\nI'm pleased to see that the New York Review of Books<\/a> decided to provide free access to a number of articles in the February 9, 2006 issue<\/a> that I wanted to point out to friends:\n<\/p>\n \n Jimmy Carter & the Culture of Death<\/a> is Gary Wills' review of Jimmy Carter's new book, Our Endangered Values : America's Moral Crisis<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<\/li>\n \n The Passion of C.S. Lewis<\/a>, which I found entertaining because unlike many of my friends, I have never liked the Narnia<\/em> books or film(s). I've read only one of the seven books (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe<\/a>) and then only as a disenchanted adult. Alison Lurie offers plenty of insight into Narnia<\/em> as children's literature. Unfortunately, she overreaches in the concluding paragraphs with:\n<\/p>\n It is no surprise that \nThis is, of course, the kind of mindset that evangelical churches Nice rhetorical flourishes here -- but associating The Apprentice<\/em> Genocide in Slow Motion<\/a> is a review of two books on the genocide in Darfur. I miss reading Nicholas Kristof's columns in The New York Times<\/em> (but not enough to pay for TimesSelect<\/a>. I’m pleased to see that the New York Review of Books decided to provide free access to a number of articles in the February 9, 2006 issue that I wanted to point out to friends: Jimmy Carter & the Culture … Continue reading \n
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\nconservative Christians admire these books. They teach us to accept
\nauthority; to love and follow our leaders instinctively, as the
\nchildren in the Narnia books love and follow Aslan. By implication,
\nthey suggest that we should and will admire and fear and obey whatever
\nimpressive-looking and powerful male authority figures we come in
\ncontact with. They also suggest that without the help of Aslan (that
\nis, of such powerful figures, or their representatives on earth) we are
\nbound to fail. Alone, we are weak and ignorant and helpless. Individual
\ninitiative is limited—almost everything has already been planned out
\nfor us in advance, and we cannot know anything or achieve anything
\nwithout the help of God. <\/p>\n
\nprefer and cultivate: the kind that makes people vote against their own
\neconomic and social interests, that makes successful, attractive, and
\napparently intelligent young men and women want to become the
\napprentices of Donald Trump, or of much worse rich and powerful
\nfigures. This mindset could even be called deluded, since in this world
\na giant lion does not usually appear to see that the right side wins
\nand all the good people are happy. In Narnia faith in Aslan, who comes
\namong his followers and speaks to them, may make sense: but here on
\nearth, as the classic folk tales have told us for generations, it is
\nbetter to depend on your own courage and wit and skill, and the good
\nadvice of less than omnipotent beings. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n with Narnia<\/em> and conservative Christians?? Is Lurie saying that
\n anyone who believes in a God who will ultimately set things right is \"deluded\"?
\n Figuring out what authority is and what authority to follow are not easy
\n tasks. Some of us do believe in ultimate authority that looks like neither
\n Donald Trump or the \"giant lion\" that Lurie delights in poking fun at.\n <\/p>\n<\/li>\n
\nIt was through Kristof's writings that I first learned about Darfur.
\nI'm grateful for writers such as Kristof who help to keep the Darfur conflict<\/a>
\nin front of people like me, who are so prone to forget. I've been
\nmeaning to write a letter to the editor about Darfur but have not been
\nable to do so. A good starting place as I look to act is A Million Voices for Darfur<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"