In the course of writing a searching new book entitled The Road to Character, New York Times columnist David Brooks decided that you can’t really think about moral ideas very well without the vocabulary that religions bring, even if you don’t believe them. So he read all kinds of books, including Christian theology, including the works of St. Augustine. Brooks is Jewish, but he sounds like he is getting close to Christianity. Samples from an interview with Brooks after the jump.
From Sarah Pulliam Bailey, Interview: David Brooks on sin, Augustine and the state of his soul – The Washington Post:
David Brooks wants you to be in a Bible study. You’ll get more out of it than you would at a dinner party, he says, if you find places where you can talk about pain and suffering. In preparation for his new book, “The Road to Character,” the New York Times columnist read many religious authors, including early Christian theologian Augustine of Hippo. “I now consider Augustine the smartest human being I’ve ever encountered in any form,” he says. Brooks, who is Jewish, has admiration for many Christian authors, but he also explains how he struggles with theological tensions with Christianity. . . .
You articulate central themes in Christianity — you mention sin 70 times in the book, humility, a need for something bigger than ourselves (maybe a savior). In some ways, your book feels more Christian than many Christian books I come across. Your book isn’t in the religion category, but how is faith incorporated in the larger theme of character?
There’s a moral wisdom in the Bible that stands in contrast to the conventional culture of today. I wouldn’t say it’s only Christian. I do think it’s Judaism, too, with Moses. In classical culture, there’s a certain model of a hero who’s this big, brass, courageous, boasting person who is interested in glory and honor. Along comes Moses, who is said to be the meekest man on earth, who doesn’t want to be the leader, who argues with God. That’s a radically different version of heroism. What I call the biblical metaphysic, what the Bible gives us of images of virtue that relies on meekness that is based on love rather than courage. It’s based on not doing good, heroic deeds, which was the classical value system, but the state internally of your soul. The book is a secular attempt to reintroduce this basic approach to life, which is based on humility.
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