2022 has whizzed past. I have written less than I wanted to and read far less than I would have like to. Here is my top five books and top five articles.
Reading List:
A Conflict of Visions — Thomas Sowell
In my opinion this book should be regarded as a modern classic! Thomas Sowell explains that the history of Western thought over the past 250 years has been shaped by two distinct and quite different visions. The first vision is the unconstrained vision that describes humanity as fundamentally good but limited by societal structures such as institutions and other systematic processes. The unconstrained vision is best characterised by Rousseau’s dictum, “Man is born free but everywhere in chains”. The second vision is the constrained vision that views humanity as flawed and self-interested. Those who adhere to a constrained vision prefer traditions, structure, and the rule of law in society.Confessions — St. Augustine
Written nearly 1500 years ago, Confessions is a classic in the canon of Western philosophical thinking. Written as a prayer, the book covers biographical details from Augustine’s life and contemplations about various dimensions of human life in general, such as time and memory. Augustine was an intellectual who moved away from the contemporary intellectual doctrines of the day to a life of devotion to Christ. In doing so resolved many of the issues that he battled.Irreversible Damage — Abigail Shrier
If you are a parent in 2022, Abigail Shrier’s work on the transgender craze is an absolute must read. Irreversible Damage explores how the transgender phenomenon is what it is—a social contagion. There are plenty of anecdotes to illustrate her points, particularly from parents who thought they were doing the right thing by letting their child identify as the opposite gender.Enlightenment Now — Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker is a fascinating writer and researcher, who in Enlightenment Now illustrates just how incredible human progress has been since the Enlightenment period of the late 18th Century. He demonstrates particularly well the incredible progress made toward a number of well-being dimensions in the last 50 years. Showing that despite the constant doom and gloom, there has never been a better time to live.Fools, Frauds, and Firebrands — Roger Scuton
If you have wondered how the world has reached the level of woke nonsense we currently all ust endure, then read Fools, Frauds, and Firebrands: Thinkers of the New Left. The late Roger Scruton traces the foundations of modern leftist thinking that has infiltrated the modern world. Many of the crazy ideas we see today around group identity have their roots in mid to late 20th Century intellectual life.Notable Mention:
Master the Big 5 Personality Traits — Oliver Beuthin and Sadiya Shahid
Of all the temperament and personality models The Big Five Personality Traits are the most well established by empirical research. Master the Big Five Personality Traits is a short but very helpful book that explains said model. I plan to use my learnings to help support my staff in 2023, as the insights seem to help both personal development and support with understanding of others within team situations.
My Article List:
Although I have a reasonably small readership I continue to enjoy writing for those who tune in. My main beat is to link the issues of life to our spiritual purpose of living lives to the glory of God. I do however branch out into other areas of social interest. The following are the most popular articles from the last year:
In Defense of Big Church
This article was written in response to David Farrier’s coverage of the Arise Church fiasco (also picked up by the mainstream media). Throughout the characterisation of megachurches was very negative. I take a look at the good work being done to support local communities by some of New Zealand’s megachurches. This article was easily my most read article of the year, thanks to the social media drive of New Zealand’s megachurches, who clearly saw the article as good PR. In fact, I had 10 times the readers (around 1900) than I did for the second part in the two part series (number five on this list), where I looked at which of Farrier’s points were valid—and there were a few! Naturally there was less promotional effort from the megachurches on that one. I had quite a bit of feedback around the first article, including emails from people with a variety of experiences.The Pedagogy War
Formal education is dogged by a tension that occupies a phenomenal level of time, effort and resourcing. That tension is between student-centred learning and teacher-directed learning. In this article I outline why this tension exists and how it might be resolved using a basic tenant of economic theory—The Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility.A Marriage of Misery
Fifty years of social scientific research points toward one factor that has contributed, more than any other, to anti-social behaviour in society—the decline of marriage. Marriage is important to society and of course for those who have made the decision to enter into such a relationship. In this article I explore why marriage makes some so miserable and what the antidote to this might be.Brian Houston and Humpty Dumpty
Brian Houston was the head of the global megachurch Hillsong. His life was turned upside down when it was discovered that he had engaged in some questionable interaction with a woman. I explore what living on a pedestalmeant for him when making a mistake that for many people would have been a very personal matter with little social cost. I use the example of a person living a very ordinary life—me—to contrast with Houston’s position as a celebrity pastor.From the Divine to the Ridiculous
The second part on New Zealand megachurches that explores some of the critiques made by David Farrier of Arise and other big churches.Image: Shutterstock
I just ordered those books!