Abstract
Academic Neighbors,
Over the past several issues, I’ve used this space to discuss the roles of a critic or, more specifically for our purposes, a book reviewer. W. H. Auden lists six functions, and we’re on the penultimate point: A critic throws “light upon the process of artistic ‘Making’” (The dyer’s hand, New York: Random, 1962, pp. 8–9). Here, Auden wants to see the aesthetics of making. So often in the academy (and in theology), we can focus exclusively on the truth content. That's well and good. But something extra, something superabundant, makes an argument compelling. In their evaluative stance, a critic is versed enough to know what makes an argument work. Organization, or what Auden calls “making,” moves from “Is it true?” to “Is it beautiful?” I’m sure we’ve read arguments that we may agree with but land flat or shallow. The process of making is an evaluative question that can help us see a book's worth beyond its usefulness. This aspect of writing is something that we all wish to read. We don’t want to slog through something (most of the time). We want to enjoy reading. And as Hans Urs von Balthasar argued a generation ago, to make God boring is a great tragedy in contemporary theology. We want to review books (and write books!) that are winsome, compelling, and beautiful. As reviewers, we want to read with that lens: What makes it compelling? How did the author go about making this persuasive point? A good critic throws light on this artistic “making.”
In this issue, we have a wide range of reviews—extending from discipleship to gender to leadership to agrarian virtues in higher education. Each has a different making process, and these reviewers offer helpful guides to these recent books. If you desire to participate in this “making,” please reach out. We will feature several reviews of various Study Bibles for the next issue. If you’re interested in reviewing a book for CEJ, I invite you to contact me at
