A Good Provocative Read

Last night, I started a book for the third time which needs to be mulled over by all you great minds out there, and even those with massive intellects . The title is The Restoration of Christian Culture, written by John Senior. It is a challenging read, provocative, and can even be a little frustrating at times. I often find myself thinking the author is so unrealistic, and yet quietly something is stirring in me telling me that it makes a lot of sense. Senior explores the changes we have undergone in relation to literature, art, architecture, music, education, family, relationships, and the breadth of what it means to truly live a fully human life. Not only does he shed new light on these, but he confirms and expands on what have been only passing thoughts and unclear sentiments about how to restore and recreate our culture. I don't say our Catholic or Christian culture, because like J.R.R. Tolkien's writing The Lord of the Rings, we are not setting out to make the culture into a Christian one, just as Tolkien was not setting out to write a work of fantasy in order to teach and convert people to the Christian faith. Tolkien's writings are shaped by who he was, a rock-solid Catholic Christian, and in the same way, being Christian ought to fundamentally shape who we are as persons in such a way that our culture is transformed. It is not a matter of forced conversion, or pushing ideas on others. It is about being so who we are as Christians that we become contagious. For too many years, Christians have not been contagious, but rather have caught whatever the passing breezes of the surrounding culture blew into our paths. And so we have become diminished. Christians are statistically not so different from anyone else when it comes to television/movie viewing habits, moral issues related to sexuality, marriage and family, voting and education, and a variety of other issues. What I like about Senior's focus is that it is on the positive, that is to say, on the restorative, healing, positive dimensions of renewing our faith and our culture, even though at times he doesn't pull punches and I find myself reeling from the blows of how much our culture needs restoration. If you can keep an open mind and turn off all labels regarding liberals, conservatives, tradititionalists or extremists, and get all the way through this book, then I would love to hear what you think of it. I am still grappling with it quite a bit, but that is the age old dilemma we are presented with anyway isn't it? "How to be in the world, and not of it" Check it out.

Can you say "Louis L'Amour?"