Amazon.com
Arguably one of the finest of all Australian novelists, Tim Winton shows that he remains in top form with Dirt Music, a wistful, charged, ardent novel of female loss and amatory redemption. The setting is Winton's favorite: the thorn-bushed, sheep-farmed, sun-punished boondocks of Western Australia. The cast is limited but spirited: the two chief protagonists are Georgie Jutland, a fortysomething adoptive mother with a vodka problem, and Luther Fox, a brooding, feral, bushwhacking poacher.
The plot is something else altogether: an elegantly wearied, cleverly finessed mutual odyssey that opts to follow the sometimes intertwining, sometimes diverging lives of poor Georgie and Luther as they try to deal with the odd alliance they comprise, as well as the complex and fractured lives they want to leave behind. The way Georgie deals with her unwitting inheritance of two dissatisfied adopted kids is particularly touching, poignant, and well written.
Best of all, though, is the prose. Somehow it manages to be simultaneously juicy and dry, like a desert cactus. This is especially true when Winton touches on the scented harshness of the Down Under outback: "the music is jagged and pushy and he for one just doesn't want to bloody hear it, but the outbursts of strings and piano are as austere and unconsoling as the pindan plain out there with its spindly acacia and red soil." This is a wise and accomplished novel. --Sean Thomas, Amazon.co.uk
Book Description
Winner of The Miles Franklin Literary Award, The Christina Stead Award, WA Premier's Book of the Year, Book Data/ABA Book of the Year Award, Goodreading Award-Readers Choice Book of the Year
Set in the dramatic landscape of Western Australia, Dirt Music tells the story of Luther Fox, a broken man who makes his living as an illegal fisherman -- a shamateur. Before everyone in his family was killed in a freak rollover, Fox grew melons and counted stars and loved playing his guitar. Now, his life has become a "project of forgetting." Not until he meets Georgie Jutland, the wife of White Point's most prosperous fisherman, does Fox begin to dream again and hear the dirt music -- "anything you can play on a verandah or porch," he tells Georgie, "without electricity." Like the beat of a barren heart, nature is never silent. Ambitious and perfectly calibrated, Dirt Music resonates with suspense, emotion, and timeless truths.
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Luther Fox, a loner, haunted by his past, makes his living as an illegal fisherman - a shamateur. Before everyone in his family was killed in a freak rollover, he grew melons and played guitar in the family band. Robbed of all that, he has turned his back on music. There's too much emotion in it, too much memory and pain. One morning Fox is observed poaching by Georgie Jutland. Chance, or a kind of willed recklessness, has brought Georgie into the life and home of Jim Buckridge, the most prosperous fisherman in the area and a man who loathes poachers, Fox above all. But she's never fully settled into Jim's grand house on the water or into the inbred community with its history of violent secrets. After Georgie encounters Fox, her tentative hold on conventional life is severed. Neither of them would call it love, but they can't stay away from each other no matter how dangerous it is - and out on White Point it is very dangerous. Set in the dramatic landscape of Western Australia, Dirt Music is a love story about people stifled by grief and regret; a novel about the odds of breaking with the past and about the lure of music. Dirt music, Fox tells Georgie, is "anything you can play on a verandah or porch, without electricity." Even in the wild, Luther cannot escape it. There is, he discovers, no silence in nature. Ambitious, perfectly calibrated, Dirt Music resonates with suspense and supercharged emotion -- and it confirms Tim Winton's status as the preeminent Australian novelist of his generation. "
Customer Reviews:
A gifted writer tells a compelling story........2007-07-26
I bought "Dirt Music" on an impulse and left it sitting on the shelf for some time before reading it. When its turn came, it proved to be a very enjoyable read. Tim Winton is a very capable writer who evokes the landscape and culture of rural Australia while relaying a riveting tale. The storyline kept the pages turning for me, though the writing was good enough to cause some pause to admire the literary talent of the author. I was not entirely satisfied with Mr. Winton's development of (some of) the characters (particularly Jim Buckridge) and some elements (including the conclusion) of the story, but "Dirt Music" was certainly enjoyable, raised interesting ideas, and left me eager to read something else by Mr. Winton.
As another reviewer has said, music becomes almost a fourth main character in the book, but not in an intrusive or cliched manner. (Note: Coincidentally, I had recently abandoned Anne Rice's "Violin" which was apparently intended to similarly integrate music into the story, but did not resonate with me at all.) The organic connection some have with music, the frequent attachment people who live off the land (and nearby sea) have with that land, and the connections between people thrown together by circumstance have many similarities/parallels. I believe this novel does a superb job of identifying and exploring many of those parallels.
I can whole-heartedly recommend this book.
Dirt Music.......2006-06-11
A thoroughly absorbing read that combines funny, sharp-tongued dialogue with rich descriptions of the harsh and beautiful natural environment of Australia. Sympathetic characters try to come to terms with difficult pasts and follow their hearts to live in tune with their own natures. It's about love, and how it gets inside us to compel actions without choice.
Georgie falters from one ill-fitting relationship to another, until she ends up moving in with Jim Buckridge, a widower with two scrappy sons and a very successful fishing business in a small town on the Western coast of Australia. The Buckridges are a prominent family there, and Georgie becomes by day the caretaker of children, home, and man. At night, she tries to quiet her inner restlessness with alcohol and long hours on the Internet, until one night she takes her restlessnes outside to the beach, where she happens upon the truck and dog of a fisherman poacher. She trades the Internet for watching this man's activities, befriending the dog and following him until she discovers where he lives. Her fascination with Lu Fox takes her into a new kind of relationship, and Winton renders well the effortless obsession of love. Lu has a tragic family history of his own, which drives him to abandon the music he once prenaturally played with his dead relatives.
More than a love story, though, this chronicle of tragedy and loss steers its characters through the contrasting diversities of human adaptations from small town to urban to solitary scavenging on the harsh coastal landscape. And despite human missteps and loss, there is in Winton's vision the possibility for redemption.
Harsh People in a beautiful land.......2006-03-23
White Point seemed like the kind of place anyone would want to live as long as you could get rid of the people. Fascinating how the author, Tim Winton, chose to populate a beautiful coastal town with mean and nasty people. Makes you wonder as you read the book if the harshness of eking out an existence in White Point, with the intense heat and the demanding fishing industry, results in harsh people.
I must confess that of the two protagonists, Georgie and Lu, I empathized more with Lu. He was a man with real, heart rendering pain in his life; an Australian Job. Winton seems to take Lu to the edge of death in order for Lu to bury the dead and return to the living. As a counterpoint, Georgie, a nurse surrounded by the pain and death of patients, loses her desire to really live. She moves in with a widower because she pities him. What she doesn't realize is that he invited her because he pitied her. Pity, they realize, is a poor foundation for a relationship.
When Georgie and Lu meet by accident, it sets in motion the events that will transform and heal them.
Finest kind of reading.......2005-12-03
Winton is a best-selling, prize-winning writer in Australia and you don't need to do more than read Dirt Music to know why. I'm hesitant to describe this novel because it's chock full of themes, threads and texts. Yes, there's the astonishing landscape of Australia, and music, fisherman and women, wives and husbands, fueds and death, and more. Hugely entertaining book in the do-not-miss-it category. Meanwhile, I'm off to read more Winton just as soon as I can!
Dirt Music.......2005-10-02
I bought this book as a gift for a friend in the US because I had recently visited the Kimberly region and thought that it perfectly evoked the scene and people.
Book Description
In this sequel to Loving Mercy, Miranda Chase knows exactly what she wants—a settled life with a steady man who will treat her right. She has no time for a smooth-talking city slicker like Ben Lansing. Even if his touch does make her heart race like a wild stallion. Only a fool would try to lasso and break a man like Ben. Or a woman reckless enough to follow her heart...
Customer Reviews:
Loving Miranda and Outstanding Historical Western Romance.......2007-07-29
I read about a book a day and this is one if the best romantic westerns that I have read in quite a while. The characters of Miranda and Ben have both been scared on the outside and inside, but each, with love help to bring a healing that neither excepted to have in their life.
As with most series, this book gives us time with people that we loved and hated from the previous novel, but this books extends their story and weaves their love together with the new romance.
I was sad to finish this book, but it will have a place on my limited book shelve so that I can visit with these wonderful charaters again. Where the heck to all of the guys like Thad and Ben hang out!
wonderful, touching.......2006-05-10
Loving Miranda is a book to fall in love with. Miranda is a touching heroine with a heartbreaking past and Benjamin Lansing a hero who needs her. When they finally realize their love for each other, it's a satisfying end to a wonderful story of love and redemption.
Passionate and intelligent.......2005-11-28
Warning: this book is addicting. Once you pick it up, you won't be able to put it down.
Benjamin Lansing arrives in the Colorado Territory to collect on a loan and instead finds a mystery surrounding the death of his brother. The longer he spends in Fort Victory, the more he realizes things aren't at all what they seem. And every minute he spends with Miranda, who is at the center of it all, the harder it becomes to deny the heat between them.
The last thing Miranda needs is a man in her life. She's come to Colorado to help her sister, not to get tangled in another romance that could end like the others...with betrayl and pain. But the more she gets to know Ben, the less she is able to resist, even if she's sure her heart will be broken again. And after a steamy night in a remote cabin, there is no turning back.
Masterful characterizations, heart-tugging storyline!.......2005-11-28
Teresa Bodwell has managed to top herself in this sequel to Loving Mercy--LOVING MIRANDA has it all: a heroine scarred physically and emotionally but with the courage to lift her chin (and point her rifle)to defend both family and her belief in second chances; a crippled and brooding artist hero who learns the art of real love; the return of much-loved secondary characters and a nastier-than-ever villain-- AND a tender and an unexpected miracle that reminds us--poignantly--of the blessings of family. LOVING MIRANDA is a fabulous read and I applaud Ms. Bodwell's work--Bravo!
Loving Miranda shines.......2005-11-07
Teresa Bodwell's Loving Miranda is a wonderful follow-up to Loving Mercy.
Miranda Chase has come home to her families ranch to help her sister in her final months of pregnancy. Miranda figures a few months surrounded by her family should help to get her life back on track and mend her broken heart. Miranda wants to be sure her sister is well and happy. Standing her Miranda's way is Ben Lansing.
Ben Lansing has come to Fort Victory to get back the money his deceased brother owes him and to be sure his orphaned nephew is being cared for properly. Things are not as his brother led him to believe and he must get to the truth. Ben has been hardened by life and his is ill prepared for the sunshine that Miranda brings to his life.
Miranda and Ben both have challenges that life has dealt them to overcome. Circumstance force a marriage but can these two lost souls find their way to forever.
Loving Miranda is a heartfelt story. Each page makes you feel like you are back in the old west. Loving Miranda brings back the beloved characters from Loving Mercy and you are update on their lives. I am looking forward to more from this author.
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Loving Mephistopheles
Miranda Miller
Manufacturer: Peter Owen Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Contemporary | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0720612756 |
Customer Reviews:
Highly recommended reading.......2006-06-22
Though I'm not a fan of the "cheesy" cover on the latest edition of this book (the earlier covers were more artistic) the message from the story is the same.
To summarize the story; it is about an Animal Revolution against mankind. Every single animal has joined this revolution except for one, Doctor Rat.
Throughout the book the author attempts to give perspectives from both sides (the animals and Doctor Rat's) but the main character (Doctor Rat) is really a character that had been admittedly driven insane by the very beings he has sworn allegiance to.
Animal lovers, political zealots, and anyone with an imagination should enjoy this book.
**Because of some of the language and graphic descriptions contained in this book some people may be turned off. Though that is understandable I still recommend this book.
Not perfect but not horrible either.......2005-07-09
I admit the only reason I read Dr Rat was because I'm very fond of rats as pets and tend to buy anything with a rat on the cover. However this being said I was definitely impressed by Dr Rat himself who acted very much as a rat would. He's delightfully horrid at times but in the same breath absolutely hilarious.
The book serves as a grotesque reminder of what humans are responsible for. The story follows a rat that overlooks a laboratory and entails the most graphic reviling experiments known to modern science but you can't say he lacks flare! He sings wretched little lyrics and writes scientific papers the entire time but at points you can see even Dr Rat himself is not the insane gem of stability. There's one part of the book where Dr Rat comes into contact with a darling female rat (just coincidentally in heat) that rejects him because of his neutered status. I laughed out loud at that scene!
The things that detract from the book are the fact you know what the plot line is and what the ending will be from the start and it is not set up in the most organized manner. There are no surprise twists, nothing that gets you wondering, and there are scantly few characters besides Dr Rat himself. It does serve as a fairly good warning to humanity but its anti-vivisection stance goes to the absurd at points.
None-the-less if you're a big rat fan I suggest it just as a simple evening read for a few abhorred chuckles.
Madness as Education.......2005-04-18
If you read Dr. Rat you will never forget it -- ever. I read this many years ago and was reluctant to pick it up for a re-read because of the discomfort and horror it engendered, although I felt oddly compelled. A second reading did nothing to change my mind that a book that could make me that uncomfortable was worth a second look. (Those who believe in mankind's God-given right to dominion over the earth and its creatures should be forced to read Dr. Rat.) This is a strange, intense, often wildly funny, but serious book for people who relish chewy intellectual meat over sentimental feel-good pap.
Against expermintation done on animals.......2004-04-08
I think experimentation done on animals should be against the law! Animals have no say in the matter and the only way they can escape it is to dye! No animal should have to have that as the only option!
Charlotte's Web this ain't.......2004-03-13
William Kotzwinkle's novel Dr. Rat combines a cautionary dash of Orwell's Animal Farm with the rancid horror of Sinclair's The Jungle to tell a savagely critical tale of humanity's mistreatment of the other animals sharing our world. Dr. Rat goes for the throat with appalling accuracy, clawing at the emotional core we try to protect with logic and reason. This novel forces us to look at the cruelly underside of animal experimentation, slaughtering houses and hunting. Told with a savage humor that does nothing to cushion the blow of confronting our own barbarism, Dr. Rat stands out as a masterpiece of recognition and rage.
The title character is a laboratory rat long mad from running the maze. "Death is freedom," he shouts again and again.
But while Dr. Rat gaily recites the gratuitous atrocities performed on his fellows by the Learned Professor and his graduate assistants -- "Nobody knows exactly what he's doing, or why. It is sufficient that each month we mention cancer and a new kind of plastic." -- the revolution brewing inside the lab mirrors a great gathering of every sort of animal in the outside world. The story flashes to the mind of a different creature for a chapter, either one suffering at the hand of man or one beginning the trek to the mustering, then flips back to Dr. Rat's lone stand against the rebelling research subjects.
Dr. Rat ignites emotions that most of us are less than comfortable experiencing; all the more reason to read this book and to open your eyes.
Even though this book is fiction, there is a lot of truth to it. This is a book I think everyone should read just so they know what happens in animal testing laboratories. Whether you're not aware or would rather turn away from the issue, animal testing is a cruel science experiment gone wrong.
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Doctor Rat
Manufacturer: Bantam Books,
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0553103822 |
Product Description
Sci - Fi Fantasy
Product Description
Firsrt paperback edition of authorative translation of Dr. Freud's work.
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The Lab Rats of Doctor Eclair
John Bianchi
Manufacturer: Bungalo Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Fiction
| Mice, Hamsters, Guinea Pigs & Squirrels
| Animals
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
Humorous
| Literature
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ages 4-8
| Children's Books
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0921285485 |
Book Description
Readers are introduced to the weird world of Doctor Eclair, a bumbling scientist who is as devoted to his test animals as he is to his work.
Life in the lab takes on a strange new twist when a bolt of lightning strikes Eclair's hilltop tower and molecularly rearranges three of his research rats--turning them into super rodents. Putting their new powers to work, the trio joins Eclair in his quest to build the world's first artificial rat.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Phytomedicine: International Journal of Phytotherapy & Phytopharmacology, published by Thomson Gale on January 1, 2006. The length of the article is 5734 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Celastrus paniculatus seed oil and organic extracts attenuate hydrogen peroxide- and glutamate-induced injury in embryonic rat forebrain neuronal cells**.
Author: P.B. Godkar
Publication:
Phytomedicine: International Journal of Phytotherapy & Phytopharmacology (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 13
Issue: 1-2
Page: 29(8)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Customer Reviews:
Breath Modernistic Air No More!.......2007-07-09
In this fascinating and well organized study of how modern and postmodern philosophy shapes the theological agenda, Nancy Murphy sets out to explain and offer a new direction for the theological divide between conservatives and liberals.
Appropriate but not surprisingly, Murphy begins her study in part one by covering what has often been called, the Cartesian tragedy. Descartes' skeptical quest for certainty is clearly elucidated in that the philosophical foundational approach for knowledge eventually defined the nature of theological inquiry in the modern period.
However, this modern foundational approach, Murphy argues, leads to two competing positions on a theological continuum: the first is that conservatives rely on Scripture as their foundation, and the second is liberalisms' reliance on experience. At this point, Murphy's analysis is very good in that she demonstrates that both theological camps are left petulantly wanting due to the fact that they are both stuck in the modern foundationalist mindset. Additionally, her critique of this foundationalism leads her to articulate the two epistemological outcomes of the liberal "inside-out" and the conservative "outside-in" approach to theological method.
But where Murphy is excellent at tracing the history of these concepts, one wonders why she does not find it necessary to engage Karl Barth's perspective on the issue of theological liberalism and its Schleiermachian roots. A mere affirmation of his thought is in fact referenced as a good reason to reject experiential foundationalism, but it seems that a little more interaction of his thought could help Murphy's overall point.
Murphy's explanation of the nature of religious language and how it is used is also helpful for her overall thesis. She does a particularly good job at showing how language relates to the theological landscape of conservativism and liberalism. In fact, this is accomplished by a simple and yet helpful chart on page 37.
The second quality of Murphy's elucidation of religious language is in her description of the so-called, Vienna Circle. The section on Ayer is especially important due to his classifications of language for the ever dying logical positivist movement. Significantly, his three types of sentences are (1) "empirically meaningful," (2) tautologous, and (3) emotive. This point of bringing up Ayer's logical positivism is especially important to Murphy's later points of expressivist/liberal and propositional/conservative theories of language.
After making her points about conservative and liberal strands of religious language, Murphy moves on to the controversial topic of gender language when referring to God. The attention that Murphy includes on gender in this section is lacking, however. She glosses over the important nature of this topic by painting Bloesch as a propositionalist whom deviates from the biblical content of feminine language for God. At this point, Murphy's perspective is avoiding a much more complex subject with respect to the nature of language. One could argue that the nature of language as it relates to the "gender" of God is beyond a mere two and a half pages of content. Furthermore, to implicitly assert that Bloesch is even close to being a propositional foundationalist (in the fundamentalist sense) is at best unclear and at worst misrepresentative. Thus, this section is underdeveloped.
Murphy's overall point in the first part of the book is to demonstrate that "modern philosophy has been largely responsible for bifurcating Christian theology..." into two competing liberal and conservative strands. Murphy's perspective and attempt at showing this is effective for the reader. But within the second part of her book it seems that she delves even deeper into the subject of philosophical and theological methodology.
The explanation of postmodernity in its Anglo-American context with the help of Popper and Quine is compelling for Murphy's elucidation of epistemological holism. However, within this epistemological holism, which apparently rejects the perspective of foundationalism, Murphy points out the main dilemma for the holistic enterprise--relativism. However, Murphy argues that with the help of MacIntyre's Thomistic and Augustinian examples, the tenableness of relativism seems to be less of a problem for the holist. Murphy's analysis and perspective in this section of her work is convincing, but there seems to be two referential perspectives that may help to make her overall thesis a little stronger.
First, in her section about the problems with foundationalism, Murphy states a problem with the nature of philosophical justification as it relates to epistemology. My reservation, however, in this section is that she does not reference Alvin Plantinga's very important epistemological work on the nature of warrant and justification. Thus, the important concepts that Plantinga puts forth in his Warrant series (i.e., Current Debate and Proper Function; Warranted Christian Belief was not published yet) on the nature of the JTB theory could greatly enhance the roundedness of her position.
Second, at the end of her section on "Alasdair MacIntyre and Theological Method" (pp. 105-06), there seems to be a similarity, here, to the position that Karl Barth takes on the dynamic relationship between scriptural authority as well as the importance of experience. Barth's triadic theological method of revelation as the Word of God--Jesus Christ--as witnessed to by Scripture and proclaimed (experientially and subjectively) through the community of believers would be beneficial to propose in addition to MacIntyre's position. After all, the dichotomy between scripture and experience was something Barth had to seriously consider in his modernistic and theologically liberal context.
The third point refers to Murphy's analysis of the "Problems with Foundationalism" (93). In this section she makes the comment about how conservative theologians were "forced" to admit the errancy of the biblical text, but she does not provide any sources or footnotes to clarify the nature of this assertion. Instead, Murphy includes the autograph inerrancy perspective to make her point, which is also a fair one.
Chapters 5-6 and the concluding remarks are clearly the best and most thoughtful of Murphy's book. In addition, one can see Murphy's development of holistic (and physicalist) epistemology and how it influences theology in chapter 6, which obviously had an impact on her recently published book, Bodies and Souls, or Spirited Bodies? Nevertheless, the reader of Murphy recognizes at this point that she is not flippantly suggesting a "paradigm/web" shift in theological method, but describing it as a necessary action for the progression of theology. Whether Murphy's analysis of modernistic philosophy as limiting the theological enterprise in the way she describes, only history will tell, but her perspectives must be seriously considered if theologians are to advance beyond the various nonviable foundations of modernism.
As it stands, Murphy's book makes a compelling case that theology and the theological craft cannot be limited to the modernistic philosophical landscape, and in this she seems to be correct. She also argues that the either/or perception of Christian theology as it relates to the conservative and liberal divide is no longer a reasonable option in light of postmodern developments in philosophy. One can hope that her optimism about the future is indeed warranted and will come to fruition.
A Lucid (if not original) Account.......2004-10-06
Murphy's work is excellent.
And it's not because she makes any startling claims. The liberal/conservative divide in theology is obvious. It is no surprise that both are fundamentally different (in content and reasoning) but based on similar philosophical presuppositions. That these presuppositions are increasingly questionable in a "postmodern" era has been pointed out so many times nobody wants to hear it anymore.
What is great about this book is Murphy's clarity. Beyond the pedantry of liberals and the fearful diatribes of conservatives, Murphy speaks in a clean and hopeful manner. She uses "ideal types" to be sure, but with such gracefulness that they work beautifully and effectively.
Her constructive chapters, of course, will not settle everything definitively. But they don't really have to --- all Murphy has to do is prove that this is really a move beyond liberalism and fundamentalism. I think she does this effectively.
I recommend this book because it improves on some of the ambiguities of Lindbeck's The Nature of Doctrine. Like Lindbeck, it is concise and powerful. Unlike Lindbeck, however, Murphy clears up some of the ambiguity surrounding "experiential-expressivism" and "cognitive-propositionalism." Her positive proposal, unlike Lindbeck's "cultural-linguistic" approach, is sufficiently nuanced so as not to fall prey to the claims of "Barthianism" or "relativism."
Finally, since Murphy comes from Berkely/Pasadena, not from New Haven or Chicago, she is able to avoid the history of better established schools of theology.
Excellent introduction to foundationalism and theology.......2004-08-16
Nancy Murphy's central thesis is that modern philosophy has created a situation where Liberal and Conservative theologians are, because of their foundationalist method, intractable in their relation to the other camp. The first half of the book examines this claim in respect of three opposing positions i) how we know God ii) the role and form of religious language and, iii) how God acts in the world. The second half argues that the intractability of the Liberal-Conservative positions is based on foundationalist methods and that with their apparent demise a postfoundationalist approach, such as those of Thiemann and Lindbeck, opens up a whole range of options that overcomes the Liberal-Conservative divide.
All this is done in a remarkably clear way and in a relatively small book. This book is an excellent introduction to contemporary changes in theological method that commonly come under the label of postmodern. From this basis theology will not be trapped in a pre-determined set of options as Murphy shows in reference to many areas of contemporary theology such as religion and science and the use of feminine language as a referent of God. Overall, this book will undoubtably make you think and question the way theology is done. My one major complaint is that while this book is an issue based book a more thorough exposition of the key theologians would have made this a more theologically important work.
Definitely Worth Reading.......2002-03-26
If the postmodern movement (if indeed this is an adequate label for what is afoot in segments of academia) by definition is a movement still caught in the modern web, Murphy's effort amply demonstrates why this is so. She wants to point to a way out of the foundationalist dilemma but in the end demonstrates why this is so difficult to do. At bottom we want and need an answer to the age-old question "what is truth?" - and this is at bottom more than an epistemological question. The need for a solution to what she has defined as the second-order epistemological question seems in the end to lead us back to this very issue. It is difficult to see in the need to justify my framework among acknowledged competing frameworks as in any way moving significantly beyond foundationalism. If foundationalism as defined in her book is indeed the beast to be slain (and I strongly suspect it is) I do not see how the drive for justification among acknowledged competing systems can itself be justified. Have I not already formed fairly foundational conclusions prior to assessing such a need?
However, I digress. Murphy's book is perhaps foundational (sorry, I could not resist) as a more than adequate summary of key issues. Anyone remotely familiar with Nietzsche and Wittgenstein will recognize the attacks that have been launched upon modernity as philosophical and scientific systems. I do not know the end result of any of this, but I do suspect Murphy's book will at least serve as a measurement of where we are at as Christian theologians and how we got here (first part of her book). How we are going to get out, supposing that we want to get out, might depend on seriously wrestling with issues addressed in the second half of her work. However, I am not at all certain many really want to get out, see the need to get out, or have a clue as to what getting out really entails or to what it would lead. I am certainly guilty on most accounts. My deepest suspicion is that Murphy has attempted to copy the works of Hawking (in physics) - that is, here is the current state of affairs, the issues involved, and some suggestions as to what might be done and what things might look like once they are done. If I am correct, it is an interesting approach, but in the end I don't know that she has really moved the discussion beyond where it was when I was in grad school 20 years ago. Reading her book was in many ways a blast from the past.
I do want to seriously react to one of her suggestions. I do not believe we as Christian thinkers need work too strenuously in our efforts to bring our theology up-to-date with current scientific theories. We should be aware of them, and we might even use them in certain ways, but any effort to wed theology and science will need to be rethought later. The history of science amply demonstrates that scientific theories rarely (if ever) contain the last word on any given subject. I understand that if we fail to address/use/incorporate current philosophical or scientific theories we leave ourselves with little to do as theologians. Yet, wedding ourselves to current scientific theories as though we have discovered or found some new truth has proven time and again to be just one more obstacle to overcome in another more "enlightened" scientific age. Yes, I write this with a smile, but you have been warned.
On the other hand, what we do with current movements in philosophy is much more interesting and possibly much more rewarding since typically philosophers are ahead of theologians in their use of scientific theories anyway. I enjoy reading quantum theory as much as the next person but I am not at all clear as to what I am supposed to make of it apart from its already significant place in philosophy. I suspect (may I say strongly suspect) most trained theologians currently attempting to incorporate current theories as to the nature of reality into their work are in reality using the works of popularizers (may I say philosophers) rather than the actual works of the physicists themselves. There are to be sure exceptions (at least I hope there are exceptions). When we incorporate these things based on secondhand accounts much of the real work has been done. Also, we are already behind what is really current in the sciences. I say all of this to make a point: the postmodern movement (if it can be called a movement) is in large part raking around in cesspools left by the waning of the modern. As theologians we certainly have a right (a task?) to join in the fun. Will it really produce a theology that in turn makes a significant contribution to a life that might be recognized as Christian? That is my question and I am not at all certain Murphy's book leads to a definitive answer. This is more of an observation rather than a criticism. I don't know that she intended to provide an answer. Again, I found her book very similar to several works on "modern" physics - an attempt at summary and "outlining what is required if we are to move forward." It is the latter part of the equation that reveals the author's agenda.
A Wake-Up Call in Theology.......2000-11-21
In this highly comprehensive work Nancey Murphy has single-handedly described where theology has come from, where it is now and where it is heading in the future. This is one of the best descriptions of the history of Western philosophic thought it's impact upon any theology. What is appreciated is how Dr. Murphy describes how our thought has emerged into what we know today as "Liberalism" and "Fundamentalism" (and Fundmentalism's child - evangelicalism) - but she does not leave us there. She moves then into a description of postmodern thought and it's impact upon theology. The rules have all changed! I did not understand "why" I thought and believed the way I do before reading this book as this was never explained in theological school - we just worked from various "a priori" assumptions. After reading this book, a different world opened up to me that has given me hope for a theology that is better informed for a postmodern world. The "wake-up" call is the fact that all the rules have changed. Those who hold onto the old rules of engagement will find this book threatening. Those who can see possibilities with the new rules of post-modern thought will find this book highly engaging and an accurate description of where theology is heading.
Books:
- Dorian Greyhound: A Novel
- Dred: A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp (Penguin Classics)
- El Reino del Dragon de Oro
- Eve's Prescription (Indigo: Sensuous Love Stories)
- For Kings and Planets: A Novel
- Gaudy Night: A Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane Mystery (Mystery Masters)
- Gone Fishin': Featuring an Original Easy Rawlins Short Story "Smoke" (Easy Rawlins Mysteries)
- Grace at Bender Springs: A Novel
- Hardboiled and Hard Luck
- Harvey & Eck
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
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- An Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics: The Finite Volume Method
- Wetland Indicators: A Guide to Wetland Identification, Delineation, Classification.........
- The Rain Maiden: A Novel
- Taxation, reimbursement : agreement between the United States of America and the Hague Conference on
- Handbook on China's Wto Accession and Its Impacts
Cloudstreet : A Novel
The Riders
The Turning: Stories
That Eye, The Sky : A Novel
Eucalyptus: A Novel
