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A review by studeronomy
Modern Orthodox Thinkers: From the Philokalia to the Present by Andrew Louth
2.0
I really wanted to like this book, and it certainly introduced me to some new names in modern Orthodoxy. It provides a lot of good literary and historical context for modern currents in Orthodox thought. But Louth spends too much time on biographical details, not enough time on ideas. Nearly half of each chapter is dedicated to the biographies of his subjects, which leaves little time for in-depth exploration of their thoughts and contributions to Christian theology.
I also feel like the book contains too much padding. There's a lot of repetition from chapter to chapter. Louth's account of the ideas feels underdeveloped, but the ideas that *do* get developed are overexplained.
Finally, I was a little irritated by how much of the book amounts to "insider baseball": I feel like you had to know a lot about Orthodox theology before reading this book. It's clear Louth has spent a lot of time in intellectual Orthodox circles, but his engagement with contemporary Orthodox thought sometimes feels a little like...name-dropping. He seems overimpressed by many of these thinkers and their influence, and not sufficiently critical of their thought (I don't mean "skeptical," just critical).
Don't get me wrong: I'm 100% okay doing a bit of homework before reading a book like this. I am happy to fill the gaps in a difficult, scholarly book with just a little Googling. But, given that the chapters feel a little lean on ideas, such Googling didn't seem worth the time.
I feel like I need to be a seminarian in order to appreciate this book, but I also feel like, if I *was* a seminarian, I'd be a little bored by its lack of depth.
I suppose you could argue that Orthodoxy isn't really about "big ideas," that "Orthodox thought" has *always* been more about life than the intellect, and that the amazing lives these people led *are* essential to their status as champions of modern Orthodoxy. Fair enough. But for a book entitled "Modern Orthodox Thinkers," I would have liked more intellectual rigor.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the names and basic ideas behind modern Orthodoxy. But be prepared to feed both a little lost and a little unsatisfied.
I also feel like the book contains too much padding. There's a lot of repetition from chapter to chapter. Louth's account of the ideas feels underdeveloped, but the ideas that *do* get developed are overexplained.
Finally, I was a little irritated by how much of the book amounts to "insider baseball": I feel like you had to know a lot about Orthodox theology before reading this book. It's clear Louth has spent a lot of time in intellectual Orthodox circles, but his engagement with contemporary Orthodox thought sometimes feels a little like...name-dropping. He seems overimpressed by many of these thinkers and their influence, and not sufficiently critical of their thought (I don't mean "skeptical," just critical).
Don't get me wrong: I'm 100% okay doing a bit of homework before reading a book like this. I am happy to fill the gaps in a difficult, scholarly book with just a little Googling. But, given that the chapters feel a little lean on ideas, such Googling didn't seem worth the time.
I feel like I need to be a seminarian in order to appreciate this book, but I also feel like, if I *was* a seminarian, I'd be a little bored by its lack of depth.
I suppose you could argue that Orthodoxy isn't really about "big ideas," that "Orthodox thought" has *always* been more about life than the intellect, and that the amazing lives these people led *are* essential to their status as champions of modern Orthodoxy. Fair enough. But for a book entitled "Modern Orthodox Thinkers," I would have liked more intellectual rigor.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the names and basic ideas behind modern Orthodoxy. But be prepared to feed both a little lost and a little unsatisfied.