Gleanings Quick Links

Why Nippon Is Nuts About J.S. Bach: The Japanese yearn for hope. “Our language does not even possess an appropriate word for hope,” explained Suzuki. “We either use ‘ibo,’ meaning desire, or ‘nozomi,’ which describes something unattainable.” Yet hope is precisely what the Japanese are yearning for, he went on, given their desperate spiritual crisis which manifests itself in many ways. . . . So when Suzuki conducts the “Christmas Oratorio” or – on Good Fridays – Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion,” the audience studiously follows the Japanese translations of the German lyrics in their programs. “After each concert people crowd the podium wishing to talk to me about topics that are normally taboo in our society – death, for example. Then they inevitably ask me what ‘hope’ means to Christians,” said Suzuki, who is also an organist in a Reformed church. “I believe that Bach has already converted tens of thousands of Japanese to the Christian faith.” One famous convert is Masashi Masuda from Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. Curiously, it wasn’t one of Bach’s religious compositions that led Masuda to have himself baptized. He became a Christian after hearing a recording of Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” played by Glenn Gould, the Canadian pianist. (Uwe Siemon-Netto, The Atlantic Times (Germany) (also see here.) )

Thu 21 Feb 2008 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

What is forgiveness?: “But he does not ask the question: what kind of a being is it that can forgive? Dogs don’t forgive, because dogs don’t resent. Forgiveness is unique to rational beings, and is a gift of metaphysical freedom. Only the accountable being, able to take responsibility for his own actions and mental states, can forgive or be forgiven, and this way of overcoming conflict has next to nothing in common with the peace of the “pecking order”, or the territorial settlements among badgers and bears.” (Roger Scruton, reviewing a book in the Times Literary Supplement, via Alan Jacobs )

Wed 02 Jan 2008 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Becoming Cary Grant: Acting as character formation? ‘“I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be and I finally became that person. Or he became me. Or we met at some point.” That meeting—when Archie Leach, the Bristol-born son of a part-Jewish suit presser, came to be fully assimilated by his creation, Cary Grant—amounts to one of the great events in the annals of twentieth-century culture.’ (The Atlantic )

Wed 02 Jan 2008 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Politics, God, and Blue Devils: “Areas of overlap likewise exist between presidential candidates’ religious commitments and their ability to serve in political office. After all, churches are no strangers to issues of membership, leadership, authority, budgets, and the struggle for consensus—and politics, at its root, is about making moral judgments. A robust national conversation would include room for exploring how religious commitments shape a candidate’s leadership ability and policy stances. Yet it would not allow that discussion to overshadow the many other factors that contribute to an effective presidency.” (Ryan Messmore, National Review Online )

Wed 02 Jan 2008 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Benedict on A Common Word: Very helpful news item with commentary and background links that put the Muslim statement into a larger perspective. Why has Benedict been so slow to respond publicly to the Muslim letter? “Because the kind of dialogue he wants is completely different. The pope is asking Islam to make the same journey that the Catholic Church made under pressure from the Enlightenment. Love of God and neighbor must be realized in the full acceptance of religious freedom.” (Sandro Magister, La Repubblica )

Mon 26 Nov 2007 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Loving God and Neighbor Together: A response to the historically unprecedented statement from Muslim scholars and leaders, “A Common Word Between Us and You.” May both bear much fruit. “What is common between us lies not in something marginal nor in something merely important to each. It lies, rather, in something absolutely central to both: love of God and love of neighbor. Surprisingly for many Christians, your letter considers the dual command of love to be the foundational principle not just of the Christian faith, but of Islam as well. That so much common ground exists—common ground in some of the fundamentals of faith—gives hope that undeniable differences and even the very real external pressures that bear down upon us can not overshadow the common ground upon which we stand together. That this common ground consists in love of God and of neighbor gives hope that deep cooperation between us can be a hallmark of the relations between our two communities.” (Yale Center for Faith and Culture )

Mon 26 Nov 2007 from Peter Edman • Link & Comments

Jacques Barzun Centennary: Critic and essayist Jacques Barzun turned 100 this September: “Barzun may be the very exemplar of the enlightened and humble humanist, and he long ago cut down to the core of the greatest difficulty in modern schooling: if we want young people to be humanized by the knowledge they acquire, they must be taught by humanists—that is, by those who themselves have been humanized by that same knowledge, who have been, in a word, changed, and changed for the better, by what they know.” (Tracy Lee Simmons, The University Bookman )

Mon 26 Nov 2007 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

What Matters About Romney’s Religion: Must-read. “Romney, however, should not make Kennedy’s mistake and assert that all religious beliefs are unrelated to politics. What Mormonism shares with other religious traditions is a strong commitment to the value and dignity of human beings, including the unborn, the disabled and the poor. This conviction is unavoidably political, because it leads men and women to act in the cause of justice, not in order to impose their religion, but to protect the weak.” (Michael Gerson, op-ed, The Washington Post )

Fri 03 Aug 2007 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Atheism Redux: Marty offers some helpful perspective on responding to the “new” atheism of Dawkins, Hitchens, & Co.:  ‘Send cards of thanks. These authors bring up differences in an age of indifference. Don’t sneer. Many of these authors sneer. Where does that get us? I quote William Paley: “Who can refute a sneer?” . . . Converse, don’t argue. No one wins arguments—which are determined by one’s knowing the answer—about the existence or nonexistence of God, but everyone can profit from a conversation that tries to pose good questions and respond to them.’ (Martin E. Marty, The Christian Century )

Tue 31 Jul 2007 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Egypt’s Top Islamic Scholar Clears Up Muslim Conversion Controversy: Good for him. ‘Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, one of the most respected Islamic scholars in the world today, re-affirmed that Muslims have the freedom to convert to another religion, but that it would be a “grave sin.” “Choice means freedom, and freedom includes the freedom to commit grave sins as long as their harm does not extend to others,” said Gomaa, according to Agence France-Presse.’ (Christian Post )

Thu 26 Jul 2007 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Harry Potter & the Art of Dying Well: “Our attitude toward death defines in many ways how we live. The medieval theme of memento mori, the virtuous cultivation of the memory of death, acts as a counter to modernity’s vacillation between unhealthy obsession and tragic forgetfulness. . . . Readers of the final book are left to puzzle over, not just the mysterious powers of mercy and self-sacrifice, but also explicit references to the New Testament, the one from Corinthians cited above and a passage from Matthew, ‘where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.’ Harry encounters these statements on tombstones and knows neither their source nor their precise import. In that respect, Harry is a stand-in for most modern readers. Although he never explicitly formulates it this way, Harry’s great quest in Deathly Hallows leads him toward an understanding of the meaning of these scriptural passages, an understanding not just theoretical but eminently practical.” (Thomas Hibbs, National Review )

Mon 23 Jul 2007 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

The ‘New Victorians’: ‘Wendy Shalit, who earlier wrote about “A Return to Modesty,” has a new book called “Girls Gone Mild: Young Women Reclaim Self-Respect and Find It’s Not Bad to Be Good.” She illustrates the point with an interview with the daughter of Erica Jong, whose book “Fear of Flying” practically launched the sexual revolution. Jong glamorized promiscuity as random guilt-free sex with strangers. “When you’re 12,” says Molly Jong Fast, “there’s nothing funny about your mother’s fourth wedding.” Molly describes her own promiscuity as a mistake. “I was sold a bad bill of goods.” Molly is married and signs her e-mails “mother of Max,” making sure you understand that she’s first a mother. So do a lot of other young moms.’ (Suzanne Fields, syndicated column )

Mon 23 Jul 2007 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Evangelicals and The Vitter Effect: Senior Fellow Michael Cromartie is interviewed for Newsweek on Senator Vitter’s sex scandal. “Classical Christianity has always had a negative view of human nature. Generally, the belief has been that people are broken and fallen and frail. People plod along and make mistakes. But there is a message to all guilt-ridden humanity: there is saving grace and there can be release from that guilt, shame and sin.” (Newsweek )

Fri 20 Jul 2007 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Memory eternal, Pastor Will B. Dunn: Cartoonist and comic Doug Marlette has died in a tragic accident. May he rest in peace. “We don’t need constitutional protection to run boring, inoffensive cartoons. We don’t need constitutional protection to make money from advertising. We don’t need constitutional protection to tell readers exactly what they want to hear. We need constitutional protection for our right to express unpopular views.” (via Terry Mattingly, GetReligion.org )

Fri 13 Jul 2007 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments

Where the Avatars Roam: “Libertarians hold to a theory of ‘spontaneous order’—that society should be the product of uncoordinated human choices instead of human design. Well, Second Life has plenty of spontaneity, and not much genuine order. This experiment suggests that a world that is only a market is not a utopia. It more closely resembles a seedy, derelict carnival—the triumph of amusement and distraction over meaning and purpose.” (Michael Gerson, The Washington Post )

Mon 09 Jul 2007 from TTF Staff • Link & Comments