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Angels in the Architecture: A Protestant Vision for Middle Earth
Christianity presents a glorious vision of culture, a vision overflowing with truth, beauty, and goodness. It's a vision that stands in stark conflict with the anemic modern (and postmodern) perspectives that dominate contemporary life. Medieval Christianity began telling a beautiful story about the good life, but it was silenced in mid-sentence. The Reformation rescued truth, but its modern grandchildren have often ignored the importance of a medieval grasp of the good life. This book sketches a vision of "medieval Protestantism," a personal and cultural vision that embraces the fullness of Christian truth, beauty, and goodness.
"This volume is a breath of fresh air in our polluted religious environment. Hopefully many readers will breathe deeply of its contents and be energized." -The Presbyterian Witness
"[A] delightful apologetic for a Protestant cultural vision. . . . before you write off these two as mere obscurantist Reformed types, take care. I found that some of my objections were, on the surface, more modern than biblical." -Gregory Alan Thornbury, Carl F. Henry Center for Christian Leadership
"[T]his book cries out against the bland, purely spiritualized Christianity to which so many of us have become accustomed. . . . I highly recommend it." -David Kind, Pilgrimage, Concordia Theological Seminary
"This volume is a breath of fresh air in our polluted religious environment. Hopefully many readers will breathe deeply of its contents and be energized." -The Presbyterian Witness
"[A] delightful apologetic for a Protestant cultural vision. . . . before you write off these two as mere obscurantist Reformed types, take care. I found that some of my objections were, on the surface, more modern than biblical." -Gregory Alan Thornbury, Carl F. Henry Center for Christian Leadership
"[T]his book cries out against the bland, purely spiritualized Christianity to which so many of us have become accustomed. . . . I highly recommend it." -David Kind, Pilgrimage, Concordia Theological Seminary
220 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1998
190 people are currently reading
1435 people want to read
About the author
Douglas M. Jones III
18 books32 followersDouglas Jones holds a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of California, Irvine, and a Master of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Southern California.
Former senior editor of Credenda/Agenda and editor of Canon Press, he has taught philosophy at New Saint Andrews College and the University of Idaho, both in Moscow, Idaho, and Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho.
Among Jones's many writing credits are three children's books, Huguenot Garden, Scottish Seas, and Dutch Color, and contributions to Back to Basics: Rediscovering the Richness of the Reformed Faith, Repairing the Ruins: The Classical and Christian Challenge to Modern Education, Bound Only Once: The Failure of Open Theism. He co-authored Angels in the Architecture with Douglas Wilson.
Jones's scholarship and short creative writing credits include "Reading Trees," a review of Thomas Campanella's Republic of Shade: New England and the American Elm, in Books and Culture: A Christian Review, September/October 2003 and "Coverings," a poem in the Spring/Summer 2004 issue of Valparaiso Poetry Review. Jones contributed numerous pieces to Credenda/Agenda, including the volume 14, issue 4 cover article, "Just Wood," which was anthologized in Best Christian Writing 2004. He has also written several short plays, including "University Cafe," which was selected as a finalist for the 2005 Theatre Publicus Prize for Dramatic Literature.
Former senior editor of Credenda/Agenda and editor of Canon Press, he has taught philosophy at New Saint Andrews College and the University of Idaho, both in Moscow, Idaho, and Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho.
Among Jones's many writing credits are three children's books, Huguenot Garden, Scottish Seas, and Dutch Color, and contributions to Back to Basics: Rediscovering the Richness of the Reformed Faith, Repairing the Ruins: The Classical and Christian Challenge to Modern Education, Bound Only Once: The Failure of Open Theism. He co-authored Angels in the Architecture with Douglas Wilson.
Jones's scholarship and short creative writing credits include "Reading Trees," a review of Thomas Campanella's Republic of Shade: New England and the American Elm, in Books and Culture: A Christian Review, September/October 2003 and "Coverings," a poem in the Spring/Summer 2004 issue of Valparaiso Poetry Review. Jones contributed numerous pieces to Credenda/Agenda, including the volume 14, issue 4 cover article, "Just Wood," which was anthologized in Best Christian Writing 2004. He has also written several short plays, including "University Cafe," which was selected as a finalist for the 2005 Theatre Publicus Prize for Dramatic Literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 reviews
October 10, 2015
Oh, I loved this book. Jones and Wilson make a claim that "the medieval period is the closest thing we have to a maturing Christian culture." This book doesn't explain a lot, it doesn't have lots of references and clear arguments. In fact, it left me open mouthed with random left-field assertions more than once. It left me with a lot to search out and sometimes it left me feeling really stupid. But that's the point- It's a vision, a mountain-top view of God's Kingdom in all it's truth, goodness and beauty. I think feeling worm-ish is appropriate. My favorite chapters were "The Font of Laughter", about Joy in the Christian life, "Mother Kirk", about the centrality, authority and "motherhood" of the Church, and "Nurturing Fat Souls" about raising children on a hearty diet of good stories.
January 24, 2013
This book captures the deep angst that modernity has brought upon the modem man's soul and presents him with a road map to a richer and fuller life! Looking back to the medieval era, Wilson & Jones point out that the moderns have unfairly given the "dark ages" a bad rap. Wilson & Jones show that the medieval man was concerned with harmonizing all areas of his life to expand the goodness, truth and beauty that God has revealed and given to him in this world. Ever optimistic, Wilson & Jones are hopeful that modernity's grip on the world will give way to a second Christendom, a world were God's creational designs are not only excepted but celebrated!
April 8, 2019
This book is money. Treasure, I tell you. Favorite chapter was either the one on the church or the one on poetic knowledge and aroma, on getting at understanding something by knowing the whole, not dissecting the parts. To attempt to know things poetically is to imitate God. Also notable: our duty as Christians to remember and celebrate. A classic Wilsonian ideal that I adore and am indebted to. Now, on to embrace the Medieval!
April 20, 2024
What a phenomenal book; I want it to receive more press, but I’m not really sure how it should get any. “Angels in the Architecture” doesn’t help to advertise what it’s about. Nor does “a Protestant Vision for Middle Earth” (though that does do a better job at summarizing it). It’s basically a hodgepodge of really enjoyable essays combating chronological snobbery, showing how pre-modern, Mediaeval Christendom dwarfs modernity in terms of cultural vitality. There’s a reason why folks like Chesterton and Tolkien and Lewis stood out as larger-than-life, creation-loving, full-brimmed humans in their time: they were Mediaevalists. As people are increasingly disenchanted with modernism, and as they burn themselves out with post-modernism, the way out isn’t post-post-modernism, it’s pre-modernism 🏰
Just revisited this book (May 2022)
I have to add their analysis of the philosophical situation is, in someways, so wrong it makes my heart hurt! At one point they say that Plato was the chief enemy of medieval philosophy, and for no one more than Aquinas. They also say, in a breathtakingly ironic statement, that the reformers took an “Augustinian approach” which threw off the Hellenism of both Plato and Aristotle in favor of a Hebraic conception of things… this is so wrong it renders me (nearly) speechless. The issue in Medieval philosophy was not a feud between Aristotle and Plato, but rather between realism (with Aristotle and Plato both fitting in this category) and nominalism. The theological issue was not between Hellenism and Hebraic theology (with Augustine rejecting Hellenism…? What???). The medieval minds of the reformation did not “throw off both Plato and Aristotle.” The magisterial reformers were primarily concerned with retrieving a biblical conception of theology, straight down the middle, which stood in continuity with the great tradition of the Christian faith more broadly. But the post-reformation scholastics took up the mantle philosophically speaking, and followed the footsteps of Aquinas; they did not throw off either Aristotle or Plato, like Aquinas, they synthesized Aristotle and Plato and they did so with the richly biblical dogma of reformation or theology. On this particular matter, Jones and Wilson get Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, and the Reformers all wrong.
However, they did so with a generous disposition, such that were they to ever have to admit their mistake, they could do so without embarrassment.
(All the praise I gave the book before I stand by)
Just revisited this book (May 2022)
I have to add their analysis of the philosophical situation is, in someways, so wrong it makes my heart hurt! At one point they say that Plato was the chief enemy of medieval philosophy, and for no one more than Aquinas. They also say, in a breathtakingly ironic statement, that the reformers took an “Augustinian approach” which threw off the Hellenism of both Plato and Aristotle in favor of a Hebraic conception of things… this is so wrong it renders me (nearly) speechless. The issue in Medieval philosophy was not a feud between Aristotle and Plato, but rather between realism (with Aristotle and Plato both fitting in this category) and nominalism. The theological issue was not between Hellenism and Hebraic theology (with Augustine rejecting Hellenism…? What???). The medieval minds of the reformation did not “throw off both Plato and Aristotle.” The magisterial reformers were primarily concerned with retrieving a biblical conception of theology, straight down the middle, which stood in continuity with the great tradition of the Christian faith more broadly. But the post-reformation scholastics took up the mantle philosophically speaking, and followed the footsteps of Aquinas; they did not throw off either Aristotle or Plato, like Aquinas, they synthesized Aristotle and Plato and they did so with the richly biblical dogma of reformation or theology. On this particular matter, Jones and Wilson get Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, and the Reformers all wrong.
However, they did so with a generous disposition, such that were they to ever have to admit their mistake, they could do so without embarrassment.
(All the praise I gave the book before I stand by)
May 27, 2016
This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to push their Christian worldview into all the nooks and crannies of their life, or even if you have no nooks but still want a good read, then this one would work.
March 16, 2022
Just great. Read once in 2016 and again in 2022 for the audiobook.
June 7, 2022
Banger of a book. I love looking at the beauty of Christendom 1.0 and thinking about Christendom 2.0
April 20, 2016
Angels in the Architecture (AA) is a bold book. And when it is wrong in factual assertions, it is magnificently wrong. Ok, seriously. The authors propose against the stale, bloody worldview of modernity a rich, robust *paleo* medieval worldview rooted in Protestant Theology. My review will come from a number of angles.
*What if Tolkien were a Calvinist?*
The subtitle suggests Tolkienesque themes. But isn't the subtitle contradictory? Tolkien was a *Catholic!* This book (AA) should not be read as a historical survey of the middle ages that ends with the convenient conclusion, "Oh, the middle ages happened to be thoroughly protestant after all." No, this book reads as a reconstruction of the Christian worldview-praxis drawing from the finest elements of Medievalism. .
Pros of the Book:
1. Its hauntingly beautiful style. Chapters 2 and 3 are worth memorizing. They will teach you how to write well. The sections on Beowulf and "pure northerness" are worth the price of the book.
2. Its boldness. Modern-day Calvinism needs to make Calvinism beautiful. There is nothing wrong with that. Be winsome and witty in presenting the faith. More people might actually become Calvinists, who knows?
3. Its ability to say a lot with a little. At times the authors do engage in sweeping generalizations. Nevertheless, they also express some knotty problems with amazing ease.
Cons of the Book:
~1. Accuracy? Did the Middle Ages really teach this? Probably not. That's not the point, as I suggested earlier. This should be read as a future reconstruction of society along medieval lines, lines which have been purged (no pun intended) of its compromises.
~2. I am not convinced of Wilson's argument for the Authorized Text. He makes a good case, but I am not buying.
~3. The chapter on agrarianism has taken a lot of hits. I actually like it. But I was told that I shouldn't like it, so I acquiesed. Seriously, the authors could have better nuanced it to say "garden-city" as man's telos.
*What if Tolkien were a Calvinist?*
The subtitle suggests Tolkienesque themes. But isn't the subtitle contradictory? Tolkien was a *Catholic!* This book (AA) should not be read as a historical survey of the middle ages that ends with the convenient conclusion, "Oh, the middle ages happened to be thoroughly protestant after all." No, this book reads as a reconstruction of the Christian worldview-praxis drawing from the finest elements of Medievalism. .
Pros of the Book:
1. Its hauntingly beautiful style. Chapters 2 and 3 are worth memorizing. They will teach you how to write well. The sections on Beowulf and "pure northerness" are worth the price of the book.
2. Its boldness. Modern-day Calvinism needs to make Calvinism beautiful. There is nothing wrong with that. Be winsome and witty in presenting the faith. More people might actually become Calvinists, who knows?
3. Its ability to say a lot with a little. At times the authors do engage in sweeping generalizations. Nevertheless, they also express some knotty problems with amazing ease.
Cons of the Book:
~1. Accuracy? Did the Middle Ages really teach this? Probably not. That's not the point, as I suggested earlier. This should be read as a future reconstruction of society along medieval lines, lines which have been purged (no pun intended) of its compromises.
~2. I am not convinced of Wilson's argument for the Authorized Text. He makes a good case, but I am not buying.
~3. The chapter on agrarianism has taken a lot of hits. I actually like it. But I was told that I shouldn't like it, so I acquiesed. Seriously, the authors could have better nuanced it to say "garden-city" as man's telos.
August 22, 2019
If what you want is straight talk, Wilson and Jones will deliver. What they are selling is not medieval nostalgia or old-timely sentimentality. They are not defending some idealized Narnian wonderland or promoting a backward Luddite regression (they fully acknowledge, with gratitude, the modern innovations of indoor plumbing and penicillin).
Instead, they advocate a return to what the medievals got right: the centrality of beauty in theology and art; unashamed joy in feasting and marriage; distrust of urban chaos; the legitimacy of hierarchy; poetic fascination with the world of externals; and the supremacy of a victorious Christ in the world.
These emphases fly in the face of Moderism and Postmodernism, those idiot children of the Enlightenment with whom evangelicalism has been hanging out like an awkward middle-schooler desperate for acceptance by the Kool Kidz. We have relativized beauty into oblivion; we have forgotten how to taste good things; we’re addicted to the cosmopolitan and despise the agrarian; we eschew hierarchy and headship; we’ve exchanged poetic truth for the merely scientific; and we huddle in nail-biting anxiety at the trend of the world toward secularism.
The future of Protestantism must be medieval. We must, in small, patient steps—man by man, family by family, congregation by congregation—undo the soulless modernism that renders our Christianity feeble and embarrassing. Most of all, we must regain the capacity for humility, repenting of the modern vanity Lewis called “chronological snobbery.” I think it was Anthony Esolen who pointed out that the medievals respected their predecessors and surpassed them; we ignore ours and fall short of them. Any forward progress requires the honest admission that Esolen is right.
Every Christian should read this book.
Instead, they advocate a return to what the medievals got right: the centrality of beauty in theology and art; unashamed joy in feasting and marriage; distrust of urban chaos; the legitimacy of hierarchy; poetic fascination with the world of externals; and the supremacy of a victorious Christ in the world.
These emphases fly in the face of Moderism and Postmodernism, those idiot children of the Enlightenment with whom evangelicalism has been hanging out like an awkward middle-schooler desperate for acceptance by the Kool Kidz. We have relativized beauty into oblivion; we have forgotten how to taste good things; we’re addicted to the cosmopolitan and despise the agrarian; we eschew hierarchy and headship; we’ve exchanged poetic truth for the merely scientific; and we huddle in nail-biting anxiety at the trend of the world toward secularism.
The future of Protestantism must be medieval. We must, in small, patient steps—man by man, family by family, congregation by congregation—undo the soulless modernism that renders our Christianity feeble and embarrassing. Most of all, we must regain the capacity for humility, repenting of the modern vanity Lewis called “chronological snobbery.” I think it was Anthony Esolen who pointed out that the medievals respected their predecessors and surpassed them; we ignore ours and fall short of them. Any forward progress requires the honest admission that Esolen is right.
Every Christian should read this book.
May 2, 2022
Excellent book. Don't agree with everything (like the insistence on using the Authorized Version haha) but it was a phenomenal read with some great truths.
August 11, 2016
While not agreeing with every single point, on the whole I LOVED this book. The authors paint a clear picture of what they call "medieval Protestantism" - a rich cultural emphasis on truth, beauty, and goodness, lived out in joyful Christian community; which contrasts starkly with both secular and "Christianized" versions of our ugly, fragmented modern/postmodern culture. (One of my favorite quotes from the book: "A postmodernist is simply a modernist who has admitted his cultural illiteracy.") I found myself wanting to underline about every other sentence, and I am looking forward to giving it a second read soon. This is not a long book, but there is an awful lot of food for thought here.
April 22, 2023
One of my favorite books by Pastor Wilson. When I first read it, I was challenged to consider how I view the world. I came to realize that I must see the world through the lens that scripture provides and that I’ve projected a post-enlightenment rationalism into my reading of scripture. It helped adjust my cosmology and lead to a fruitful journey toward reading God’s Word on its own terms. Not sure if that was the books intention but it certainly lead to me enjoying the fruits of Gods creation: food, music, art, nature, literature ect much more. Good work.
February 1, 2016
Mere Christendom, Calvinism, Beer, and Bacon. This is the world I'd like to live in.
February 6, 2024
A lot to digest here, yet at the same time Wilson and Jones present a vision for Christian life (in the fullest sense) that is Biblically "simple." Live in light of eternal truth in every area. For example: "...in Christ nothing is isolated...nothing is random. Any part of the universe may help me speak to another part."
This book opened my eyes to a lot of modernist/post modernist thinking that has infused my own worldview, and it is going to take some self-evaluation to root it out moving forward.
I am struck yet again by the appealing nature of the "post mil" theological model, but have not yet been convinced as I compare it with Scripture in its entirety. However the final chapter of this book has come the closest to making me start asking further questions, haha.
Additionally, a lot of the critiques of Wilson and Co that I have heard regarding the hot new term "Christian nationalism"...etc., have significantly misunderstood the principles upon which they operate.
This book opened my eyes to a lot of modernist/post modernist thinking that has infused my own worldview, and it is going to take some self-evaluation to root it out moving forward.
I am struck yet again by the appealing nature of the "post mil" theological model, but have not yet been convinced as I compare it with Scripture in its entirety. However the final chapter of this book has come the closest to making me start asking further questions, haha.
Additionally, a lot of the critiques of Wilson and Co that I have heard regarding the hot new term "Christian nationalism"...etc., have significantly misunderstood the principles upon which they operate.
May 20, 2022
I’m always a little nervous when a book is a collection of essays. But this was so well done. It didn’t feel like essays. The chapters did jump around a bit but overall it gave me so much to chew on. This might be one I need to get in paperback and grab my highlighter!
August 14, 2022
Excellent. I was inspired to read this work after reading Dr. Jim Boice’s Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace. There, Dr. Boice made some positive references to this book. Doug Wilson and Doug Jones have done a fine work to help remove some of our chronological snobbery of the Middle Ages.
August 11, 2015
Just as it would be unfair to judge all modern Christianity by the televangelists, so it is unfair to judge Medievalism by the blatant public corruption and scandals (don't get me wrong, all that nastiness was there).
That being said, Medeivalism has a lot to offer. As the world is seeing the weaknesses of both the stainless steel sterility of modernism and the fractured kaleidoscope of postmodernism, people will be searching for truth, beauty, and goodness, things the medeivalists passionately pursued.
Wilson's thesis is that the Reformation was like war-time, but Medeivalism is like peace-time. The Reformation was extremely important, but you wouldn't want to live in a peace-time culture as if it were a war-time culture. What he advocates is the Reformation's love of truth fused with the Medievals love of beauty and goodness that works itself in the practicalities of working, cooking, cleaning, lovemaking, and art.
That being said, Medeivalism has a lot to offer. As the world is seeing the weaknesses of both the stainless steel sterility of modernism and the fractured kaleidoscope of postmodernism, people will be searching for truth, beauty, and goodness, things the medeivalists passionately pursued.
Wilson's thesis is that the Reformation was like war-time, but Medeivalism is like peace-time. The Reformation was extremely important, but you wouldn't want to live in a peace-time culture as if it were a war-time culture. What he advocates is the Reformation's love of truth fused with the Medievals love of beauty and goodness that works itself in the practicalities of working, cooking, cleaning, lovemaking, and art.
May 27, 2014
I read this book once before, when my now sixteen year old was a baby. I figured it was worth revisiting, particularly when I flipped it open to the chapter on "Poetic Knowledge", an important topic. The book is about medieval Christianity redux in this time, a "cultural vision that embraces the fullness of Christian truth, beauty,and goodness." I want my life to overflow with truth, beauty, and goodness. I want to delight in this God-made world while focusing on the ultimate joy of heaven! This work covers so much: worship, education, family and community, politics, etc. A compelling taste of what could be...
June 13, 2016
Great collection of essays on cultivating a medieval view of life. The medieval protestant vision sees Christ as the integration point and beauty as non negotiable. What does our look like to build and live a consistent christendom? This book is a good start.
The book does suffer from Doug Wilson's dogmatic, yet vague take on some things like the textus receptus or the antebellum South. However, most of what he writes is solid.
Topics include family, feasting, stateism, poetic vision, equality,liberty, art, work, agriculturalism, and technology.
The book does suffer from Doug Wilson's dogmatic, yet vague take on some things like the textus receptus or the antebellum South. However, most of what he writes is solid.
Topics include family, feasting, stateism, poetic vision, equality,liberty, art, work, agriculturalism, and technology.
Want to read
October 26, 2018
April 16, 2025
Very good overall, even with the expected idiosyncratic Wilsonisms. "Medieval Protestantism" is a worthy and admirable worldview, and as always, Wilson's colorful and engaging prose is worth reading even if you disagree.
March 29, 2020
Among the best books I have ever read. Highly recommend - it gives a glorious vision for the Christian life with many emphases that we have forgotten along the way.
October 27, 2012
The authors of this book present an attractive vision of a world in which we revel in the goodness of God. I was drawn to their desire to live in a world where Christianity is assumed, where we understand that beauty comes from God and he wants us to feast on his gifts. It is hard to do this book justice in a short review, the vision soars beyond that. I particularly enjoyed their emphasis on having a poetic view of the world, and I think they must have applied it well as they tackled our need for high views of God, his church, hierarchies of authority, work, family, stories, our relationships, art and theology because I felt myself being carried to a place of greater understanding and appreciation for a full and contemplative view of reality.
I wish they had gone into a few more specifics, particularly on the federal understanding of marriage, and while I agreed with much of the concept they were attempting to communicate as they discussed Bible translation (church authority) I simply cannot stand with them on the AV translation for today nor the textus receptus.
I wish they had gone into a few more specifics, particularly on the federal understanding of marriage, and while I agreed with much of the concept they were attempting to communicate as they discussed Bible translation (church authority) I simply cannot stand with them on the AV translation for today nor the textus receptus.
May 1, 2024
Really, really enjoyed this book. While some chapters I had no frame of reference for, others resonated with me deeply.
"...in a created world, beauty can only be reflected glory. Our world is filled with moons, and there is only one sun... A love for the triune and holy God is the foundation of any true love for beauty. Like the seraphim, we do not see this beauty directly, for our faces, like theirs, are of necessity covered. But the fact that this beauty is infinitely there means that other entities in this created world can reflect it, and we have the privilege to behold the beauty of the Lord in them." -- Doug Wilson
I plan on compiling more choice quotes later.
"...in a created world, beauty can only be reflected glory. Our world is filled with moons, and there is only one sun... A love for the triune and holy God is the foundation of any true love for beauty. Like the seraphim, we do not see this beauty directly, for our faces, like theirs, are of necessity covered. But the fact that this beauty is infinitely there means that other entities in this created world can reflect it, and we have the privilege to behold the beauty of the Lord in them." -- Doug Wilson
I plan on compiling more choice quotes later.
December 5, 2018
Excellent. Glorious. What a grand picture of the Christian life!
Throughout the reading, I found myself moved to tears with the beauty of the unfolding of Christ's plan of redemption for his world.
Only two things stood out as strange, both of which are asserted and left for the reader. First, his advocacy of the received text tradition is stated without defense. Second, his claim that Christendom finally died when the South surrendered the Civil War. That being said, to state these objections without mentioning the many glorious realities presented is unfair; but I lack the time to more fully review.
Worthy of re-reading.
Throughout the reading, I found myself moved to tears with the beauty of the unfolding of Christ's plan of redemption for his world.
Only two things stood out as strange, both of which are asserted and left for the reader. First, his advocacy of the received text tradition is stated without defense. Second, his claim that Christendom finally died when the South surrendered the Civil War. That being said, to state these objections without mentioning the many glorious realities presented is unfair; but I lack the time to more fully review.
Worthy of re-reading.
December 8, 2010
A great book for recovering the "full-orbed" gospel, as it is often called. This means recovering and turning back to and treasuring beauty, the church, feasting, authority, wife and children, and more. Deep gratitude for all the gifts God has given us in this world was at the heart of the Reformation, but quickly lost by many. Medieval life actually assumed many important things that were lost in the Enlightenment. This book calls us back to them.
February 4, 2009
Absolutely breath-taking. Some books can ruin you by revealing how petty you really were before reading it. This book is a beautiful ruination. Literary, witty, intelligent, it splashes in waters above all of our heads and reveals a vision for what Christianity once was, and what it will be again.
January 21, 2014
Wilson and Jones give a sketch of the gospel on the flesh. It has me wanting a full-fledged work of art. I'll be thinking back on this book all year.
May 24, 2022
Conflicted. Loved so much of what was in this book. The beginning got me so interested in why the authors thought the medieval period was such a good example of Christianity permeating every aspect of life. Loved the thoughts on beauty and the beauty of holiness. But then they got into subjects that I mostly agreed on but didn’t see how it tied to medievalism at all. They spoke on how they thought Christians should live but their arguments were weak in tying it to the medieval period. I wish they stuck to showing more concrete examples of how the Middle Ages were superior in the “all of Christ for all of life” assumption. Or, write a separate book on how us moderns can do the same. But the thesis of saying we should live like the medievalists because they did it right, was too ambitious of a goal that, in my opinion, they didn’t quite reach. For example, they stuck in post-millennialism and hardly tied it to their thesis at all. Maybe this book was written for people who knew more about the medievalist assumptions. But I came away with more questions than clarity. Hoping to find more answers in Lewis’ The Discarded Image.
December 29, 2018
An interesting read. I can't agree with every statement in the book, but the vision it presents is appealing and convincing.
What stood out to me, particularly, was the emphasis on beauty as a positive good. That point is one I've gone back and forth on, vacillating between what is, I suspect, a modern sense of pragmatism and the natural inclination to value beauty, even if it appears to have no other use (the case for poetry, in particular, was compelling). I quite like the argument given here to fall firmly into the later camp.
What stood out to me, particularly, was the emphasis on beauty as a positive good. That point is one I've gone back and forth on, vacillating between what is, I suspect, a modern sense of pragmatism and the natural inclination to value beauty, even if it appears to have no other use (the case for poetry, in particular, was compelling). I quite like the argument given here to fall firmly into the later camp.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 152 reviews