reading together

One of the greatest tragedies of the time in which we live is that reading has become a very lonely thing to do... Some friends and I have started reading together. Our plan is to, together read, pray, talk, blog, twit or whatever our way through Tom Wright's Simply Christian.

In his introduction Wright invites the reader to discover what Christianity (in the broad sense) is all about. He raises four areas of contemporary concern as pointers to a transcendent reality. "The longing for justice, the quest for spirituality, the hunger for relationship and the delight in beauty" are to Wright 'echoes of a voice'. As we hear each of these themes it is as though we hear the "elusive yet evocative sound of someone speaking just around the corner, out of sight."

He continues in the introduction to, in his precise albeit academic fashion, outline the book's structure and his approach in writing it. The stated purpose of the book is an attempt to listen to the 'echoes of a voice' and in so doing commend the Christian faith to both those outside it and explain it to those inside it.

From our discussion...

It is interesting to note that while Wright's echoes represent a penetrating assessment of contemporary concerns they are, arguably, underpinned by the 'echo of the voice' of authentic reality.

I guess 'reality' is something of a buzzword at the moment and one can't help thinking that the 'Truth' debates of old have been re-framed. While it is not four lettered word 'Truth' has for the most part become a dirty word. 'Reality' it seems is far more palatable and caters well to our post modern tastes. It would be premature at this stage to decide whether the book does indeed succeed in listening to the echoes and thus present an authentic reality.

Derrida is credited with having said that justice and law are not synonymous. Much of our discussion was spent exploring these themes. Particularly insightful was the distinction between systemic injustice and individual injustice and more specifically Christ's modus operandi when confronting these.

I hope to continue to post on our progress through the book and some highlights of our discussion. I hope to be consistent in this commitment and accurately reflect that which I am (and by extension we) are learning. I, therefore can think of no better way to conclude this post than by quoting Wright's introduction: "Being a Christian in today's world is, of course, anything but simple. But there is a time for trying to say, as simply as possible, what it's all about, this seems to me that sort of time."