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Breaking Ground: Charting Our Future in a Pandemic Year
As a pandemic and racial reckoning exposed society's faults, Christian thinkers were laying the groundwork for a better future. A public health and economic crisis provoked by Covid-19. A social crisis cracked open by the filmed murder of George Floyd. A leadership crisis laid bare as the gravity of a global pandemic met a country suffocating in political polarization and idolatry.
In the spring of 2020, ***Comment***magazine created a publishing project to tap the resources of a Christian humanist tradition to respond collaboratively and imaginatively to these crises. Plough soon joined in the venture. So did seventeen other institutions. The web commons that resulted - Breaking Ground - became a one-of-a-kind space to probe society's assumptions, interrogate our own hearts, and imagine what a better future might require.
This volume, written in real time during a year that revealed the depths of our society's fissures, provides a wealth of reflections and proposals on what should come after. It is an anthology of different lenses of faith seeking to understand how best we can serve the broader society and renew our civilization.
In the spring of 2020, ***Comment***magazine created a publishing project to tap the resources of a Christian humanist tradition to respond collaboratively and imaginatively to these crises. Plough soon joined in the venture. So did seventeen other institutions. The web commons that resulted - Breaking Ground - became a one-of-a-kind space to probe society's assumptions, interrogate our own hearts, and imagine what a better future might require.
This volume, written in real time during a year that revealed the depths of our society's fissures, provides a wealth of reflections and proposals on what should come after. It is an anthology of different lenses of faith seeking to understand how best we can serve the broader society and renew our civilization.
572 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 4, 2022
4 people are currently reading
159 people want to read
About the author
Anne Snyder
21 books4 followersAnne Snyder was a prize-winning author of young-adult fiction whose novels confronted alcoholism, homelessness, sexuality and other real-life dilemmas
She was born in Boston and grew up in the blue-collar Jewish neighborhoods of Detroit. She attended high school in Detroit and later put herself through two years of college.
In 1949, after marrying and starting a family, she moved to Los Angeles, where she began her writing career. She wrote and directed plays for a Westchester theater group called Kentwood Players and for the City of Hope. She also studied creative writing at Los Angeles Valley College.
During the 1970s, she taught creative writing at Valley College and at Pierce College and Cal State Northridge.
Snyder also worked in television. She researched and wrote questions for the "Hollywood Squares" game show and contributed concepts and scripts for "General Hospital" and "The Lucille Ball Show."
She was born in Boston and grew up in the blue-collar Jewish neighborhoods of Detroit. She attended high school in Detroit and later put herself through two years of college.
In 1949, after marrying and starting a family, she moved to Los Angeles, where she began her writing career. She wrote and directed plays for a Westchester theater group called Kentwood Players and for the City of Hope. She also studied creative writing at Los Angeles Valley College.
During the 1970s, she taught creative writing at Valley College and at Pierce College and Cal State Northridge.
Snyder also worked in television. She researched and wrote questions for the "Hollywood Squares" game show and contributed concepts and scripts for "General Hospital" and "The Lucille Ball Show."
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 18, 2022
I've read books that are collections of essays before. Some of them have even been really good collections, but this book was a different kind of experience.
"Breaking Ground" is a collection of commissions from experts and thinkers from all kinds of spheres of life as they reflected on the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are university professors and venture capitalists, non-profits executives and authors, activities and artists. They came from both conservative and progressive camps. Somehow the book isn't having a debate at all, but is having a true dialogue — everyone talking about the same things from different reference points and perspectives. Somehow the book seems to share a value system form people that have different values. While it is often easy to tell where each contributor comes from (by way of politic or worldview), the book itself has no political leaning. I have not been beautifully challenged by other worldviews (or encouraged with my own) like this in a long time.
I would sit each morning and read a handful of these essays. I dont believe there was a morning when I was not proactively challenged to think and dream, to consider and contemplate. There was not a single essay that hit me as heavy-handed or oppressive, and yet many of them challenged my assumptions and caused me to grow. Many of them I found to be inspiring and compelling. I came out of this read with a sense of hope.
This book will have a shelf-life and is already becoming outdated, by the sheer nature of its reflections on the pandemic. But for now, it was still full of life and possibility for me. I imagine that even as it becomes "outdated" and the world moves on, there will still be much in its pages that will have value and worth and bring a semblance of helpful evaluation for what we've all been through.
"Breaking Ground" is a collection of commissions from experts and thinkers from all kinds of spheres of life as they reflected on the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are university professors and venture capitalists, non-profits executives and authors, activities and artists. They came from both conservative and progressive camps. Somehow the book isn't having a debate at all, but is having a true dialogue — everyone talking about the same things from different reference points and perspectives. Somehow the book seems to share a value system form people that have different values. While it is often easy to tell where each contributor comes from (by way of politic or worldview), the book itself has no political leaning. I have not been beautifully challenged by other worldviews (or encouraged with my own) like this in a long time.
I would sit each morning and read a handful of these essays. I dont believe there was a morning when I was not proactively challenged to think and dream, to consider and contemplate. There was not a single essay that hit me as heavy-handed or oppressive, and yet many of them challenged my assumptions and caused me to grow. Many of them I found to be inspiring and compelling. I came out of this read with a sense of hope.
This book will have a shelf-life and is already becoming outdated, by the sheer nature of its reflections on the pandemic. But for now, it was still full of life and possibility for me. I imagine that even as it becomes "outdated" and the world moves on, there will still be much in its pages that will have value and worth and bring a semblance of helpful evaluation for what we've all been through.
January 12, 2022
The deeper I've gone on a spiritual journey some Christians would find morally repugnant for its secularity, the more interested I've been in Christian theology. While I used to write off Christian texts as “not my lane,” I'm seeking all sorts of takes on the human experience, and often find that while Jesus is not the name I call love (as Glennon Doyle would say), the love we’re talking about is the same. I was excited to read Breaking Ground in particular as some recent spiritual authors I’ve read rely heavily on a call for community and return to the local, probably assuming the pandemic would be over by their publication date. Womp, womp.
By contrast, this Christian-centered collection takes COVID on directly, written from June 2020 to June 2021. Its themes range from personal accountability to political participation to the spiritual functions of loss and grief. While the Christian lens is evident, I found most of the writing broadly applicable in considering what it means to be human. This feels like an anthology of the human condition from the lens of a particular year and shared faith tradition.
Writers’ politics vary, and I was challenged by certain takes. Most are white and US-based, but BIPOC and non-US contributors are included. I especially loved a piece on Black joy centering Kendrick Lamar’s refrain “we gon’ be all right.” While some writers find answers in God or US politics that I do not, I was provoked by their *questions* to think beyond identity. What makes communitarianism “liberal” or “conservative,” for example? What is the function of civil society? What happens when white protestors destroy Black Portland businesses? I found nuggets of wisdom in religious concepts such as sanctification and lamentation (the biblical “feel your feelings”), and appreciated historical contexts. I also imagine Christian readers will find biblical references instructive. While I don’t personally turn to a church for meaning-making and community, this book helped me shape my understanding of the need for both.
[ARC provided by NetGalley]
By contrast, this Christian-centered collection takes COVID on directly, written from June 2020 to June 2021. Its themes range from personal accountability to political participation to the spiritual functions of loss and grief. While the Christian lens is evident, I found most of the writing broadly applicable in considering what it means to be human. This feels like an anthology of the human condition from the lens of a particular year and shared faith tradition.
Writers’ politics vary, and I was challenged by certain takes. Most are white and US-based, but BIPOC and non-US contributors are included. I especially loved a piece on Black joy centering Kendrick Lamar’s refrain “we gon’ be all right.” While some writers find answers in God or US politics that I do not, I was provoked by their *questions* to think beyond identity. What makes communitarianism “liberal” or “conservative,” for example? What is the function of civil society? What happens when white protestors destroy Black Portland businesses? I found nuggets of wisdom in religious concepts such as sanctification and lamentation (the biblical “feel your feelings”), and appreciated historical contexts. I also imagine Christian readers will find biblical references instructive. While I don’t personally turn to a church for meaning-making and community, this book helped me shape my understanding of the need for both.
[ARC provided by NetGalley]
February 8, 2022
Summary: A collection of essays written through four seasons beginning in the summer of 2020 on what it might take to restore common ground for the common good in a society deeply divided by the pandemic, race, economic, and political divisions.
The summer of 2020 came in the depths of the pandemic, punctuated by the police-involved death of George Floyd, painfully caught live on camera, resulting in massive demonstrations and disorder in many cities. Two magazine editors, Anne Snyder of Comment, a Canadian-based magazine, and Susannah Black, at the Bruderhof sponsored publication, Plough Quarterly came together to invite a number of Christian thinkers engaged in public square discourse to write articles that attempted to analyze what was happening in our society, draw upon the past, and think imaginatively about the future, renewal, and the role followers of Christ might play in fostering a hopeful future drawing together a fragmented body of Christ and wider society.
The collection brings together an impressive list of thinkers whose essays were written over the four seasons beginning in the summer of 2020 through the spring of 2021. Some of the better known contributors include Mark Noll, N.T. Wright, Marilynne Robinson, Michael Wear, Jeffrey Bilbro, Doug Sikkema, Amy Julia Becker, Oliver O’Donovan, Peter Wehner, and Jonathan Haidt. All told, there are nearly fifty essays in this collection.
The discussion ranges from Mark Noll’s analysis of epidemics past to essays exploring the breakdown of public trust to an interview between Cherie Harder of The Trinity Forum and Marilynne Robinson ranging from Calvin to the common good. Michael Wear, an adviser in the Obama White House surveys our political landscape and profiles Joseph Lowery, one of the last survivors of the Civil Rights movement, who walked with King under the shadow of death, and our call to walk with Jesus even as we engage all the perils of the political in this time. Oliver O’Donovan explores politics and political service.
The essays talk about the importance of place, the local, and the spiritual practices that sustain us. Amy Julia Becker talks about how congregations like hers may fight racism at the local level. Anthony M Barr contributed some of the clearest thinking on the nature of policing and police reform that could be a starting point for many local conversations. Irena Dragas Jansen offers one of the more interesting essays describing what our country looks like through the eyes of a new citizen. Katherine Boyle, an entrepreneur describes the death of Silicon Valley–the eco-disasters, the hopelessness that claims more lives than COVID, the failure of the tech world to save us, and yet the way of being it has promoted as Silicon Valley becomes everywhere.
Aryana Petrosky Roberts describes coming home to the political conflicts in her own family, the inability to hear one another and the breakthrough of praying together, inviting Jesus into the political mess. Stuart McAlpine takes us deeper into prayer, into the prayers of repentance and lament we desperately need to engage and are so hard for us. Michael Lamb explores the implications of Joe Biden’s call for an Augustinian Concord in his inaugural address.
The book includes interview transcripts, some of the best from interviews with Cherie Harder of The Trinity Forum, one of the organizations that joined the Breaking Ground project. One of the very best of these was with Jonathan Haidt and Peter Wehner on “Arguments of the Sake of Heaven.” They explore our contemporary epistemic crisis and polarization, recall the passion of the Inklings for truth that led to vociferous argument, and what is required to foster good arguments in our public squares. Duke Kwon and Gregory Thompson combine to contribute an essay on the call of the American church to own its own responsibility for our nation’s racial history–our love of gain and our failure to make recompense for slavery’s injuries. Charles C. Camosy explores the horror of our nursing homes which the pandemic revealed and the challenge of an ethic of life that includes dignified elder care.
Amid the serious and important conversations, Tara Isabella Burton’s “On Good Parties” comes as a ray of light. Tara loves parties and sees good ones as “a practice for living.” They teach us how to love well and see ourselves as part of a community, they celebrate events in our real lives and the appreciation of one another. She made me look forward to good parties once again.
Even with all that I’ve written here, I’ve but skimmed the surface of all the good and imaginative thinking in this collection. I’m impressed with the wide array of people from police officers to theologians who contribute to this collection. But isn’t this what is needed in our communities across the land–for a coming together of a wide array of people who care about the rents in our social fabric who talk and listen and pray and think and imagine what could be?
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
The summer of 2020 came in the depths of the pandemic, punctuated by the police-involved death of George Floyd, painfully caught live on camera, resulting in massive demonstrations and disorder in many cities. Two magazine editors, Anne Snyder of Comment, a Canadian-based magazine, and Susannah Black, at the Bruderhof sponsored publication, Plough Quarterly came together to invite a number of Christian thinkers engaged in public square discourse to write articles that attempted to analyze what was happening in our society, draw upon the past, and think imaginatively about the future, renewal, and the role followers of Christ might play in fostering a hopeful future drawing together a fragmented body of Christ and wider society.
The collection brings together an impressive list of thinkers whose essays were written over the four seasons beginning in the summer of 2020 through the spring of 2021. Some of the better known contributors include Mark Noll, N.T. Wright, Marilynne Robinson, Michael Wear, Jeffrey Bilbro, Doug Sikkema, Amy Julia Becker, Oliver O’Donovan, Peter Wehner, and Jonathan Haidt. All told, there are nearly fifty essays in this collection.
The discussion ranges from Mark Noll’s analysis of epidemics past to essays exploring the breakdown of public trust to an interview between Cherie Harder of The Trinity Forum and Marilynne Robinson ranging from Calvin to the common good. Michael Wear, an adviser in the Obama White House surveys our political landscape and profiles Joseph Lowery, one of the last survivors of the Civil Rights movement, who walked with King under the shadow of death, and our call to walk with Jesus even as we engage all the perils of the political in this time. Oliver O’Donovan explores politics and political service.
The essays talk about the importance of place, the local, and the spiritual practices that sustain us. Amy Julia Becker talks about how congregations like hers may fight racism at the local level. Anthony M Barr contributed some of the clearest thinking on the nature of policing and police reform that could be a starting point for many local conversations. Irena Dragas Jansen offers one of the more interesting essays describing what our country looks like through the eyes of a new citizen. Katherine Boyle, an entrepreneur describes the death of Silicon Valley–the eco-disasters, the hopelessness that claims more lives than COVID, the failure of the tech world to save us, and yet the way of being it has promoted as Silicon Valley becomes everywhere.
Aryana Petrosky Roberts describes coming home to the political conflicts in her own family, the inability to hear one another and the breakthrough of praying together, inviting Jesus into the political mess. Stuart McAlpine takes us deeper into prayer, into the prayers of repentance and lament we desperately need to engage and are so hard for us. Michael Lamb explores the implications of Joe Biden’s call for an Augustinian Concord in his inaugural address.
The book includes interview transcripts, some of the best from interviews with Cherie Harder of The Trinity Forum, one of the organizations that joined the Breaking Ground project. One of the very best of these was with Jonathan Haidt and Peter Wehner on “Arguments of the Sake of Heaven.” They explore our contemporary epistemic crisis and polarization, recall the passion of the Inklings for truth that led to vociferous argument, and what is required to foster good arguments in our public squares. Duke Kwon and Gregory Thompson combine to contribute an essay on the call of the American church to own its own responsibility for our nation’s racial history–our love of gain and our failure to make recompense for slavery’s injuries. Charles C. Camosy explores the horror of our nursing homes which the pandemic revealed and the challenge of an ethic of life that includes dignified elder care.
Amid the serious and important conversations, Tara Isabella Burton’s “On Good Parties” comes as a ray of light. Tara loves parties and sees good ones as “a practice for living.” They teach us how to love well and see ourselves as part of a community, they celebrate events in our real lives and the appreciation of one another. She made me look forward to good parties once again.
Even with all that I’ve written here, I’ve but skimmed the surface of all the good and imaginative thinking in this collection. I’m impressed with the wide array of people from police officers to theologians who contribute to this collection. But isn’t this what is needed in our communities across the land–for a coming together of a wide array of people who care about the rents in our social fabric who talk and listen and pray and think and imagine what could be?
____________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
March 10, 2022
In Breaking Ground:Charting Our Future in a Pandemic Year, Comment’s Anne Snyder and Plough’s Susannah Black have edited a provocatively engaging as well as a broad ranging collection of essays written from June 2020 to May 2021 expressing a “Christian humanist” perspective on the experience of the Euro-American West on the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenge of politics in an age of the alt-right and Trump. While the Christian perspectives are unfortunately generally limited to those the editors regard as orthodox theologically, commendably the volume includes other voices as well—Jewish, Muslim, atheist—in the conversation. It is a shame that the orthodox so fear the voices of Christian liberals that emergents or progressives like Brian MacLaren, Rowan Williams, William Barber, or Serene Jones do not find expression. Similarly, there is an unspoken institutionalist bias so that troubling economic questions are largely passed by as are more radical critiques. Conservatives are also much more significantly represented than the center-left. Understandably with more than 50 contributors over 47 essays, the quality of their entries is somewhat uneven. So while it would take a more lengthy review to do them justice, I found several essays to be particularly worthwhile (for example: Jonathan Haidt & Peter Wehner, Christine Emba/Shadi Hamid/Samuel Kimbriel, Luke Bertherton, Tobias Cremer) and a few that I found regrettable (for example: Patrick Tomassi, Phil Christman). Though the question of race in the US received significant attention, overall the conservative and institutionalist tilt left me wanting a more piercing commentary on behalf of racial justice. Notwithstanding these critical observations Snyder and Black have done readers a commendable service in bringing these essays together. Breaking Ground raises questions of faith and our common life together that Christians (of whatever stripe) and persons of goodwill need to consider, question, live with, and move forward from together. Even with its limits, Breaking Ground tills the earth of our common life for moving on from a time of pandemic and that modest contribution is quite worthwhile.
March 19, 2022
The best part of this book is its vision: to explore the best of Christian thinking and ask how it can help our hurting society heal and grow into a flourishing common space.
Anne Snyder sets the vision, bookending this collection of essays with her own essays, and it’s her thinking I most resonate with. Listen to the soft-spoken Anne!
My prevailing reaction throughout my reading though, was exhaustion. Exhaustion partly from 500 pages of public intellectual vocabulary (“fragmentation”, “polarization”, “social fabric”), and exhaustion mostly from being occupied with topics that have beleaguered our “public discourse” for two years now.
But as I close the book, I have new energy (perhaps because Anne Snyder writes the conclusion) by the understanding that the seeds are already planted, and we are gardeners of the King. As co-editor Susannah Black writes, “ What empire could quench our thirst? What human task of city-building is glorious enough to satisfy our desire - unless that task is caught up in the building of the new Jerusalem?”
Anne Snyder sets the vision, bookending this collection of essays with her own essays, and it’s her thinking I most resonate with. Listen to the soft-spoken Anne!
My prevailing reaction throughout my reading though, was exhaustion. Exhaustion partly from 500 pages of public intellectual vocabulary (“fragmentation”, “polarization”, “social fabric”), and exhaustion mostly from being occupied with topics that have beleaguered our “public discourse” for two years now.
But as I close the book, I have new energy (perhaps because Anne Snyder writes the conclusion) by the understanding that the seeds are already planted, and we are gardeners of the King. As co-editor Susannah Black writes, “ What empire could quench our thirst? What human task of city-building is glorious enough to satisfy our desire - unless that task is caught up in the building of the new Jerusalem?”
December 28, 2021
If there is any specific life-changing event at the turn of this decade, it would nonetheless be Covid-19. Never before have there been so many deaths, fears, disruptions to the local economy, and global repercussions for the general public, businesses, friends, families, and loved ones. From multinational corporations to non-profits like charities and churches, the arms of the pandemic have spread like wildfires affecting every continent, every country, and every culture. In early 2020, a group of thoughtful individuals came together to ask the question: "What would a post-pandemic world look like?" Refusing to accept a mere "Things will never be the same again," the contributors boldly attempt to see the future through renewed thinking of the many facets of life we have often taken for granted. That is not all. Even after removing the pandemic factor, there remains a deep-seated self-deception among people that they are presumed correct until proven otherwise. That sets the stage for arrogance and pride that refuses to learn, to the detriment of our future generations. We need a way to help us humbly learn from our mistakes and to break new ground for growth and human progress. This collection of essays is written by individuals who hail as cultural critics, scholars, speakers, businesspersons, professors, psychologists, philosophers, poets, political observers, professionals, researchers, venture capitalists, and many more. Written between June 2020 to June 2021, the writers explore issues pertaining to three types of needs, the need to:
1) See Clearly and Deeply
2) Learn from the past
3) Imagine the future
Social distancing, isolated, separated, quarantined, and all manner of disconnection are wreaking havoc in society and our relationships. From anti-vaxxers to the protests over mandatory wearing of masks, contributors deal with the issue of peace. The George Floyd protests highlight the underlying tensions and unresolved discriminations that have been papered over in the past. Each lockdown brings out poor human reactions against the government, against people, and against community sensitivity. We cannot continue to deceive our own bubbles of self-reliance and forget the importance of community. We need healing and reconciliation more and more. One way to chart the future is to learn from history. Historian Mark Noll shares how our present crisis is nothing new. In the 6th Century, the Church too had to grapple with a plague, and how that has impacted the way we minister to one another. The Black Death in the 14th Century also scarred much of society and the Church. The key learning is to take "small steps to strengthen" existing establishments; build "positive relationships" with those close to us, and treat society challenges as opportunities for Christian witness. NT Wright warns us against reverting quickly to a same old business as usual mindset after the pandemic. Instead, we ought to recognize the failure of trust in Mammon and to take on the tasks of "growing flowers" rather than cultivating an environment for weeds to flourish. Staying safe individually is one thing. A healthy society is much more important. Like TS Eliot's penetrating statement, "the whole earth is our hospital," this pandemic has exposed the vulnerable faultlines of our individualistic society. It is no longer enough to mind our own business. We need to learn to do our part to love our neighbour. From environmental concerns to human relationships, this book covers a wide variety of issues that demand our attention.
My Thoughts
==============
Just like the pandemic has affected all parts of society, this book is an honest appraisal of how our existing economic, social, political, and humanistic systems are impacted. While the world tends to hope for a quick return for the good old days of pre-pandemic activity, the pandemic should be an opportunity for us to take stock of our existing systems so that we could tweak them, test them, toss away, or totally transform them. Instead of depending on experts to give us simple scientific solutions to complex social issues, we need the wisdom to deal with these challenges of life. While the pandemic has exposed many issues of society, one of the most polarizing aspects remains political. This is not simply about official political systems, it is also about the use (and abuse) of power throughout society. The George Floyd case is a current example of racial polarizations which, unfortunately, has been exploited by those thirsty for quick political success. Social media too has become a divisive platform. No longer can one simply skirt aside issues of politics and religion. The path forward is to learn to accept and to be generous with our love.
There is a firm sense of conviction in the articles in the book. Generally, all agree that we are called to be better than what we currently are. The faults in our systems and human relationships have always been there. The pandemic has only exposed them raw which many people would find most uncomfortable. In addressing the injustice surrounding racial discrimination, it takes a violent police beating of George Floyd to spur greater awareness of something we have all known or suspected all along. The political divide between the major political parties continues to battle with each taking positions on each side of any issue, be it vaccines or conspiracy theories.
The key question of how to increase the common good is best answered by Marilynne Robinson's comments to let the beauty of a vision inspire us not just to do better but to be better than our current selves. More importantly, she urges Christians not to be shy to witness but to be bold in proclaiming Truth as they are. Perhaps, in view of the rising politicization of the evangelical world, there is an opportunity to practice peacemaking and reconciliation among fellow believers.
Those of us who are familiar with biblical principles would recognize some of the recommendations made by the contributors. Courage, generosity, care, share, compassion, humility, justice, and many virtues as described in the fruit of the spirit, are all in action. There is also an apologetics angle against surrendering public engagement and debate to atheists, agnostics, secularists, or groups that are bent on marginalizing the Christian witness. This book boldly takes the bull of societal challenges by the horns to pave a way of example for the rest of us to do the same. Breaking ground is a clever title. Not only does it break ground for a post-pandemic society, more importantly, but it is also about breaking any hardened hearts in us among possible changes within us and without.
Anne Snyder is the editor-in-chief of Comment magazine and oversees the project, Breaking Ground. Anne is also a 2020 Emerson Fellow, a Senior Fellow of The Trinity Forum, and a Fellow at the Center for Opportunity Urbanism, a Houston-based think tank that explores how cities can drive opportunity for the bulk of their citizens. Anne spent the formative years of her childhood overseas before earning a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College (IL) and a master’s degree from Georgetown University. She currently lives in Washington, D.C.
Susannah Black is a senior editor of Plough and has written for publications including First Things, Fare Forward, Front Porch Republic, Mere Orthodoxy, and The American Conservative. She holds a BA from Amherst College and an MA from Boston University.
Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.
conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Plough Publishing House and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.
1) See Clearly and Deeply
2) Learn from the past
3) Imagine the future
Social distancing, isolated, separated, quarantined, and all manner of disconnection are wreaking havoc in society and our relationships. From anti-vaxxers to the protests over mandatory wearing of masks, contributors deal with the issue of peace. The George Floyd protests highlight the underlying tensions and unresolved discriminations that have been papered over in the past. Each lockdown brings out poor human reactions against the government, against people, and against community sensitivity. We cannot continue to deceive our own bubbles of self-reliance and forget the importance of community. We need healing and reconciliation more and more. One way to chart the future is to learn from history. Historian Mark Noll shares how our present crisis is nothing new. In the 6th Century, the Church too had to grapple with a plague, and how that has impacted the way we minister to one another. The Black Death in the 14th Century also scarred much of society and the Church. The key learning is to take "small steps to strengthen" existing establishments; build "positive relationships" with those close to us, and treat society challenges as opportunities for Christian witness. NT Wright warns us against reverting quickly to a same old business as usual mindset after the pandemic. Instead, we ought to recognize the failure of trust in Mammon and to take on the tasks of "growing flowers" rather than cultivating an environment for weeds to flourish. Staying safe individually is one thing. A healthy society is much more important. Like TS Eliot's penetrating statement, "the whole earth is our hospital," this pandemic has exposed the vulnerable faultlines of our individualistic society. It is no longer enough to mind our own business. We need to learn to do our part to love our neighbour. From environmental concerns to human relationships, this book covers a wide variety of issues that demand our attention.
My Thoughts
==============
Just like the pandemic has affected all parts of society, this book is an honest appraisal of how our existing economic, social, political, and humanistic systems are impacted. While the world tends to hope for a quick return for the good old days of pre-pandemic activity, the pandemic should be an opportunity for us to take stock of our existing systems so that we could tweak them, test them, toss away, or totally transform them. Instead of depending on experts to give us simple scientific solutions to complex social issues, we need the wisdom to deal with these challenges of life. While the pandemic has exposed many issues of society, one of the most polarizing aspects remains political. This is not simply about official political systems, it is also about the use (and abuse) of power throughout society. The George Floyd case is a current example of racial polarizations which, unfortunately, has been exploited by those thirsty for quick political success. Social media too has become a divisive platform. No longer can one simply skirt aside issues of politics and religion. The path forward is to learn to accept and to be generous with our love.
There is a firm sense of conviction in the articles in the book. Generally, all agree that we are called to be better than what we currently are. The faults in our systems and human relationships have always been there. The pandemic has only exposed them raw which many people would find most uncomfortable. In addressing the injustice surrounding racial discrimination, it takes a violent police beating of George Floyd to spur greater awareness of something we have all known or suspected all along. The political divide between the major political parties continues to battle with each taking positions on each side of any issue, be it vaccines or conspiracy theories.
The key question of how to increase the common good is best answered by Marilynne Robinson's comments to let the beauty of a vision inspire us not just to do better but to be better than our current selves. More importantly, she urges Christians not to be shy to witness but to be bold in proclaiming Truth as they are. Perhaps, in view of the rising politicization of the evangelical world, there is an opportunity to practice peacemaking and reconciliation among fellow believers.
Those of us who are familiar with biblical principles would recognize some of the recommendations made by the contributors. Courage, generosity, care, share, compassion, humility, justice, and many virtues as described in the fruit of the spirit, are all in action. There is also an apologetics angle against surrendering public engagement and debate to atheists, agnostics, secularists, or groups that are bent on marginalizing the Christian witness. This book boldly takes the bull of societal challenges by the horns to pave a way of example for the rest of us to do the same. Breaking ground is a clever title. Not only does it break ground for a post-pandemic society, more importantly, but it is also about breaking any hardened hearts in us among possible changes within us and without.
Anne Snyder is the editor-in-chief of Comment magazine and oversees the project, Breaking Ground. Anne is also a 2020 Emerson Fellow, a Senior Fellow of The Trinity Forum, and a Fellow at the Center for Opportunity Urbanism, a Houston-based think tank that explores how cities can drive opportunity for the bulk of their citizens. Anne spent the formative years of her childhood overseas before earning a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College (IL) and a master’s degree from Georgetown University. She currently lives in Washington, D.C.
Susannah Black is a senior editor of Plough and has written for publications including First Things, Fare Forward, Front Porch Republic, Mere Orthodoxy, and The American Conservative. She holds a BA from Amherst College and an MA from Boston University.
Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.
conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Plough Publishing House and NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.
January 15, 2022
Robert Frost's lines from "Once by the Pacific" confirm the need for reading this essential book:
It looked as if a night of dark intent
Was coming, and not only a night, an age.
Someone had better be prepared for rage.
Centuries ago in North Africa, the great thinker Augustine struggled in his own mind before responding to the voice of a child calling to another, “Take up and read.” His writing likened denial of justice within a society to robbery, one in which he also experienced political and social upheaval. In Breaking Ground Charting Our Future In A Pandemic Year, we are invited by almost 50 writers well acquainted with history and contemporary culture to take up and read their “wealth of proposals and reflections on what should come after: how we can truly renew our civilization.”
This essential collection of essays seeks to restore inclusion, not deletion, over issues that divide and silence each other. Writers grounded within a tradition of humanist Christianity, “where the sacred lens might influence the written conversation,” engage with an array of other pluralistic voices that bring their own religious, political, or cultural stances with passion but without rancor. A generosity of hard endeavor permeates these writings that do not gloss over injustices, past and present, but that also recognize the critical need for a vision of a shared common, higher ground in place of fragmentation. This juncture of grief-filled pandemic and societal illness shows a broken society that needs healing.
The sequence of these pieces written in real time from June 2020 until May 2021 illuminates how in these long months all of our thinking has been pushed by unforeseen changes that call for old and new parts to the national conversation. In several pieces written in 2020, we find references to a wide assortment of past voices: poets from Milosz to Angelou, novelists, from Dostoevsky to Baldwin, philosophers from Aristotle to Kierkegaard, and to religious figures, such as Oscar Romero who was murdered for speaking out against injustice and vengeance, hatred, and violence. These essays speak with immediacy through art, music, philosophy, and theology that address themes of guilt, suffering, solidarity, humility, and beauty related to our common need for love and heightened fear of death.
January-May 2021 essays draw attention to political, sociological, and psychological perspectives. Expressing our society’s “unraveling, alienation, fracture, and ache,” these writers seek larger truths in sharp contrast to the cheapness of strident claims so often voiced in politics, media, and social media fueled by pervasive uses of technology to seduce us into anger and factionalism. Members of family and community jettisoned in contemptuous dismissal because of differing opinions have robbed us of meaningful conversation and essential ties. These writers invite us to recall our exemplars and examples of what it means to be part of the human family. As readers, we are asked to reflect on our hard questions: What past models of good and courageous actors in the midst of evil we can recall that will help us act now? How best can we respond to evils perpetrated rather than choosing denial or mere self-flagellation? Is redemption possible? Will anger and apathy prevent genuine discourse?
Overall, these articulate and notable writers ask themselves and us to consider what wisdom can guide us to work together for the common good. The purpose writes Anne Snyder is “to bridge the worlds of elite thinker and local doer, while “Susannah Black makes clear that “what each of us chooses to do from day to day really matters.” They urge a commitment to reach out to every part of society, as consequential outcomes for our shared democracy depend on it.
Judith Robinson
January 3, 2022
2020. The year of an international Covid-19 epidemic. The year of racial strife and protests and division in the United States. The year of a Presidential election the results of which many in this country would not accept-and still do not. And the year my 96 year old mother died of a rapid dementia, over a spring which due to Covid I was constrained from bringing her to the doctor's office or emergency room. Hospitalized I could not visit her, even on her final birthday. She came home to die the day peaceful demonstrators were dispersed in Lafayette Square, so the President of the United States stood before the defiled edifice of St. John's Church, holding a Bible-backwards. The trauma of 2020, and the epidemic and racial protests and an increasingly ugly political sphere will always be painfully intertwined with the loss of my mother, one moment reasoned and lucid, the next tragically confused, and accusatory. This book published by Plough (sent to me for a review) in conjunction with other educational, religious and intellectual foundations tries to make sense of a county roiled by pandemic, restrictions and closures, and every increasing rage. Entries by a range of philosophers, educators and religious leaders try to make sense of an increasingly polarized country less organized within the communities of traditional organized religions. Yet, angry political voices in social media, the political arena, and in a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol wrap their positions within a religious flag of their own making. Reflections are divided seasonally; as I read James Matthew Wilson's essay of June 17, 2020 I recalled standing that day beside my departed mother. I moved into the autumn 0f 2020, and the winter which continued into the New Year of 2021. I encountered young parents whose experience of a traumatic year were overshadowed (overwhelmed) by the loss of their infant son. Writings record the tense family and even parental encounters affected by opinionated 24 hour news cycles, the personalities, and the internet conspiracy theories. One question wrestled with is the place of Christianity in all of this personal upset, and national upheaval. How does philosopher Jacques Maritain's primacy of the individual in a democracy stand in light of recent events. I thought that Maritain never encountered a humanity increasingly absorbed in their own cell phones, or preferred sources of news (opinionated news). Not a quick or an easy read, this volume demands reflection and even prayer, particularly among those of us in diminished numbers of Sunday churchgoers, as we confront often judgmental political and spiritual divisions. We are called to be listeners in one essay, yet I, a self professed progressive to liberal, was made uncomfortable with writings about "whiteness" and patriarchy. I want to listen and learn, yet I fear this message will only drive this country into racial corners and a return to a politics of rage and hate of the other. I will return to this book, in a quest to learn and a recognition of my own occasional discomfort, even as I meet and speak with friends new and old, careful to avoid certain topics political, racial and spiritual.
October 15, 2021
“Breaking Ground” by Anne Synder and Susannah Black is true to its name. Its founding vision is highly significant in these deeply disoriented times, when life’s familiar rhythms fade away into a future of bleak oblivion. Change of such immense scope and magnitude has created a spectrum of moral opportunity in every society with a dynamic ecosystem of thinkers with the wisdom to discern it and the humility to accept it, and doers with the courage and determination to do something about it productively. This is an urgent clarion call for the fragmented body of Christ to unite together in humility and selfless service to humanity. The Church with all her scars, made resilient by long-standing struggle, is called to lead in service, sacrifice and solidarity. Particularly insightful moral leadership is the urgent need of the hour, in these extremely distressing times. Although the pandemic is a layered crisis that unfolds in stages, it also provides opportunities for brand new beginnings from the ashes of the past.
Even in these extremely difficult times, hope is born anew in our hearts. God’s people are called to do whatever they can to help humankind rebuild themselves in their respective communities. A creative lens shines upon Christian social thought to illuminate it and provide inspiration to the world at large. As Christians filled with Christ’s love, let us orient our hope and direct our steps into a founding vision for the future, by selflessly seeking and striving to imbue weary people with fresh hope, to renew the world in an age of crisis. In the scary face of the pandemic and all its myriad consequences, layers of life as we knew it earlier, have been painfully peeled away, to reveal frightening landscapes. This is the staggering reality of the world today. Faith, hope and love overpowers despair, even in the pandemic. We have a moral call, a selfless duty to live in honest fellowship with our fellow human beings, by seeking to live in justice and equity. Be seeing eyes and listening ears to people around you. Bear their burdens in love. Do the little you can to alleviate the distress of people. Even one drop of rain in the ocean makes a huge difference. Never underestimate your God-given power to do good to the world around you.
Share true communion with each other in your hearts, even in social distancing. There is always a way to reach out to others in distress, to shine your light into their dark corner. We are an integral part of each other’s lives, a social community of all the communities in this world. “No man is an island.” We need to give a wise response to these unprecedented times. We must take responsibility for this moment, to be a blessing to others. “Breaking Ground” does exactly that, in its own way. I highly recommend this groundbreaking book to all readers who wish to reach out a helping hand of fellowship to others and make an impact in today’s pandemic world.
Miriam Jacob
Even in these extremely difficult times, hope is born anew in our hearts. God’s people are called to do whatever they can to help humankind rebuild themselves in their respective communities. A creative lens shines upon Christian social thought to illuminate it and provide inspiration to the world at large. As Christians filled with Christ’s love, let us orient our hope and direct our steps into a founding vision for the future, by selflessly seeking and striving to imbue weary people with fresh hope, to renew the world in an age of crisis. In the scary face of the pandemic and all its myriad consequences, layers of life as we knew it earlier, have been painfully peeled away, to reveal frightening landscapes. This is the staggering reality of the world today. Faith, hope and love overpowers despair, even in the pandemic. We have a moral call, a selfless duty to live in honest fellowship with our fellow human beings, by seeking to live in justice and equity. Be seeing eyes and listening ears to people around you. Bear their burdens in love. Do the little you can to alleviate the distress of people. Even one drop of rain in the ocean makes a huge difference. Never underestimate your God-given power to do good to the world around you.
Share true communion with each other in your hearts, even in social distancing. There is always a way to reach out to others in distress, to shine your light into their dark corner. We are an integral part of each other’s lives, a social community of all the communities in this world. “No man is an island.” We need to give a wise response to these unprecedented times. We must take responsibility for this moment, to be a blessing to others. “Breaking Ground” does exactly that, in its own way. I highly recommend this groundbreaking book to all readers who wish to reach out a helping hand of fellowship to others and make an impact in today’s pandemic world.
Miriam Jacob
March 23, 2023
I had read a few of these pieces on Breaking Ground's website during its too-brief existence and was overjoyed to find so many wonderful reflections collected in one volume. The real diversity of perspectives represented makes this an incredibly powerful exposition of Christian humanism, a term that arises in a few essays. The contributors, from different backgrounds, unite around an ecumenical vision broadly guided by Christian social teaching.
2020-2021 was a time of turmoil, marked by disease, riots, a crime wave, election-related violence, and more. Some talking heads and authors raised hell by complaining and conspiracizing, but this remarkable set of authors approaches the chaos with thoughtful calmness. In these pages, you will find insightful ruminations on some of the most controversial issues in recent years--race, COVID policy, January 6th, "trust the experts" logic, police reform, political polarization, the rise of screen time, education reform, etc. Throughout, the articles remind us that like Brandon McGinley writes, "the Christian is a pilgrim, an exile, a sojourner: We were never promised, nor should we expect, to exist comfortably or guilelessly with the powers of this world." (295) Christians seeking to build new coalitions and new pathways to justice should emerge hopeful from reading a collection like this.
2020-2021 was a time of turmoil, marked by disease, riots, a crime wave, election-related violence, and more. Some talking heads and authors raised hell by complaining and conspiracizing, but this remarkable set of authors approaches the chaos with thoughtful calmness. In these pages, you will find insightful ruminations on some of the most controversial issues in recent years--race, COVID policy, January 6th, "trust the experts" logic, police reform, political polarization, the rise of screen time, education reform, etc. Throughout, the articles remind us that like Brandon McGinley writes, "the Christian is a pilgrim, an exile, a sojourner: We were never promised, nor should we expect, to exist comfortably or guilelessly with the powers of this world." (295) Christians seeking to build new coalitions and new pathways to justice should emerge hopeful from reading a collection like this.
December 30, 2021
This book has been written in real time during a year that created awareness of our society’s differences. It started with the pandemic (COVID) and then the film of the murder of George Floyd. In the United States and I suspect the world has become a state in which our beliefs, opinions and interests no longer range in a continuum but has become concentrated at opposing extremes. It has many articles of what Christian leaders think — reflections and proposals on what should happen. It is a collection/anthology of different views on how to best serve and renew our society.
Reading this book of essays has made me think of what has happen with society. I thought about how people are afraid and at the same time “lost.” Where does one safely communicate? Where is hope? The articles speak indirectly to these questions. It’s an important book that everyone should read.
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I wasn’t obligated to write a favorable review or any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
Reading this book of essays has made me think of what has happen with society. I thought about how people are afraid and at the same time “lost.” Where does one safely communicate? Where is hope? The articles speak indirectly to these questions. It’s an important book that everyone should read.
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I wasn’t obligated to write a favorable review or any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
January 11, 2022
In the conversation "Arguments for the Sake of Heaven" published in Breaking Ground, Jonathan Haidt states "The interesting thing is that Americans are not getting more polarized in terms of their beliefs about issues. . . .The polarization is affective--that is, it's emotional. We don't disagree more about policy matters or ideas, we just hate each other more. And that's really important to keep your eye on, because when you really hate someone, you will believe anything that casts them in a bad light; you're less likely to check sources."
This is one of several passages I noted in this outstanding collection of essays. This particular item caught my attention due to the information literacy aspect. Beyond this passage, Breaking Ground has assembled a collection of beautifully written essays that looks at our lives of the course of one year of the pandemic. Well done and highly recommended! My full review will be posted later at Englewood Review of Books.
I received a complementary copy from Plough Publishing via NetGalley. All comments and reviews are my own.
This is one of several passages I noted in this outstanding collection of essays. This particular item caught my attention due to the information literacy aspect. Beyond this passage, Breaking Ground has assembled a collection of beautifully written essays that looks at our lives of the course of one year of the pandemic. Well done and highly recommended! My full review will be posted later at Englewood Review of Books.
I received a complementary copy from Plough Publishing via NetGalley. All comments and reviews are my own.
May 7, 2022
An extensive collection of essays written over a year (summer 2019-spring 2020) examining culture and society and politics as impacted by the pandemic and other traumatic events. The authors represent a broad range of thinkers and observers. The overarching goal was to propose ways of renewal in a new reality (and what is reality!), especially the place, if any, of a vibrant and living Christian faith. The essayists represent very diverse cohorts of observant Christians, atheists, Jews both observant and not, Muslims, and seekers. I started reading the essays in January and read them over the next few months. Each raised questions, offered challenging insights, and stimulated my thinking. My vocabulary was also enriched as I looked up word and word - the writing is often dense and complex -- so different from the blurbs of social media or most reading material these days!
October 15, 2021
These essays are really directed more at public officials than the ordinary reader, I think. They mostly concern how governments handled the virus, and what should be the Christian approach to dealing with it. I liked the more spiritually oriented ones which didn't concentrate so much on public policy, such as James Matthew Wilson's beautiful article about contemplation, and the art of poetry, in which he analyses three poems. I will certainly look up his books! Jennifer Frey's contribution in which she criticises the hjypocrisy of experts, and writes about the importance of trust was also extremely interesting.
I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.
January 19, 2022
This was a great collection of essays. I’m not Christian, but COVID has massively changed the world, and I was very curious about this collection. I was surprised in a good way, and absolutely blown away by it. I was impressed by the breadth of what was covered, and that it wasn’t what I’d call preachy, or heavy on the religious theme despite having Christian overtones. I was happy to see the diversity of contributors, (even though most were white and US-based). This was a thought-provoking collection, and one I’d recommend to anyone looking to expand their horizons.
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June 5, 2022The concept of the book sounded intriguing and I like many of the writers included in the anthology. But after picking it up and putting it down for more than 6 months, I'm giving up on the book. I think I'm reading this too far out from the initial pandemic year, so many of the thoughts presented already seem out-of-date, yet I'm not far enough from 2020 to be able to read this through a historical lens. I suspect this book might mean more in 10 years or so, when we'll want to understand what people were thinking at the time.
October 15, 2021
One of the great things about Plough's books is they tend to be international, and that really helps here. You get a mix of perspectives on American culture in 2020, the history of evangelical culture and politics, from perspectives that go inside and outside of American evangelical culture. The result is refreshing and interesting even at the moments where you may disagree with the authors.
January 4, 2022
Up to date essays written as we lived and experienced Covid as a daily part of our lives.Essays in immediate time powerful moments highly recommend..
February 17, 2022
A selection of essays written over a one year period during the pandemic, exploring the nature of the common good.
September 12, 2023
I attempted to read this book in late 2022 and yes I did read the first third of the book, but just struggled essay to essay. This was written for the people who love a book of essays addressing social topics, ideas, paradigm, shifts, and meanings that surfaced out of those early Covid truly scary years.
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