Living in God’s Time in a Technological Age

In his 2004 JJ Thiessen Lectures, John Swinton addresses the theme of disability and time. Dr. Swinton’s central thesis is that disability is all about time.[1] Essentially, Dr. Swinton uses the experience of ‘disability’ as an apophatic tool to expose the rebellious modern conception of time and it's connected anthropology. Swinton makes a similar move … Continue reading Living in God’s Time in a Technological Age →

Reflection on Current Views on Technology

I wrote the following piece for a course I am taking called Ethical Living in a Technological Society. I was asked to reflect on my current views on technology and tried to do so with as much clarity and self criticism as I could. I thought this piece would be a good edition to the … Continue reading Reflection on Current Views on Technology →

Chapter 20: Conversions

In this chapter Taylor looks at the phenomenon of conversion in a Secular age, those people who “broke out of the immanent frame” into a larger perspective of Transcendence. These are people who come to recognize—perhaps through a conversion experience or via some other path—that there is more, that the immanent frame is insufficient. Taylor … Continue reading Chapter 20: Conversions →

Chapter 19: Unquiet Frontiers of Modernity

In this chapter, Taylor explores some of the points of cross pressure, tension, unease for modern unbelief. The places where the buffered identity and immanent frame have a hard time remaining “closed,” and an “open” take suggests itself. Taylor's exploration in this chapter can't “decide the issue between belief and unbelief” but it can “bring … Continue reading Chapter 19: Unquiet Frontiers of Modernity →

Chapter 18: Dilemmas 2

In this chapter, Taylor continues to explore the tensions between belief and unbelief, now turning to look at issues surrounding the meaning of life. He zooms in on the question of evil and suffering. The question that evil and suffering raises is not one of theodicy (this is only a problem for belief) but rather, … Continue reading Chapter 18: Dilemmas 2 →

Chapter 17: Dilemmas 1

In this chapter, Taylor looks at some of the tensions and dilemmas that play out between aspirations to transcendence and ordinary human flourishing. Some of the cross pressures between "open" and "closed" spins. He begins by describing the “triumph of the therapeutic” over the older moral/spiritual perspective: “One of the most striking fruits... has been … Continue reading Chapter 17: Dilemmas 1 →

Chapter 16: Cross Pressures

In this chapter, Taylor describes the cross pressures between unbelieving and believing positions in modernity. Taylor begins by restating his resistance to the standard secularization thesis; that religion cannot but decline in the conditions of modernity. Taylor thinks that this kind of account of the place of religion in modern society presupposes unbelief, and is … Continue reading Chapter 16: Cross Pressures →

Chapter 15: The Immanent Frame

In the previous chapters, Taylor has taken us through a genealogy of the emergence of our Secular Age, now, in the final few chapters, he turns to describe the experience, the “conditions of belief” of our Secular Age. He is now ready to return to the question he first asked in the introduction: “why is … Continue reading Chapter 15: The Immanent Frame →

Chapter 14: Religion Today

In this chapter Taylor explores the place of religion in the age of Authenticity. As we discussed in the previous chapter, the Age of Authenticity disrupted the older forms of religion that saw a close link between civilizational order and religious belief. In the American case, in the period immediately after the second world war, … Continue reading Chapter 14: Religion Today →