recent read #1

ENGAGING GOD’S WORLD: A Christian Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living
by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.

Engaging God's World, written by the Dean of the Chapel at Calvin College, lays the foundation for a Christian worldview. The book was written to be read by the freshmen at Calvin, to establish a framework for learning. Plantinga sums up his thoughts on the purpose for learning: “The point of all this learning is to prepare to add one’s own contribution ot the supreme reformation project, which is God’s restoration of all things that have been corrupted by evil. The Old Testament word for this restoration of peace, justice, and harmony is shalom; the New Testament phrase for it is ‘the coming of the kingdom’” (xii).

Here's a snippet I copied/pasted from the Calvin website:

"This book provides a clear, winsome, articulation of a Christian perspective through Reformed lenses. Beginning on an existential note, Engaging God’s World eloquently captures the experience of human longings, the often inarticulate yearnings for a state of affairs-hope, peace, contentment, justice-that seems to elude our grasp, but which testify, even by their absence, to the Biblical hope for shalom. From this beginning, Plantinga leads us through the Scriptural narrative, which tells us of the Creator and of the goodness of the created order, of the personal and cosmic damage effected by the fall and the advent of sin, and of God’s restoration project of reconciling the world to himself through Christ. This book concludes with a discussion of finding one’s vocation within the kingdom of God and, specifically, of helping students to see how their education at Calvin College is their present vocation."

The book is beautifully written. I must confess that I don't typically find Christian writers (or Christian artists in general) to be all that aesthetically pleasing. Plantinga, however, is a genius. Read it.