"daring to discuss the important and the amusing"

NEWSLETTER #4

SPRING 2001

When there is a lot of chatter about a thing, it is usually a sign that that thing is not in the best condition. In addition to the front-page news about stocks and sheep, there has been a lot of chatter, at least in some corners, about the university and the Christian mind.

I have no delusion about settling the debate on the severity of these crises. I will say, however, that one of the happy byproducts of these conversations is a renewed interest in, and republication of, John Henry Cardinal Newman’s The Idea of a University–a series of lectures first given in Dublin in 1852. In addition to Jaroslav Pelikan’s 1992 The Idea of the University: A Reexamination, recent comment on Newman’s classic work has included articles in First Things, The Christian Scholar’s Review, and the new Hedgehog Review. In the Hedgehog’s Fall 2000 forum entitled "What’s The University For?" George Marsden picks up the theme of crisis, arguing that "American secular research universities are intellectually and morally incoherent." In an all-too-rare kind of exchange, Marsden’s provocative article is followed by a response from Richard Rorty, and rejoinders by Marsden and Julie Reuben.

James Sire’s Habits of the Mind: Intellectual Life as a Christian Calling also takes Newman’s work as a point of departure. Less a critique than a vision of what Christian intellectual life at its best can be, Sire’s book recently garnered Christianity Today’s "Christianity and Culture" book award. Earlier this month, we had the privilege of hosting Dr. Sire at Cornell, where he delivered a wide-ranging (and intellectually virtuous) series of lectures that included not only Newman on the Christian mind, but Josef Pieper on the playfulness of ideas, C. Stephen Evans on virtue epistemology, and even Edward DeBono on lateral thinking. According to Sire, "a Christian mind is a mind that is devoted to God by thinking well." Encouraging his audience to have not only courage but also humility, Sire describes God as "the all-knowing knower of all things," and the rest of us as "the sometimes-knowing knowers of some things." Spoken like a true English professor, his practical advice includes the following: read beyond your field; write papers integrating your faith with your academic study; find a mentor; develop a pattern of applied curiosity that will carry you beyond college; and whatever you do, don’t worry about grades. Acknowledging the quixotic impracticality of that final injunction, all of this could hardly be better said. Perhaps it has been said before, and it will certainly be said again, but it was a privilege to hear a seasoned Christian scholar and apologist say it all so very well.

Dr. Sire’s visit was co-sponsored by Chesterton House and InterVarsity Grad/Faculty Ministries. Many thanks to Christian Anible for all his work in organizing the conference.

Below you will find information on our new website, details on The Decalogue, some great news on the Crossroads Life Center, and links to some of the above-mentioned articles. Thanks for your continuing interest in Chesterton House.

-Karl E. Johnson

C.S. Lewis once said that the quality of written material is inversely related to how often it’s published. If you must read newspapers, he once told Walter Hooper, you should follow it with a "mouthwash" of The Lord of the Rings or another classic. One can only guess what Lewis would have made of email newsletters and webpages.

We agree with Lewis–most of us spend too much time reading things ephemeral, and too little time reading good books. Chesterton House exists to introduce people to good books (and, we admit, a few periodicals). That said, if you absolutely, positively, must have more information on Chesterton House, you may take a peek at our new website:

www.chestertonhouse.org.

Thanks to Barb Drogo, the American Chesterton Society, and especially Ray Zimmerman for assistance with this site.

The final Chesterton House event of the semester will be . . .

Movie Night: "The Decalogue" (selections)

Crossroads Life Center, 604 E. Buffalo St.

Chesterton House’s resident film critic, Steve Froehlich, has this to say onThe Decalogue:

"Ten Commandments. Ten films. One work of art. One masterpiece. The Decalogue is a masterpiece of film-making written and directed by the Polish film genius, Krzysztof Kieslowski. ‘I know,’ you’re thinking, ‘all the Chesterton House movie night films are great.’ But, truly (verily, verily) all the critics agree–every one of the 30 whose reviews I read agree: The Decalogue is magnificent cinema."

Read Steve’s full comments at:

www.chestertonhouse.org/decalogue.html

The Crossroads Life Center, a faith-based hospitality center that serves as the home to Chesterton House, has received a $300,000 gift from an anonymous donor for the renovation of the old Stewart Avenue Carriage House. Crossroads Director Mark Chandler plans to expand the Crossroads ministry into the renovated Carriage House. This gift will cover 50% of the estimated $600,000 renovation. More information on Crossroads can be found at www.crossroadslifecenter.org.

For more on Christian thinking and the university, see articles by Edward Tingley, Mark R. Schwehn, Richard John Neuhaus, and Gertrude Himmelfarb at the following addresses:

www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft0008/articles/tingley.html

www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9905/articles/schwehn.html

www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9601/articles/himmelfarb.html

www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9601/articles/neuhaus.html

See also: David Livingstone, "The Idea of a University: Interventions from Ireland," Christian Scholar’s Review, 30:2 (2000): 185-205.

Incidentally, all of these articles, plus Sire’s Habits and The Hedgehog Review, are conveniently available in the Chesterton House resource room.

Finally, the Fall 1997 issue of the Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, entitled "The Promise of Christian Education," includes articles by D.A. Carson, Carl F.H. Henry, and others. Brief comments on the topic by Carson and others are available online at

www.sbts.edu/news/sbjt/fall/fall.html

Chesterton House is not afraid of the amusing, nor apparently is Dr. Sire, who introduced us to "thinkers anonymous," which can be found at www.peak.org/oregontelcom/orbiz/msg00215.html

George Marsden, "The Incoherent University," The Hedgehog Review, 2:3, Fall 2000, 92-105.