JimSpiegel.com : James S. Spiegel

Jim Spiegel holds a PhD from Michigan State and is a professor of philosophy at Taylor University. He is the author of several books, a popular speaker, and a self-produced musician.

On this site, you may read some of his journal articles and learn more about the books he’s authored. Jim is available for public speaking engagements. Use the contact form to submit inquiries. Be sure to click over to his blog on your way out.

Wisdom and Folly is a blog about faith & culture and features the musings of both Jim and Amy Spiegel (and occasional special guests of whom we are fond or at least don’t despise).

Each month we post, in some form or another, on theology, philosophy, current events, books, film, and music.

Read at your own pace and pleasure. Interact with us. Floss daily.

SUBTITLE: How Immorality Leads to Unbelief

The ‘new atheists’ insist that believers in God are delusional. Spiegel turns the tables on the new atheists, proposing that unbelief is a psychological projection, a cognitive disorder arising from willful resistance to the evidence for God. In short, it is atheists who are the delusional ones. Spiegel gives an account as to how the delusion occurs, showing that atheistic rejection of God is precipitated by immoral indulgences.

SUBTITLE: A Christian Introduction to Philsophy
co-authored by James Spiegel & Steven Cowan

Philosophy is defined as the love of wisdom, and college students will certainly admire this Bible-informed introductory level textbook’s fun approach to an often heady subject. The Love of Wisdom is made distinct in its engaging style that includes humor and copious popular culture illustrations to heighten reader interest and clarify important concepts.

SUBTITLE: A Family’s Adventure in Space, Time, and Faith

In a book that is witty, warm, and profound, Spiegel takes on the challenge of explaining complex issues of the Christian faith in terms that his own children can understand and accept. As you read, you’ll step into a new depth of Christian doctrine as you come to know and enjoy the Spiegel family and follow their journey of spiritual growth. Gum, Geckos, and God is a uniquely incisive look into the most complex issues of faith in a way that’s absorbing, engaging, and highly personal.

SUBTITLE: Big Ideas on the Big Screen
co-edited by Doug Geivett & James Spiegel

Faith, Film, and Philosophy: Big Ideas on the Big Screen applies Christian philosophical analysis to cinema. Featuring over a dozen essays treating diverse issues in recent and classic films, the content is philosophically rich but non-technical and will appeal to a broad audience of readers. Chapter themes vary widely but are all directly relevant to Christian philosophy. Likewise, the book represents a broad range of film genres.

SUBTITLE: A New Look at Divine Sovereignty

In this book Spiegel applies the high view of providence to theological matters such as divine conservation of the world, miracles, and divine emotion. He discusses implications of the high view pertaining to the practice of science, the problem of evil, and moral formation. The guiding theme of the book is the concept of God as a divine artist and the world as his art work.

SUBTITLE: Living a Life of Christian Virtue

An engaging, down-to-earth manual that helps Christians figure out how to really live a “good” life. Organized around twenty-two virtuous character traits-including humility, discretion, diligence, generosity, creativity, wit, justice, patience, peace, gratitude, faith, and love – this is more than a book of suggestions. This is a manual for how to be “blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation . . .” (Phil.. 2:14)

SUBTITLE: Moral Fraud and Other Vices

Spiegel deftly analyzes the concept and content of hypocrisy, then moves to a discussion of its morality and its relation to moral weakness and sanctification. In his closing chapter he takes up the charge of the church’s hypocrisy and whether it poses a sufficient reason for rejection of Christian truth, as critics maintain. Highly accessible yet philosophically sophisticated, Hypocrisy will sharpen the wits of serious readers and students of philosophy alike.

Chapter: “Getting Better: The Beatles and Virtue Ethics”

The most popular musical group of all time, the Beatles also brought serious thought to the bubble gum-scented world of pop and rock music, with adventurous, profound, and sometimes mysterious lyrics. In this book, 20 Beatles-loving philosophers offer fresh insight into the lives and words of the Fab Four.

Chapter: “With God (and Augustine and Socrates) on Our Side”

The legions of Bob Dylan fans know that Dylan is not just a great composer, writer, and performer, but a great thinker as well. In Bob Dylan and Philosophy, eighteen philosophers analyze Dylan’s ethical positions, political commitments, views on gender and sexuality, and his complicated and controversial attitudes toward religion.

Chapter: “Does God Take Risks?”

God Never Changes. Or does he? God has been getting a makeover of late, a “reinvention” that has incited debate and troubled scholars and laypeople alike. Modern theological sectors as diverse as radical feminism and the new “open theism” movement are attacking the classical Christian view of God and vigorously promoting their own images of Divinity. God Under Fire refutes the claim that major attributes of the God of historic Christianity are false and outdated.

Jim regularly writes articles on topics related to theology and philosophy. Over time, Jim plans to expand the archive of articles available for online reading and/or download.