Discussion of the book ''A Secular Age'' by Charles Taylor

[Druijf]

I have read the introduction of this book which makes me very excited, and heard a lot of people about it. Maybe this could lead to an interesting discussion on this forum, I was thinking of putting it in the form of a book debate.

What does it mean to say that we live in a secular age? Almost everyone would agree that we - in the West, at least - largely do. And clearly the place of religion in our societies has changed profoundly in the last few centuries. In what will be a defining book for our time, Charles Taylor takes up the question of what these changes mean - of what, precisely, happens when a society in which it is virtually impossible not to believe in God becomes one in which faith, even for the staunchest believer, is only one human possibility among others.Taylor, long one of our most insightful thinkers on such questions, offers a historical perspective. He examines the development in Western Christendom of those aspects of modernity which we call secular. What he describes is in fact not a single, continuous transformation, but a series of new departures, in which earlier forms of religious life have been dissolved or destabilized and new ones have been created. As we see here, today's secular world is characterized not by an absence of religion - although in some societies religious belief and practice have markedly declined - but rather by the continuing multiplication of new options, religious, spiritual, and anti-religious, which individuals and groups seize on in order to make sense of their lives and give shape to their spiritual aspirations.What this means for the world - including the new forms of collective religious life it encourages, with their tendency to a mass mobilization that breeds violence - is what Charles Taylor grapples with, in a book as timely as it is timeless.

[theopoesis]

I am working for a masters degree (my thesis is about the hypothesis of John Kloppenborg on the compositional history of Q). This is taking me longer than necessary. I always have difficulty to stay focused on the curriculum, because I often see other books and subjects that seem more interesting to me at the moment. I am probably not disciplined enough to do a PhD. I like to read, but I am not so keen on writing articles and papers, especially when dealing with exigetical minutiae.

So are you interested in discussing the book Introducing Radical Orthodoxy? Let's see if we can find some other people here who would like to discuss this book.

Thanks for those other book tips, btw.

You're welcome for the book tips. I'd be interested in a discussion, but won't have the time to invest much until January. Would you mind waiting a month?

p.s. remind me to cede your point on any future discussion of Q that we may have.

[Druijf]

That's okay. I will begin reading this book soon, I have borrowed it from a friend. I am looking forward to sharing some thoughts about it.

[theopoesis]

That's okay. I will begin reading this book soon, I have borrowed it from a friend. I am looking forward to sharing some thoughts about it.

I look forward to it as well.

[Druijf]

Are you still interested in discussing this book?

[theopoesis]

I am still interested. I tried to send you a message in early January to ask about it. When would you like to start?

[Druijf]

O, I see now. I haven't logged in to this forum for quite a time, so I hadn't noticed. Would you be able to start next week?

Slopeshoulder, do you have time to participate? Your insights are always interesting to read.

[Slopeshoulder]

O, I see now. I haven't logged in to this forum for quite a time, so I hadn't noticed. Would you be able to start next week?

Slopeshoulder, do you have time to participate? Your insights are always interesting to read.

My insights come from god who speaks to me in visions ever since I stopped sinning. KIDDING!!

Secular Age? or Radical Orthodoxy? (theopoesis mentioned the latter in a PM).

Either way, I would LOVE to, but my life right now doesn't allow me to read and stay present to such a deep work or a meaningful discussion. I can't even finish a novel. I wish I could! But it's really a bad time.
Plus, my brain is smaller and older than you guys'.
Can I lurk and add occasional inane remarks?

[theopoesis]

Slopeshoulder:

We'd love to have you drop in.

Admins/Mods:

Do two participants and a drop-byer count as enough to start a book discussion on Introducing Radical Orthodoxy? How do we set up the user group?

theopoesis

[otseng]

I created the group and added you three to it. You should be able to post in the Book Debate subforum now. Anybody else that wants to participate can just join the group.

[theopoesis]

Thanks, otseng!