Life at the end of Us vs Them

This is a book of essays but they share a family theme, so to say. The writer is a good communicator in prose. There is an amiable tone with a nice balance between well-chosen anecdotes and helpful and insightful comment and reflection drawn from the stories. These stories and the reflection on contemporary events through them would serve preachers and teachers well.

What I've enjoyed about reading this is the depth of analysis and the range of thinking-resources drawn upon. Sometimes that can leave a sense of 'where's this going?" but usually just after that, it gets resolved.

I've also enjoyed the masterclass it offers in how to think Girardianly and this has helped me to see more fully the power of Girardian analysis. I still remain a bit skeptical of the sacrificial thesis as '(pre-)history' but seeing the insights worked through the examples given has been really helpful.

Another thing that I've enjoyed has been to become re-acquainted with Ivan Illich's writing. And it's interesting to see how contemporary Illich still feels -even some 15 years after his death and considerably longer since some of his better known work. The thing that comes over as having been learnt from Illich is the humane-ness that we need to cultivate and the alertness to the way that human systems of care can be corrupted by, in effect, their dehumanisation, that is to say the loss of I-Thou from their heart.

I enjoyed in this book, also, the insight into the hinterland of Canadian issues related to their first nations and the genius of this book is how these become windows into how modern society often works -or rather doesn't work. Girard and Illich's insights are used to help us to see and begin to understand the gaps and contradictions and to gently consider how we might live otherwise.

I most value the thoughtfulness and the thought-provokingness of this collection of essays. I have valued too the unfolding example as I have read of taking seriously viewpoints with which we disagree; taking time to understand them argumentatively but most of all humanly. This is worth much in today's world.

And in the interests of full disclosure, I should point out that though I received a copy of the e-book, it was for review purposes. The opinions about it are mine and not produced to order or under any sense of obligation for them to be good or bad.

Link-Love 

Life at the End of Us Versus Them on Amazon
Life at the End of Us Versus Them Website
The Ferment Podcast - "a farmer philosopher and a mystic folkie set out after the yeast of the kingdom."
Marcus Peter Rempel on Facebook
Church Matters Podcast Interview
Englewood Review of Books Interview
Common Word Author Reading

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