Books that Made History

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Books that Made History

• Lecturer Wu Shiyu

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Outline

• I. The subject of this course is great books.
  These are books that over the course of time have
  proven their ability to speak to us and have
  given us lessons for living our lives.

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• III. In hopes that we can gain some wisdom, this
  course, Books That Have Made History Books That
  Can Change Your Life, explores the ideas that
  have made history and shaped lives by discussing
  some of the most influential writings in history.
  These books range in time from the 3rd millennium
  B.C. to the 20th century and range from the
  classical civilizations of China, India, Greece,
  and Rome to the Europe of the Renaissance to
  contemporary Europe. The books were chosen
  because of their intrinsic greatness and because
  they still speak to us today.

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• IV. The course is organized thematically around
  the eternal questions that endure through history
  and that every thoughtful person must consider.

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• A. The first theme is God, and the question is
  Does God exist? This theme includes books of
  polytheism, such as the Iliad, and books of
  monotheism, including the biblical book of
  Exodus, the Gospel of Mark, and the Koran.

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• B. The second theme is fate, and the question is
  Do things happen by chance, or is there a plan?
  Marcus Aurelius explores this theme.

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• C. The third theme is good and evil, which
  explores several questions.
• 1. Are good and evil absolutes that are
  true in all times and all places and for all
  people? Although Bonhoeffer believed in absolute
  good, he also believed that telling lies was
  necessary at times.
• 2. Is it always right to tell a lieor
  always wrong? Homer, for example, praises
  Odysseus as a man who knew how to tell many lies
  and tell them well.

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• D. The fourth theme explores how we should live.
  Do these great books give us a way to learn the
  meaning of our lives?

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• V. This course seeks answers to these questions
  under eternal conditions, emotions, and
  challenges that are interconnected.

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• A. The meaning of life Do we ask the question of
  whether life has meaning, or do we just go
  through life without asking?
• B. Truth Do we live our lives with questions of
  good or build our lives on a fabric of lies?

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• C. Duty and responsibility What is our duty?
  Here we explore different conclusions of duty. Do
  we believe in Bonhoeffers conception of his
  responsibility to follow the higher calling of
  good or Judge Thorbecks adherence to the
  importance of duty?
• D. Justice, government, and society What types
  of justice, government, and society are desired?

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• E. Love, jealousy, and hate Romantic love is
  extremely important in our lives.
• F. Courage, honor, and ambition These emotions
  run through such works as the Iliad, the Gospel
  of Mark, and the story of Faust.

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• G. Beauty and nature These concepts speak to
  what is inside of us. Henry David Thoreau, for
  example, writes that our souls must commune with
  the beauty of nature.
• H. History and the past Books are our link to
  the great ideas of the past. This course is built
  on the belief that great books, great ideas, and
  great individuals make history. This concept runs
  counter to the Marxist idea that social and
  economic forces make great ideas. Such great men
  as Socrates, Napoleon, and Lincoln all built on
  ideas of the past. In truth, great ideas propel
  people to become great in themselves.

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• I. Education The lessons of the past come
  together to educate us. Wisdom is the ultimate
  goal of any great books course. We must take the
  information and knowledge from this course and
  transform it into wisdom, applying what we have
  learned from these great books to our lives.

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• VI. How do we define a great book?
• A. A great book has a great theme. It discusses
  ideas of enduring importance.
• B. A great book is written in language that
  elevates the soul and ennobles the mind.
• C. A great book must speak across the ages,
  reaching the hearts and minds of people far
  removed in time and space from the era and
  circumstances in which it was composed. Thus, a
  great book summarizes the enduring values and
  ideas of a great age and gives them as a legacy
  to future generations.
• D. Great books are an education for freedom.

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Lecture One Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers From
Prison

• Lecturer Wu Shiyu

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• II. On April 9, 1945, when Germanys defeat in
  World War II was imminent, the German Gestapo
  hanged the Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer as
  a traitor to his nation and its leader.
  Bonhoeffer, who lived from 1906 to 1945, was
  shaped by his knowledge of great books.

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• A. Bonhoeffer was born into a comfortably
  well-off family in Berlin. He received a German
  classical education.
• B. He chose theology as a career and became a
  pastor.

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• C. He became interested in the ecumenical church
  movement and went to New York in 1939. Although
  his friends urged him to remain in the United
  States, he decided to return to Germany. He later
  stated that as soon as he boarded the boat, his
  spirit became quiet, because he knew that he was
  doing what he was destined to do.

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• D. By 1942, Bonhoeffer was involved in the
  resistance movement. He joined those who had
  realized that Hitler represented evil and must be
  destroyed he understood that the only way to
  stop this evil was for individuals to take
  actions that others might consider treason and
  place a belief in good above what others would
  consider to be their duty to the country.

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• E. Bonhoeffer was arrested on April 5, 1943.
• 1. He wrote while he was prison. His
  friends who had also been arrested brought these
  writings out of prison, and they were
  posthumously published as Letters and Papers From
  Prison. This work joined the Apology of Socrates
  and the Crito of Plato as powerful statements of
  the soul in prison and how the soul could
  continue to speak despite cruel punishments.

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• 2. In prison, Bonhoeffer read Plutarch, the
  Bible, and the Prison Dialogues of Plato. He
  realized that such works could speak in a
  different voice at different times of life, in
  times of triumph or times of trial.

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• 3. While in prison, Bonhoeffer also evaluated his
  concept of God. He developed the theology of the
  cross, the theology of a world without God. He
  believed that God had been driven from the world
  and had abandoned it. This belief allowed him to
  come to grips with the concept of evil. He
  explored the question of why evil flourishes and
  whether evil exists. He believed that the
  individual must take action and in that action
  find his own God. His Christianity, therefore,
  became a Christianity without formulas of
  religion.

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• 4. Bonhoeffers Christian faith, his use of great
  books, and his thought and contemplation enabled
  him to deal with this crisis in his own life.

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• 5. Bonhoeffer had read the same books as those
  who tormented him. His judge, Otto Thorbeck, had
  received the same type of classical education as
  Bonhoeffer. Judge Thorbeck believed that his duty
  was to carry out trials that he knew were wrong.
  Bonhoeffer, however, read books with the moral
  compass of absolute right and wrong. Great books
  themselves are no cure. They offer a means to
  live life in a way that can do either good or
  harm.

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