The Best Books and Media of the Year, Part 2
The Best Books and Media of the Year, Part 2
By Paul M. Gould and Melissa Cain Travis | Bulletin Roundtable
In this end-of-year roundtable, the team discusses their favorite books and other media of 2022, as well as some of their own upcoming projects. See Part 1 by Paul Copan and David Baggett. We hope you find in these collections some gems of your own.
Merry Christmas from The Worldview Bulletin team!
Christopher Reese
Editor-in-Chief
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Paul M. Gould
What is a favorite book and film from the year? What is going on? First, I have some big news! My latest book, A Good and True Story, has just released! The book is a follow-up to my 2019 Cultural Apologetics book with this difference: in my Cultural Apologetics book, I’m writing to Christians about how I conceive of cultural apologetics (really, just apologetics in general, since we are always part of culture, shaping it and being shaped by it) whereas, in my latest book, I seek to do a work of cultural apologetics, written primarily for nonbelievers (although I think that Christians can gain a lot from it too). It always feels a bit risky to pour your mind and heart into something and then send it out into the world—so pray for me, but mostly, pray God would use this book to draw many to Him.
Now to my favorite book and film of the year (so far). I continue to love science fiction, so I’m going to go with Dune. I know the movie didn’t release this year, but I finally had a chance to watch it recently on a long airplane ride. I found the world-building in the movie (and the book) compelling and enchanting. Dune awakens me to the longing to live as a part of a story greater than myself. It reminds me, in fact, that I am part of a story greater than myself. And in that story—the true story of the world—there is tragedy and comedy to be sure, as well as the happy end we long for, an ending where we discover our true name.
It is difficult to select a favorite book of the year. This coming January, over on my personal blog, I’ll list my favorite books in philosophy, apologetics, fiction, and non-fiction from the past year. For now, I’m going to go with one of the textbooks I’ve used in my philosophical theology class this semester at Palm Beach Atlantic University. In the first part of the semester, we spent time exploring the various attributes of God. Our main text was the masterful book The Coherence of Theism by Richard Swinburne. I don’t agree with everything that Swinburne says, but I love his careful treatment of each divine attribute as he seeks to show, against various objections, that the theistic concept of an omnipotent, omniscient, perfectly good and free creator of the universe is possible.
As I reflect on the recent Thanksgiving holiday, I’m reminded of how grateful I am to God for many good gifts: my family, meaningful work as a philosophy professor at Palm Beach Atlantic University, friends who love and care for me, and you, dear reader, who walk with all of us at The Worldview Bulletin. Thank you! And may you see God’s goodness in your life through the many good gifts he gives us all.
— Paul M. Gould is an Associate Professor of Philosophy of Religion and Director of the M.A. Philosophy of Religion program at Palm Beach Atlantic University. He is the author or editor of ten scholarly and popular-level books including Cultural Apologetics, Philosophy: A Christian Introduction, and The Story of the Cosmos. He has been a visiting scholar at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School’s Henry Center, working on the intersection of science and faith, and is the founder and president of the Two Tasks Institute. You can find out more about Dr. Gould and his work at Paul Gould.com and the Two Tasks Institute. He is married to Ethel and has four children.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Melissa Cain Travis
For this month’s Roundtable, we’re sharing a few of our favorite books, films, and other media of 2022 as well as news about our own upcoming projects. Perhaps these will inspire your holiday shopping or your own wish list!
Books
The Medieval Mind of C. S. Lewis by Jason M. Baxter (IVP Press)
This is a fantastic book for anyone who is more than a casual fan of C. S. Lewis. Baxter takes his readers on a delightful tour of the great medieval literature that shaped Lewis’ thought and craft. Even those who have a thorough familiarity with the Lewisian corpus are likely to glean important insights. The influence of medieval cosmology on Lewis’ thought is explored at some length, which I found particularly fascinating. Baxter’s writing is engaging and accessible.
The Truth and Beauty: How the Lives and Works of England's Greatest Poets Point the Way to a Deeper Understanding of the Words of Jesus by Andrew Klavan
Earlier this year, I wrote a full review of The Truth and Beauty for the Worldview Bulletin newsletter, but I must mention it again. You do not need any background in English poetry to appreciate what Klavan has done in this wonderful book. He recounts the lives and prominent works of England’s great Romantic poets, including William Wordsworth, John Keats, Lord Byron, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and then argues that the lives and literary art of these great writers illuminate the deeper truths revealed by the incarnate life and words of Jesus.
Films
Top Gun: Maverick
I (along with a sizeable chunk of America) loved everything about this decades-later sequel to the 1980s classic, Top Gun. It checked all the right boxes for a riveting and exhilarating old-school summer blockbuster—not to mention the off-the-charts nostalgia factor. I actually think Maverick is far superior to its precursor. The central character is a genuine grown-up, with significantly more humility and life wisdom. The respect and grace he extends to the young hot-heads in his charge inspires admiration and reflection on character development, both on-screen and in real life.
Elvis
Elvis Presley died the year after I was born, but he still loomed large in American culture during my childhood. I grew up with a broad familiarity with his music, the sensational stage presence that defined his career, and his tragic, untimely death. Television in the ‘80s occasionally included Elvis impersonators who caricaturized “The King.” However, I knew very little about his volatile personal life or what shaped him as a musician and entertainer. This film was, by far, the most artistic and enthralling biopic I’ve ever seen, no doubt thanks to the filmmaking brilliance of director Baz Luhrmann. Like Elvis himself, everything about the film was larger than life and portrayed in vivid, glittering color. It showcased the acting talent of Austin Butler in a way that will be extremely difficult to top.
Television Series
Severance (AppleTV+)
I’m a major philosophy of mind and sci-fi geek, so the premise of this series captivated me from the beginning. Winner of two Emmy Awards, Severance tells the story of a group of office workers whose brains have been surgically altered with a switch that “severs” their workplace consciousness from their outside-life consciousness. Each personal consciousness is completely oblivious to the knowledge and experiences of the other, including family and friends, joys and tragedies. Major philosophical questions are raised about the nature of personhood, assignment of moral responsibility, and the value of objective truth, even when that truth involves emotional pain. I’m (impatiently) looking forward to seeing how the story continues to unfold in season two.
My Upcoming Work
Teaching
I look forward to resuming my teaching work at Colorado Christian University’s Lee Strobel Center next semester. I’ll be teaching my graduate level course in scientific apologetics as well as a graduate course on the apologetics of C. S. Lewis.
New Book
I’m pleased to announce that my new book, Thinking God’s Thoughts: Johannes Kepler and the Miracle of Cosmic Comprehensibility, is now available (Roman Roads Press). I’m honored that Dr. Stephen C. Meyer is the foreword contributor. Here’s the synopsis from the back cover:
A host of philosophers, theologians, scientists, and mathematicians of the Great Western Tradition have been struck by the uncanny interconnection between three fundamentally distinct domains of reality: nature, mathematics, and the human mind. This resonance has been discussed since antiquity and often attributed to a transcendent rational source of both material and immaterial aspects of reality. Johannes Kepler, a devout Christian who was greatly influenced by this intellectual tradition, was instrumental in transforming classical astronomy into a true celestial physics. He was convinced that a tripartite harmony of archetype, copy, and image explained the interconnections that made his natural philosophy possible—that allowed him to share in God’s own thoughts. Rather than being diminished by the past few centuries of scientific progress, Keplerian natural theology is a more robust explanation of cosmic comprehensibility than ever before.
New Affiliation
In early November, I was thrilled to accept an invitation to join the cohort of Fellows at the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture. I’m looking forward to speaking at future conferences and collaborating with other Fellows on various media projects.
The Museum of the Bible
In January, the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., will unveil a year-long exhibition on science and Scripture. Alongside scholars such as John Lennox and Nancy Pearcey, I will be featured in a video portion of the exhibition.
— Melissa Cain Travis, PhD, is an Affiliate Faculty at Colorado Christian University and a Fellow at the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture. She is the author of Thinking God's Thoughts: Johannes Kepler and the Miracle of Cosmic Comprehensibility (2022) and Science and the Mind of the Maker: What the Conversation Between Faith and Science Reveals About God (2018). She serves on the Executive Committee of the Evangelical Philosophical Society and as President of the Society for Women of Letters.
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The Knowledge of God in the World and the Word
An Introduction to Classical Apologetics
Amid the crisis of authority in our modern and postmodern era, Christians need to be able to point to God's revelation in the natural world in addition to defending God's unique revelation in the Bible and in the person of Jesus Christ.
Classical apologetics takes a two-step approach to commending the Christian picture of reality. First, arguments for the existence of God, such as those of natural theology, are employed to create common ground with people outside the household of the Christian faith and to provide intellectual support for Christians. Second, classical apologetics defends key items of Christian revelation, including the reliability of the Bible, the identity of the historical Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
In Knowledge of God in the World and the Word, authors Douglas Groothuis and Andrew Shepardson provide a simple introduction to classical apologetics that also addresses the most common objections to natural theology. Readers will discover in the book an easy point of entry into understanding why Christian beliefs about Jesus are true and rational. Further, the authors apply the power of classical apologetics to Christian ministry.
“Astute and accessible, comprehensive and compelling, here’s an outstanding introduction to classical apologetics. You’ll find yourself going back time after time to this invaluable reservoir of insights and wisdom. Read it with a highlighter in hand!”
—Lee Strobel, founding director of the Lee Strobel Center for Evangelism and Applied Apologetics at Colorado Christian University
“Groothuis and Shepardson have written a brilliant defense of classical apologetics. They’ve ably shown, with incredible lucidity, impressive research, and tightly given arguments, that God exists and that Christianity is the true religion founded by God. And they’ve mounted a sophisticated and comprehensive defense of the need, importance, and validity of defending and commending these beliefs to others.”
—Paul M. Gould, associate professor of philosophy of religion, director of the MA in philosophy of religion program, Palm Beach Atlantic University
See our Worldview Bulletin excerpt from The Knowledge of God in the World and the Word here.
Find The Knowledge of God in the World and the Word at Amazon, Zondervan, and other major booksellers.
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