"If God is sovereign, then his lordship must extend over all of life, and it cannot be restricted to the walls of the church or within the Christian orbit." Abraham Kuyper Common Grace 1.1.
"If God is sovereign, then his lordship must extend over all of life, and it cannot be restricted to the walls of the church or within the Christian orbit." Abraham Kuyper Common Grace 1.1.
Oh dear... any particular Christian bookshop you're thinking of?
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of books dealing with political issues from a Christian perspective: visit http://www.thegoodbookstall.org.uk/ and search 'politics' - you'll find 13 items reviewed, most published since 2010, and all readily available from most Christian bookshops.
Can't help wondering when you last visited a one if you really think this cartoon is truly representative of today's Christian bookshops...
Thanks, Phil, for pointing out that the Goodbookstall has a broad Christian and social perspective. I've been involved with a number of Christian shops, but never anything like this. A standard reply was "We don't haven't anything specific at the moment, but could we order something for you?".
ReplyDeleteHave to agree with what Phil says, in my shop we have books in stock on not only political issues but also a host of situations addressed in modern culture - poverty, economics, homelessness, euthanasia, Gender Issues etc
ReplyDeleteOf course as the owner of a Christian Bookshop it's my opinion we have to stock them because these are the issues we are called to deal with and address and it's only through understanding that we can do so.
it's also my opinion that we always stock books that are from a multitude of perspectives but I appreciate that is not the same for all.
However I really hope that for the most part your cartoon is outmoded and outdated.
Still thanks for at least opening up the topic for discussion.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments - the cartoon is old. But sadly it does mirror some of the experiences I've had.
I used to visit regularly two Christian bookshops only a stone's throw from each other. They are both now closed - one only recently. (I was in there a few weeks ago - shortly before it closed down.)
One had great stock and an excellent secondhand dept where I spent hours browsing.
The other had more trinkets, posters, t-shirts and pencils with gospel texts on than books. It had a small 'Contemporary Christian Issues' section - probably about a dozen books. The rest were the 'best sellers' or books by who happened to be speaking at the most recent Christian events.
Thanks Phil for highlighting the link to the thegoodbookstall - I wasn't aware of that. (Though there are no entries for a Christian approach to mathematics!)
I'm sure that the cartoon isn't representative of all bookshops and that things are changing.
There are many great Christian books (see for example my bibliographies elsewhere on this blog)- but sadly many of them are not stocked by mainstream Christian book shops.
Steve - if you find any books on a Christian approach to mathematics please let us know! There are certainly plenty on the Christian approach to science, not to mention "The Gospel According to Peanuts" and its successors. To turn the comments round, it would also be nice if Christian publishers worked harder at getting Christian books into general bookshops. A year ago I pointed out to a Waterstones branch that they didn't have an AV Bible in stock in its anniversary year and was thanked for the information.
ReplyDeleteCarole,
ReplyDeleteHow's this for starters:
James Bradley and Russell Howell Mathematics Through the Eyes of Faith Harper One/ CCCU, 2011.
John Byl The Divine Challenge: on Matter, Mind, Math and Meaning (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 2004)
Roy A. Clouser The Myth of Religious Neutrality: A Essay on the Hidden Role of Religious Belief in Theories (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame, 1991; 2nd edn 2005)
Andrew M. Hartley Christian and Humanist Foundations for Statistical Inference (Resource Publications, Wipf and Stock, 2008)
James Nikel Mathematics: Is God Silent? (Vallecito, CA: Ross House Books, 1990; 2nd edn 2000)
Russell W. Howell and James Bradley (ed.) Mathematics in aPostmodern Age: A Christian Perspective (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2001)
Katherine Loop Beyond Numbers: A Practical Guide to Teaching Math Biblically (Christian Perspective, 2005; 2nd edn 2011)
Katherine Loop Revealing Arithmetic (Christian Perspective)
Cheers,
Steve
Always saddened to hear of Christian bookshops closing: run right, they're a light in the darkness ... but run badly ... *sigh* oh well, I guess the same could be said of many churches...
ReplyDeleteAnother site you might find interesting, Steve: christianbookshops.org.uk - the UK Christian Bookshops Directory (UKCBD). I'm kinda biased because I run it. Would be grateful if you'd be kind enough to check whether the shops you mention are listed, please, and let me know so that I can update them to ceased trading if so...
In the United States, there is a bookstore that specializes in offering books for every vocation from a Christian perspective. Byron Borger, the owner of Hearts & Minds Bookstore is the only person from whom I buy books now. And do yourself a favor and bookmark and regularly read his booknotes blog - a wealth of reviews of books on all sorts of topics. And yes, he has a whole section of recommended books on... MATHEMATICS! :-)
ReplyDeleteHearts & Minds Books
...and POLITICS too!
ReplyDeleteThanks Bob for pointing out Byron's wonderful place - sadly nothing like that exists (as far as I am aware) in the UK.
ReplyDeleteRichard Russell's Christian Studies Unit - a postal and conference bookstall - is perhaps the only exception here.
Phil,
ReplyDeleteBoth shops are listed as having ceased trading.
Brilliant post! Wonderful to see the wide spread reach of Christian bookstore these days.
ReplyDelete