www.christkirk.com.
Subscriber Update
Volume 81 (July/August 2006) of the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal is being mailed this week. This issue's guestlist comprises: Nigel Cameron discussing technology and public policy; Joel James Shuman on God, sickness, and medicine; Brian Volck on stories and medical practice; Russell Hittinger on Catholic social thought; Mark Noll on law, politics, and earlier Christians; and Stephen Miller on the (dying) art of conversation.
Various Details, Disclaimers, Etc.
From time to time MARS HILL AUDIO may send you e-mail about your subscription (such as renewal offers) and information that may be of interest. Under no circumstances will we sell, rent, or give away your e-mail address to third parties. For further details on how we use your personal information, see MARS HILL AUDIO's privacy notice.
Given the fact of too much information and too little time, we won't blame you if you'd rather not receive Addenda. To stop delivery, use our online form; or reply to this e-mail and type "unsubscribe" along with your first and last names in the message body.
Subscribe to Addenda
If you have been forwarded this e-mail and wish to receive Addenda each month, you may sign up online or send e-mail to addenda@marshillaudio.org.
Subscribe to the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal
If you don't do so already, we encourage you to subscribe to the MARS HILL AUDIO Journal, our bi-monthly "audio magazine," see our subscription page. If you have never listened to the Journal, you may request a no-obligation demonstration issue.
Copyright 2006 MARS HILL AUDIO, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Published by
MARS HILL AUDIO
P.O. Box 7826
Charlottesville, Virginia 22906
Call 1.800.331.6407
Fax 1.434.990.9090