POSTS
TheArchive.
A chronological record of essays, thinking tools, and interventions.
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Christian academia and the peace (שׁלום, shalom) of Jeremiah (1 of 2)
In a previous post I commented on the importance Sir Donald Hay gives to the biblical notion of shalom in his understanding of what it means to be a Christian academic. In the present post I want to think a little more carefully about what shalom is and how it is an important idea of
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What does Derrida mean by ‘There is nothing outside the text?’ video
In July 2019 I had the pleasure of joining Prof. James Anderson of Reformed Theological Seminary for a wide-ranging conversation about philosophy, theology and the P&R Publishing Great Thinkers book series, in which James has a volume on David Hume and I have books on Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault. In this excerpt I pick
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7 ways Christians have read postmodern thinkers video
In July 2019 I had the pleasure of joining Prof. James Anderson of Reformed Theological Seminary for a wide-ranging conversation about philosophy, theology and the P&R Publishing Great Thinkers book series, in which James has a volume on David Hume and I have books on Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault. In this excerpt I discuss
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There is more to Sabbath than not working: Sabbath rest as a political and subversive practice
A recent email exchange put me in mind of the importance of taking rest from work, and of how this rest can be a powerful political statement. In my experience this is a particular challenge for academics, who have anything but a 9 to 5 job. I try to tease out the political implications of
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Seminar. Storyboarding your Discipline: A Tool for Christian Students and Academics
In this seminar I want to explore one way that Christian academics can understand the secular disciplines in which we work. I will begin by discussing two different ways in which we can understand the Christian faith and the way it shapes our work, before moving on to discuss a tool to help us think
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Book excerpt from Thinking Through Creation: Absolute personality theism
Absolute personality theism The God of the Bible is not the only God of the ancient or modern worlds who is personal. The Greeks and the Romans had as many personal gods as you could shake a stick at (and, as Paul discovered in Athens in Acts 17, even more that you couldn’t!) What is
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Reformed Forum Christ the Centre episode on Thinking Through Creation
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Camden Bucey and Adam York of the Reformed Forum about my recent book Thinking Through Creation: Genesis 1 and 2 as Tools of Cultural Critique. The conversation ranged over: what it means to deploy the Bible as a tool of cultural critique John Stott’s ‘double listening’ why
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Summary and reviews of the book “Great Thinkers: Jacques Derrida”
Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Press, 2017 Summary One of the most important thinkers of our time, Jacques Derrida continues to have a profound influence on postmodern thought and society. Christopher Watkin explains Derrida’s complex philosophy with clarity and precision, showing not only what Derrida says about metaphysics, ethics, politics, and theology but also what
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Summary and reviews of the book “Great thinkers: Michel Foucault”
Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Press, 2018 Publisher’s Summary Hugely influential, Michel Foucault’s work has not only impacted a diverse range of disciplines—from history and sociology to fine arts, feminism, and gay and lesbian studies—but has also profoundly shaped Western culture at a street level. Yet until now there has been no overarching systematic approach to
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Summary and reviews of Thinking Through Creation: Genesis 1 and 2 as Tools of Cultural Critique
Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Press, 2017. Summary Reading Genesis 1 and 2, we are tempted to see only problems to solve. Yet these two chapters burst with glorious truths about God, our world, and ourselves. In fact, their foundational doctrines are among the richest sources of insight as we pursue robust, sensitive, and constructive engagement
