Up with Authority: Why We Need Authority to Flourish as Human Beings - Tapa dura

Interview with the author in the Mars Hill Audio Journal, Vol. 107 Our postmodern era views authority as something to be grimly endured or simply overthrown. Victor Austin writes against this antinomian sensibility. His clear, accessible and convincing analysis shows how moral, political, and religious authority brings order to society and beauty to the soul.--R. R. Reno, Department of Theology, Creighton University Normal0falsefalsefalseMicrosoftInternetExplorer4st1\: *{behavior: url(#ieooui) }/* Style Definitions */table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name: "Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow: yes;mso-style-parent: "";mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;mso-para-margin:0cm;mso-para-margin-bottom: .0001pt;mso-pagination: widow-orphan;font-size:10.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language: #0400;mso-fareast-language: #0400;mso-bidi-language: #0400;}'Father Austin's style is energetic and engaging, histhought enriched by decades as priest, teacher, and theologian, and his thesiscompels attention: social beings require authority to flourish, and we aresocial beings from the beginning of this life to beyond its end. We neednot accept all of his premises to benefit from this wide-ranging essay, fortunately so, since the author at times plays the smiling contrarian whoinvites us all to revisit our assumptions. For readers who have takensocial order a Father Austin's style is energetic and engaging, his thought enriched by decades as priest, teacher, and theologian, and his thesis compels attention: social beings require authority to flourish, and we are social beings from the beginning of this life to beyond its end. We need not accept all of his premises to benefit from this wide-ranging essay, fortunately so, since the author at times plays the smiling contrarian who invites us all to revisit our assumptions. For readers who have taken social order as rooted in either persuasion or compulsion, and so assumed that authority is derivative, transient, postlapsarian, the dead hand of the past, or the polite mask of force, this book offers a clear-headed alternative. Austin explores the ineliminable centrality of fallible authority in our social, epistemic, political, and ecclesial communal lives, and discerns structures of authority in the Trinity and the paradisal life of friends living together. In part Christian theology, in part humane anthropology, in part philosophical reflection, this is altogether a galvanizing book.--Ronald Mawby, Whitney Young School of Honors and Liberal Studies, Kentucky State University "His account is in no way naive. Indeed, his reflections on how "we live with fallible authority" which would always be in season, are particularly timely just now." - National Review "Our postmodern era views authority as something to be grimly endured -- or simply overthrown. Victor Austin writes against this antinomian sensibility. His clear, accessible and convincing analysis shows how moral, political, and religious authority brings order to society and beauty to the soul." - R. R. Reno, Department of Theology, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA "Father Austin's style is energetic and engaging, his thought enriched by decades as priest, teacher, and theologian, and his thesis compels attention: social beings require authority to flourish, and we are social beings from the beginning of this life to beyond its end. We need not accept all of his premises to benefit from this wide-ranging essay, fortunately so, since the author at times plays the smiling contrarian who invites us all to revisit our assumptions. For readers who have taken social order as rooted in either persuasion or compulsion, and so assumed that authority is derivative, transient, postlapsarian, the dead hand of the past, or the polite mask of force, this book offers a clear-headed alternative. Austin explores the ineliminable centrality of fallible authority in our social, epistemic, political, and ecclesial communal lives, and discerns structures of authority in the Trinity and the paradisal life of friends living together. In part Christian theology, in part humane anthropology, in part philosophical reflection, this is altogether a galvanizing book." - Ronald Mawby, Whitney Young School of Honors and Liberal Studies, Kentucky State University, USA "Up with Authority is a profound and profoundly important book." - Touchstone "In his wonderful recent book, Up With Authority (T&T Clark, 2010), Victor Lee Austin uses the analogy of an orchestra to explain why authority is necessary for human life to flourish." - First Things "A subtle and elegantly argued book. . . . At a time when university education in this country looks set to move in a more utilitarian direction, it is encouraging to see that the author of this book holds the post of theologian-in-residence at a church." - Church Times 'Our postmodern era views authority as something to be grimly endured or simply overthrown. Victor Austin writes against this antinomian sensibility. His clear, accessible and convincing analysis shows how moral, political, and religious authority brings order to society and beauty to the soul.' - R. R. Reno, Department of Theology, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA.--Sanford Lakoff Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\: *{behavior: url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name: "Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow: yes; mso-style-parent: ""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom: .0001pt; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: #0400; mso-fareast-language: #0400; mso-bidi-language: #0400;} 'Father Austin's style is energetic and engaging, his thought enriched by decades as priest, teacher, and theologian, and his thesis compels attention: social beings require authority to flourish, and we are social beings from the beginning of this life to beyond its end. We need not accept all of his premises to benefit from this wide-ranging essay, fortunately so, since the author at times plays the smiling contrarian who invites us all to revisit our assumptions. For readers who have taken social order as rooted in either persuasion or compulsion, and so assumed that authority is derivative, transient, postlapsarian, the dead hand of the past, or the polite mask of force, this book offers a clear-headed alternative. Austin explores the ineliminable centrality of fallible authority in our social, epistemic, political, and ecclesial communal lives, and discerns structures of authority in the Trinity and the paradisal life of friends living together. In part Christian theology, in part humane anthropology, in part philosophical reflection, this is altogether a galvanizing book.' - Ronald Mawby, Whitney Young School of Honors and Liberal Studies, Kentucky State University, USA --Sanford Lakoff 'His account is in no way naive. Indeed, his reflections on how "we live with fallible authority" which would always be in season, are particularly timely just now.'--Sanford Lakoff

A very topical contribution to the question of whether authority is needed and what it is good for. Authority is something we experience every day, but is it necessary? Most people think it is not, that we have authority only when there is some defect in us that authority is needed to fill in. While it is true that authority can be used to remedy human inadequacies, it has a higher and nobler function: to enable us to do more complex activities, to understand more of the world we live in and to transmit that understanding, to flourish in political communities, and ultimately to enjoy God. This book shows the human importance of authority.