My Thoughts: The Lost Virtue of Happiness

The Lost Virtue of Happiness: Discovering the Disciplines of the Good Life, by J.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler, both philosophy professors at Biola University, was one of the best books I have read this summer. I found this book to be very thought provoking and practical at the same time. While I was reading this book, I could not stop thinking of a book called Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard. I found that many of the ideas in Moreland’s book were similar to the ideas in Willard’s book. I think that one of the main ideas this book was trying to get at was the importance of spiritual formation. As I have found out with this book and previous study on the topic, it is indispensable for the believer in Jesus Christ.

The book starts out by taking a look at today’s view of happiness and the ancient view of happiness. It shows just how far away and messed up a view of happiness that we have. Then it goes into the idea, and another main idea in the book, that in order to gain true happiness, we must reject ourselves and serve. The beginning of happiness is taking up our cross just as Jesus did. Once we do this, than we must transform our entire self. The book gives practical ways of dealing with this such as participating spiritual disciplines for example. Some of the activities you can participate in are spending time in silence, solitude, mediation, journaling, intellectual reading, study, fasting, and being mentored. It is hard, if not impossible, to get close to God and being happy without doing any of these spiritual disciplines.

The book concludes with a chapter that is all about cultivating spiritual friendships. It shows through Biblical texts some of the characteristics of a spiritual friendship. It states over and over again that we cannot live life alone. Friendships are essential for our spiritual growth on this earth.

This book has inspired me to do some of these spiritual disciplines on my private time. I am striving to make these disciplines habits in my life.

All in all, it was a very good book. It was deep, understandable, and practical all at the same time. It challenged me to better myself and the relationships I am in. I will say that all Christians should read this book at some point in their lives, especially when you feel like you are going through a spiritual dry spell. I think this book will help motivate any believer. This book gets 4.60 stars out of 5.

Next Book: The Great Omission, by Dallas Willard

My Thoughts: Captivating

Want to understand the female soul and how it works a little better? Captivating takes you on a journey through the female soul on how it works and how it was intended to work. This book defines what true femininity is.

Personally, after reading this, I learned a lot. I learned the three most important things that females long for. Females want: 1.) To be romanced 2.) To be rescued 3.) And to unveil their beauty. If these characteristics of women are accurate, then they should help me out a lot in life. This book taught me that women are the Crown of God’s creation. Men, and society in general, absolutely need women by their side. There is so much more that I could say that I learned about the book, but because of time constraints and lack of motivation, I will only write about the huge things.

I enjoyed this book a lot, well, at least the first half. In my mind, the first half I thought had many good insights and kept me wanting more. After that, it seemed like the book was just dragging on and the authors were rambling. The book was very repetitive and I feel that I could have read the first 100 pages and gave a good, solid, and detailed description of what the whole 200 page book was about. Some of the examples they give in the book were also a bit questionanable in my mind. At best, it was a good book, but nothing more beyond that. It does not get my highest recommendation whatsoever. I hear that Wild at Heart is much more enjoyable and better written. Maybe next summer. For now, I will give Captivating 2.95 stars out of 5. The worst book I’ve read this summer, but not a complete waste of my time.

Next: The Lost Virtue of Happiness

My Thoughts: The Four Loves

The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis is an eye-opening book to say the least. If what Lewis is saying about Love is true, then it shows just how skewed our perception of Love really is. Lewis demonstrates that there are four different kinds of loves: Affection, Friendship, Eros, and Charity. I thought that some of Lewis’ best insights came in the chapter on Charity. He says that these first three loves all grow out of Charity. Charity is the love that God, and only God, can give us. It is the only kind of love that will satisfy our deepest desires. The reason for this is because the first three kinds of love fade, but God’s charity for His creation lasts forever. “All human beings pass away. Do not let your happiness depend on something you may lose” (Lewis 120).

Another argument that he makes in the chapter on Charity is this. To love anything at all is to be vulnerable. If we do not want to be vulnerable, then we cannot love. If we put our hearts away in a closet because we do not want it to be broken, then it will only become “unbreakable, impenetrable, and irredeemable”. “To love at all is to be vulnerable….The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell” (Lewis 121). This quote captures the point that he is trying to get across.

I would have to say that this may have been the most enjoyable and deep book that I have read all summer. I will for sure have to read it again just because of how much depth there is and how much content went completely over my head. The things that did not go over my head I thought were brilliant. All in all, I will give this book 4.75 stars out of 5.


Next Book: Captivating
(No, this book was not on my original reading list.)

Blah!

Before last night, I hadn't read anything for 3 consecutive nights. I was just to busy and worn out. I know I know, shame on me. However, it makes me feel better that I finished The Four Loves last night. I will have a new post on it within the next few days.

God: A Perfect Blend Between Mercy and Justice

God is loving, merciful, and compassionate. As Christians, we know that. We know that very well. In fact in some cases we know that too well. We forget that God is also just. God is perfect justice. Unfortunately, in today’s society, Christians have only focused in on the merciful side of God. We almost never recognize the just side of God. The problem with this is that when you focus in on one (mercy or justice) and do not recognize the other, that one characteristic is almost meaningless. Let me give you an example. A father tells his son that he loves him. Then, the father sees a guy committing a robbery and tells him that he loves that guy also. The father just cheapened what he told his son when he told the robber this. The reason for this is because there is not any discernment in the way that the father distributed his mercy. Justice has to be in the picture in order for true mercy to occur. This idea of focusing in on mercy and compassion has trickled down into the way we live.


Matthew 5:13 tells us that Christians are to be the “salt and light of the earth”. For the most part we all know what this verse means. It means that we are to be different from the world, be in, but not of the world. Christians are to preserve the world. Christians are supposed to make a difference and be excellent, etc. This is all good and true. Let me offer something else that many Christians tend to forget about what their duty as “salt and light”. We know that salt gives flavor, but at the same time it can be very stinging. Anyone who sweats a lot knows that when sweat gets in your eye it can sting. When salt gets in a cut, it stings. Part of our duty as Christians is to give flavor, preserve, but sometimes we may also need to sting. Jesus is the perfect example of this. He was all of things that we focus in on, but sometimes we forget that Jesus stung when he was alive. When it comes to light, light it used to guide, lead, or show the path in the dark. Yes, we get that. But light is also used to illuminate and show the evil that is going on in the darkness. Some people do not want to be in the light, but in some cases, this is our duty.

This is just a simple reminder of how we must live. This is also a reminder to not cheapen any aspect of God in order to make him look more presentable or pleasing to people. When picked apart, this will only make him less pleasing to the unbeliever.

My Thoughts: C.S. Lewis Explores Vice and Virtue

Any C.S. Lewis fans out there? This book is for the C.S. Lewis die-hards, or people who are very into medieval thought. Lewis was a Medieval scholar, and as a consequence of that, he was very deeply influenced by what was called Virtue Theory or Virtue Tradition. This is what this book is all about. It explores the Virtue Theory ideas that are resident in Lewis’ works. If Lewis were alive and were to write a book on medieval thought, then it would look something like this. Gerard Reed is a philosophy professor at Point Loma and I think that he puts this book together masterfully. This is a man that knows C.S. Lewis and all of his works like the back of his hand. He quotes Lewis very nicely and integrates many of Lewis’ ideas with his own very well. This book is a gold mine of quotes especially from Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine.

This book will give you greater insight obviously to Lewis’ writings, but to people like Aquinas, Augustine, and even to the Bible. The information in C.S. Lewis Explores Vice and Virtue is quantity with much quality. When reading this book, I saw just how far from virtue the world, our country, our town, our schools, our churches, our families, and our friends really are. But most importantly, this book motivated me because it shows just how far from virtue that I am. This realization is very humbling. Final rating = 4.5 stars out of 5.

Next book: The Four Loves

My Thoughts: How to Stay Christian in College

If you are going off to college this Fall, or are already enrolled in a university, this book is for you. I read this book in just a few days because I enjoyed it so much. In many ways, the book showed the practical side of many philosophical ideas. J. Budziszewski touched on many of the issues that we will face in the university. Some of the ideas that he discusses in How to Stay Christian in College are refuting Postmodernism, Naturalism, and New Age, myths about love and sex, myths about knowledge, and myths about politics. Along with all of these extremely useful insights, he shows us some tactics that will strengthen out faith in college. I am convinced that if we use this book as a guide, then our faith will not only survive in the university world, but will flourish. Even though there are some things that he talks about that I do not necessarily agree with, I think that everyone going to secular institute or a Christian institute needs to read this book. I give this book 4.5 stars out of 5.