Dudley’s Dud (of a book)

Have you seen this new theology book yet?

Talk about being the exact opposite of what a
theology book should be . . . . just read
this excerpt from the Amazon product
description of Jonathan Dudley’s new theology
book: Broken Words: The Abuse of Science and
Faith in American Politics,
“Arguing against absolutism on abortion and
opposition to embryonic stem cell research,
Dudley shows that most Christian theologians
throughout history, including Augustine,
Aquinas, and even American evangelicals up
until the 1980s, have believed that life does
not begin at conception. He argues that
evangelical opposition to gay marriage has
more to do with allegiance to socially
conservative cultural values than allegiance
to the Bible. He demonstrates that
traditional Christian valuations of science,
as well as scientific evidence itself, should
lead evangelicals to accept evolution and
reject both creationism and intelligent
design. And he surveys how evangelicals are
changing their minds about environmentalism, and how this development
supports a new way of thinking about the Bible.”
Contrast that description with the Amazon product description of my theology
book: The World Perceived: A Theological and Phenomenological Approach to
Thinking, Perceiving, and Living In-The-World,
“By exploring the epistemological bases of both science and theology as forms
of knowledge along with the assumptions implicit within both worldviews, The
World Perceived invites the reader upon an intellectual journey into the
world of phenomenal reality. The author makes a strong case for the validity
of the biblical description of the world and reality by demonstrating how the
modern scientific description of the world and reality are in no way superior
to the biblical description.”
I haven’t yet read Mr. Dudley’s book, and I doubt that I will, but I wouldn’t
mind debating these issues with him on campus sometime (in fact, I would love
that), but I imagine that HE is the one who is misusing (“breaking”) words.
There are certain things one expects from ALL books of theology, including
Mr. Dudley’s and my own. Things like remaining faithful to the ancient
teachings of the Church by making them relevant to our lives today. The goal
of the theologian is to provide the community of faith--the people of God--
with the scriptural teachings that are necessary for them to be able to live
their lives in ways that would be pleasing to God.
I don’t believe God is pleased with abortion, which is the intentional
destruction of a healthy, living, growing human being, so I can’t imagine how
Mr. Dudley’s book is of any good to anyone. He’s actually about as off-track
as a theologian can get (Go Yale!). As far as I’m concerned, Mr. Dudley’s new
book is a dud.
Here’s the links to the various free ebook editions of my books, which are on
Scribd:
Wake up from your nightmare . . . and other sociopolitical essays (2011 - US
Politics/Social Issues)
Broken Government: A Call to Action and Other Essays (2010 - US
Politics/Social Issues)
The World Perceived: A Theological and Phenomenological Approach to Thinking,
Perceiving, and Living In-The-World (2009 – Philosophy/Theology)