Comments on: Always New

By: Alexander McKelway

Alexander McKelway — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 15:02:56 +0000

If a reader cannot recognize satire (even if announced) or requires credentials to recognize talent, there is not much to say. For my part, Dr. Lee’s commentary on Robinson’s book has caused me to read it with similar appreciation. Her essay on Darwinism is eye-opening, and ought to be required reading in our churches and seminaries.

By: Philip Lee

Philip Lee — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:16:19 +0000

Andrew Faiz review of the review is much appreciated. Yes, Marilynne Robinson has a dry sense of humour. In this case she employs it to defend her hero, John Calvin.

In addition to winning the Pulitzer Prize for her novel, Gilead, Marilynne Robinson is famous in US circles as an accomplished teacher of writing. She is a Professor of Writing at the University of Iowa, one of the foremost centres of creative writing in North America. Because of her interest in theology, she has recently been appointed to the Board of Directors of the Center for Theological Enquiry at Princeton. She is certainly qualified to be called a “public intellectual.” At the same time, she is a faithful member of her local congregation. In our present cultural climate, I think that makes her an unusual person.

By: Andrew Faiz

Andrew Faiz — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:03:58 +0000

Its a very very funny line and the review author Rev. Lee very clearly states, “[Robinson] acknowledges satirically where Calvin stands in popular opinion…” And Robinson, the book’s author, exposes truths in her tongue-in-cheek description of Calvin: the popular culture has turned him topsy-turvey, into a dour, humourless capitalist.
And, in the rest of review, Rev. Lee follows as Marilynne Robinson scrapes the barnacles off Calvin, considering him anew. I believe that gives Robinson her bona fides.
However, I’ll take the weight for not providing a succinct bio of Robinson in the review, though her accomplishments are noted throughout the review. Marilynne Robinson is a novelist and essayist and quite famous for both in American letters; along with being a public intellectual often seen in popular publications like Harper’s. Her novel Gilead, as Rev. Lee mentions, was a huge critical and popular success.
Lastly, in bringing Robinson to the Record, Rev. Lee has provided, to my mind, a great service by bringing an intelligent and considerate non-church perspective to a church issue. I see it as one of those through the glass clearly moment.
Andrew Faiz, Managing Editor, The Presbyterian Record

By: Ron Nichol

Ron Nichol — Thu, 14 May 2009 20:05:10 +0000

Where did you get you biography of Calvin from? Or am I misreading your intent? We certainly know he was not a Scotsman, nor a man of the 18th century. Very misleading.

Ron Nichol

By: Rev. Edward Smith

Rev. Edward Smith — Mon, 11 May 2009 14:55:34 +0000

Whenever I decide to purchase a book, one of the first questions I seek to have answered is: “What are the credentials of the author?” In regard to the the review of “The Death of Adam”, I found no mention of the identity of Marilynne Robinson. I then went to the web-site hoping to find this information, but again found no information. Please solve the mystary: Who is she, and what are her qualifications to write on this subject?

By: Janet Dalgleish

Janet Dalgleish — Sat, 09 May 2009 17:44:24 +0000

It is hard to atribute any authority to either author Marilynne Robinson, reviewer Philip Lee or to The Record editorial when the following statement is highlighted in May’s PR issue (p.25) “all we know about John Calvin was that he was an eighteenth century Scotsman, a prude and obscurantist with a buckle on his hat, possibly a burner of witches, certainly the very spirit of capitalism. (p. 206)”
Such a statement is particularly regrettable as we celebrate the 400th anniversary of Calvin’s birth in Northern France!
Calvin lived between 1509 and 1564 (16th century).
He was a Frenchman, not a Scot (confusion with John Knox (1505-1572)?).
He was not a 17th century Puritan (buckle in hat/witch burner)
It may be that Marilynne Robinson was attempting to correct a distorted stereotype, but that was not the impression given on first reading of the Book Review. Check facts first please!