Alfred Delp - Böcker

This issue of Plough Quarterly explores the effects of technology on human flourishing.Whether its artificial intelligence, genome editing, Big Tech monopolies, or social media–induced depression, we live in a world that is being reshaped by technology from the ground up. How do we stay human?This issue of Plough Quarterly addresses challenges ranging from the lure of transhumanism to the erosion of silence by the smartphone. Technophobia is no answer, our contributors agree, but neither is a refusal to tackle real dangers. They ask: Why not try living without a computer or a television? Why give tablets to children when Steve Jobs refused to give them to his kids? Why write using a keyboard when you could wield a fountain pen?Technological asceticism of this kind won’t solve society-wide dilemmas. But it can help us maintain the spiritual independence needed to respond to them rightly.Also in this issue: original poetry by Jacob Stratman; reviews of new books by Ian Johnson, Steve Roud, and Markus Rathey; insights from Wendell Berry, Viktor Frankl, Ivan Illich, Carl Sandburg, C. S. Lewis, Alfred Delp, and Christoph Blumhardt; and art by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Jack Baumgartner, Nicholas Roerich, Rachel Newling, Kay Polk, Suellen McCrary, Stephen Scott Young, Jie Wei Zhou, Kiéra Malone, Torkel Pettersson, Mari Rast, Albrecht Dürer, René Magritte, and Kyle T. Webster.Plough Quarterly features stories, ideas, and culture for people eager to put their faith into action. Each issue brings you in-depth articles, interviews, poetry, book reviews, and art to help you put Jesus’ message into practice and find common cause with others.

What we want for schools reveals what we value as a society.“What’s the point of school?” Parents have a stock set of responses, but the question remains unsettled, even two centuries after the Prussians invented compulsory education. The Prussian idea of what a school is for – to mold the populace to serve the state – seems unacceptable today. In vogue, instead, are slogans like “acquiring marketable skills” and “realizing your full potential.” These ideas powerfully shape our culture. Ultimately, they boil down to pursuing one supreme value: individual success in a competitive world.Schools are a mirror of our society as a whole; what we want for schools makes plain what and whom we value in our common life. In the Christian tradition, the life of discipleship is also a school. In this educational community, under the instruction of our one Teacher, we learn not to seek empowerment, but to find strength in weakness; not to out-achieve others, but to serve them; not to pursue our passion, but to obey a call.Also in this issue: poetry by Christian Wiman; reviews of new books by Robert Macfarlane, Jackie Morris, Francisco Cantú, Leif Enger, Carol Anderson, Stephanie Land, and Susan Wise Bauer; and art by Margaret McWethy, Albrecht Dürer, Raphael, Gérard David, Jackie Morris, Gustaf Tenggren, Sergey Dushkin, Anja Percival, Dmitry Samofalov, Christoph Wetzel, Sherrie York, Cathleen Rehfield, Paweł Kuczyński, and Jason Landsel.Plough Quarterly features stories, ideas, and culture for people eager to put their faith into action. Each issue brings you in-depth articles, interviews, poetry, book reviews, and art to help you put Jesus’ message into practice and find common cause with others.

The 40 short, pithy meditations in this collection witness to the fact that the birth of Jesus is more than history for those who feel their need of him.Christmas is the season of joy for good reason: it is the news of a savior being born, of light breaking into darkness, of God’s peace and goodwill to all. But joy is more than merriment. For those who only want to have a good time or a feeling of togetherness, Christmas brings a temporary feeling of cheer. But for those who feel bankrupt, without real meaning or hope – either for themselves or for the world – Christmas can be genuinely life-changing.