moonlunatik's review
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
4.25
Really interesting book and it made me think a lot about how time and history relate to faith but it's pretty light on practical applications of its concepts and I was expecting a bit more of that.
ben_smitty's review
4.0
A thought-provoking meditation on what it means to be finite. As a parent, I especially enjoyed his chapter on seasonality: parenting little ones can take a toll on one's emotional and psychological well-being, but recognizing that the Spirit has called me to this specific vocation "for the time being" allows me to attune myself to learn lessons I won't learn otherwise, lessons that won't be available to me in any other period of my life.
I'm also intrigued by Smith's situating of "universal truth" as something that is time-bound. The resurrection of Jesus engenders new truths, situations, and possibilities that did not exist before. As the Spirit continues to breathe life into the church as Jesus' body, we are invited to collaborate with God in exploring where He is calling the church in the present moment, and how new truths can also emerge as we extend resurrection life to the public square. Granted, I need to re-read these chapters more carefully to get the full scope of his argument (and read his more academic text, The Nicene Option), but I've been thinking about it a lot since I first encountered it.
I'm also intrigued by Smith's situating of "universal truth" as something that is time-bound. The resurrection of Jesus engenders new truths, situations, and possibilities that did not exist before. As the Spirit continues to breathe life into the church as Jesus' body, we are invited to collaborate with God in exploring where He is calling the church in the present moment, and how new truths can also emerge as we extend resurrection life to the public square. Granted, I need to re-read these chapters more carefully to get the full scope of his argument (and read his more academic text, The Nicene Option), but I've been thinking about it a lot since I first encountered it.