©2004 by John R. Erickson. Used by permission.
I was surprised the first time an elementary school librarian invited me to read my Hank the Cowdog stories to her children.
I knew nothing about children's literature and never dreamed that children could understand the subtle humor in a story whose main character might be summed up in a paraphrase of St. Paul: "That which I do, I should not, and that which I should not, I do--all the time." Hank, who narrates the stories, exaggerates, often tells little lies to cover his mistakes, has no self-knowledge, and ... well, isn't very smart. That's pretty subtle, and I wrote the first Hank book for adults, not children.
Six million books later--most of them purchased by or for children--it is clear that I was not a marketing genius.
by Frederick Buechner. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2006. ISBN: 0-06-084248-2. Hb., 320 pp., $24.95.
Here is a noteworthy collection of sermons by one of our most celebrated Christian apologists, Frederick Buechner. Ranging from sermons delivered in the 1950s to the late 1990s, this anthology lives up to its subtitle, presenting a half-century's worth of thinking aloud about the Christian way. Buechner, who has described himself as a part-time Christian and a part-time novelist, offers the reader many windows into the oftentimes hidden world of Christian truth.
The collection begins with a sermon called "The Magnificent Defeat," concentrating upon the all-night wrestling match between Jacob and God at the ford of the Jabbok. The encounter leaves Jacob crippled and helpless but, as Buechner describes it, in the end Jacob sees "something more terrible than the face of death--the face of love." (p. 7). Thanks to Buechner's vantage point, one can share a sense of authentic surprise the original Phillips Exeter Academy student-congregation must have felt at hearing the news that out of defeat can come blessing.
by Randall Balmer. New York: Basic Books, 2006. ISBN 0465005195. Hb., 242 pp., $24.95.
This book will anger, frighten and give hope.
Balmer is professor of American Religion at Barnard College, Columbia University, and visiting professor at Yale Divinity School. He is also a Baptist whose evangelical credentials are impeccable. He calls his book "An Evangelical's Lament," lament because the religious right has hijacked traditional evangelicalism, and, in its lust for political clout and legitimacy, has sold its soul to the ultraconservative wing of the Republican Party. To be perfectly fair, religious liberals in the sixties and seventies did likewise, often identifying Democratic Party platforms with the promise of the kingdom of God. But that was then; this is now. Have we learned nothing?
by Jacqueline Lapsley. Louisville: WJKP, 2005. ISBN 0-664-22435-0. Pb., 154 pp. $19.95.
This exploration of four Old Testament narratives about women begins by recounting two different experiences that reflect well the difficult relationship between feminist scholarship and the church.
The first story is of Lapsley's conversation with a clergyperson who bemoans yet another book on women in the Bible! This experience speaks of a certain tiredness with respect to the topic, its redundancy given the many treatments that already exist. But it also might hint at impatience with the task of feminist scholarship and its hermeneutics of suspicion, an interpretive position that often denies the Bible's ability to speak a word of God for women's lives.
The second experience is a story about a student who admitted to throwing her Bible across the room in disgust and outrage over the sexist worldview that inhabits the Scriptures. This story reveals the importance of the feminist task but asks how God's word can be heard when the dominant voices in Scripture undermine and often harm the well being of women
What Christian books are believers reading and discussing? Publishers list their top sellers for fall 2006, both new books and continuing bestsellers.
by William Stacy Johnson. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006. ISBN 0-8028-2966-X. Hb., 320 pp. $25.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. ... William Stacy Johnson believes that it is time: to address the issue of same-gender unions as a society and church and to lend his reasoned voice to the discussion. In A Time to Embrace he offers a well-documented, cogent argument in support of a welcoming and affirming posture toward persons in exclusively committed same-gender relationships. In so doing he traverses the terrain of religion, law, and politics, carefully reviewing where we have been, analyzing where we are, and setting forth a path for where we might go faithfully into the future. He limits his affirmation to those in committed, monogamous, egalitarian, same-gender relationships, for it is in these unions that he finds not only the possibility for compassionate support, but also the responsibility for faithful action.
Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11: A Call to Reflection and Action by David Ray Griffin. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2006. ISBN 0-664-23117-9. Pb., 246 pp. $17.95.
reviewed by Christian T. Iosso
What does a rationalist do when so many irrational things are happening?
As David Ray Griffin summarizes them, we have a global warming crisis, continued nuclear proliferation, massive death by preventable poverty and growing social inequality in the United States, still the world's most militarily powerful nation and hence the most responsible for these trends. But why does the US government focus about 58% of our federal budget--inclusively calculated--on a unilateral militarism that alienates most of the world and blocks social progress? The reason given is the "war on terror," and the defining moment of that continues to be 9/11.
by Fred Lehr. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2006. ISBN 0-8006-3763-1. Pb., 147 pp. $18.
On a recent day, three committees of the presbytery I serve met at the same time. As meetings broke up, the young woman on the Committee on Representation and I headed down to my office to get information about college scholarships for her. On the way we were stopped at least five times by people who just wanted to say a word to the presbytery executive. Finally, when we were alone, as I apologized for the delay, she, a preacher's daughter like me, said, "Oh, Paige, it's fine, really. It was just like being with my dad after church. I know how it is. We have learned to wait 'til we get home if we need his attention for something."
It was an instant bond between us, two women forty years apart in age who realized instantly that we had grown up to love the Presbyterian Church and our fathers, patiently waiting our turn while they served the flock.
by Charles R. Lane, Augsburg Fortress, 2006 ISBN 0-8066-5263-2 Pb. 128 pp. $11.99
It has long been my contention that, with very few exceptions, stewardship is the aspect of church life most neglected. Ask, Thank, Tell is one more welcomed book on the subject.
Charles Lane, Director for Stewardship Key Leaders in the Lutheran Church of America, brings to the table pastoral experience and a fervent desire to teach stewardship through faith commitment. The author clearly believes and states that stewardship begins with one's relationship with Jesus Christ, but then proceeds to present an open, honest conversation about money.
by Charles Denison. Atlanta: Chalice Press, 2005. ISBN 0827223293. Pb., 114 pp., $15.99.
Have you taken time lately to browse through the magazine section of your local Barnes & Noble or Borders bookstores? Gone are the days when a few magazines -- Time, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated -- dominated the racks.
Now you find literally hundreds of titles, each appealing to a narrow segment of the magazine reading audience, e.g. Cigar Aficionado, American Ceramics, Ad Busters.
Through his book Mainline Manifesto: The Inevitable New Church, Charles Denison wants us to understand that the American cultural landscape is similarly fractured and that our evangelism (and especially our new church development) needs to take account of that reality.
This is a tough movie to sit through. "Intense" is an understatement. It brings back all the horror, puzzlement, and shock of 9/11, and then it becomes oh, so personal.
John McLoughlin (Nicolas Cage) begins this day like any other: awake at 3:30 a.m., he stumbles to get dressed in the dark without waking his sleeping wife (Maria Bello). He quietly looks in on his four children, all snug in their beds, before he takes the George Washington Bridge into the City, where he works as a Port Authority policeman. He's a veteran sergeant. He sees himself as a true professional: someone who rarely smiles, who is all business. He thinks that a certain amount of distance from his men is necessary for them to maintain proper respect for his rank."
Three movies, three very different cosmologies. And all the heroes must risk life and limb to even make it to the end of the story.
The "Miami Vice" television show of the 80s featured "cool" actors playing laconic, iconic homicide detectives in a Miami filled with pastel colors, sun-splashed beaches, and upscale private harbors. Sunglasses required, jacket optional, repartee sparse.
edited by Patricia Lloyd-Sidle. Louisville: Geneva Press, 2006. ISBN 0-664-50287-3. Pb., 165 pp. $19.95.
Celebrating Our Call: Ordination Stories of Presbyterian Women should be required reading for all Presbyterians. Fourteen of our denomination's most visible and successful women in ministry share their highly personal and deeply felt experiences of God's call to serve the church. Gifted, passionate, and articulate--these women speak with joy about their various callings to parish ministry, to mission, and to academia. They are the voices of pastors and seminary presidents, denominational leaders and theologians, educators and ecumenists who speak from their perspectives as Caucasian, Korean, African-American, and Hispanic women.
Outlook Book Editor Randy Harris has asked several Presbyterians to select books for challenging and enjoyable reading during summer work and vacation times.
North Como Presbyterian Church, Roseville, Minnesota. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, Inc., 2005. ISBN 0-595-34155-1. Pb., 588 pp., $46.95.
Congratulations to North Como Church for producing the most massive and comprehensive resource to date on the battle over ordination standards in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). It is almost beyond comprehension that a congregational task force put together the massive, Ordination Standards: Biblical, Theological, and Scientific Perspectives. I am sure the process of working systematically through the many complex issues was rewarding for the Task Force and for the entire congregation. That their work is now available to the whole church is a gift, but it is a gift that must be received cautiously.
by Mark Douglas. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2005. ISBN 0-7425-1432-3. Pb., 262 pp., $27.95.
Years from now, people who take their Christian faith seriously will still be reading and reflecting upon this exceptional work. Mark Douglas has written a book that will surely stand the test of time. Confessing Christ in the 21st Century is one of those rare books that will stimulate discussion and challenge thought for generations to come. The larger hope, however, is that it will serve a useful purpose for us even now. Indeed it does.
"An Inconvenient Truth" is an hour and a half of preaching. That is, it is Al Gore preaching to us about the impending crisis of global warming. Mr. Gore has all the current statistics displayed by all the latest technologies, and he's shown speaking before packed-to-overflowing houses of attentive and empathetic listeners, appealingly designed to emphasize youth and include several minorities. (This is the kind of congregation we would all love to have on Sunday mornings.) There's no hymn singing, though, and no praying, just clear-eyed, somber warnings about the impending disasters, complete with dire predictions of floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, drought, and other natural disasters (see Matthew 24:7).
by Douglas F. Ottati. Louisville: Geneva Press, 2006. ISBN 0-664-50289-X. Pb., 116 pp. $17.95.
Some book titles provide no clue to what lies within. Douglas Ottati's latest book is as advertised: theology for liberal Presbyterians (and other endangered species). I take issue with the title only in the sense that I think the book is not just "for" liberal Presbyterians. What Ottati has to offer can enrich the quality of theological reflection and discourse regardless of one's perceived and preferred label.
edited by Robert H. Bullock Jr. Louisville: Geneva Press, 2006. ISBN 0664502792. Pb., 133 pp., $17.95.
While I understand the logic of doing so, I rarely seek a second opinion on a medical matter. When I find a doctor whose insights I trust, I typically embrace his or her observations and insights.
Truth be told, I often do the same in other areas of my life. When drawing conclusions about issues before the church, I tend to listen to persons whose opinions I trust (since they generally mirror my own), and having had my own point of view affirmed, I enjoy the sweet satisfaction reserved for those who are confident of being right.
by Richard Robert Osmer. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2005. ISBN 0-664-22547-0. Pb., 347 pp. $29.95
Last fall my daughter entered her senior year of high school and with that came the extracurricular activity of filling out college applications and writing application essays. Though each school has had its own list of suggested topics, most of them have included an option that goes something like this, "If you could invite any three guests, from any time in history, to a dinner party, whom would you invite and what would you want to discuss with them?"
by Jack Rogers. Louisville: WJKP, 2006. ISBN 0-664-22939-5. Pb., 176 pp. $17.95
You are invited to travel with Jack Rogers on a life-changing, personal journey as he moves from being a conservative evangelical who viewed homosexuality as a "sin" to a progressive evangelical who now promotes the acceptance of homosexual orientation and practice.
Dr. Rogers, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly in 2001 and former professor of theology at Fuller and San Francisco Theological Seminaries, was asked by his pastor, Dean Thompson, in 1993 to participate in a Bible study about homosexuality. The group took seriously the seven official guidelines of the Presbyterian Church for Biblical interpretation. The first of these is "To recognize that Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, is the center of Scripture." The seventh guideline is to "Seek to interpret a particular passage of the Bible in the light of all of the Bible."
For the churchgoing Christian, there's plenty to like about "The Da Vinci Code": The whole time, people are talking about the faith. The important places are locales like museums, libraries, and sanctuaries. Knowledge of ancient languages, (Western) history, culture, and art is essential. And it's oh, so literary, even to the point of playing with words, so that the keys to the puzzles lie with being able to figure out the clues within the words. Just delicious.
Ah, but for the churchgoing Christian, there's plenty not to like, as well.
by Anne Rice. New York: Knopf, 2005. ISBN 0-375-41201-8. Hb., 336 pp. $25.95.
Jesus has lived the first seven years of his life in Alexandria, Egypt. The novel covers his family's move back to Galilee after King Herod's death and Jesus' first year in Nazareth. The plot concerns how the boy Jesus discovers his birth story and true identity.
Two incidents found in the Infancy Gospel of Thomas open the novel. Jesus' blunt words to a bully result in the bully's death. In view of the ensuing ruckus caused by the dead boy's family, Jesus decides to raise him from the dead. In the context of that incident, we also learn that the child Jesus had earlier fashioned sparrows out of clay on the Sabbath day, and then clapped his hands to make them fly away after he was criticized for working on the Sabbath. In an afterword, Rice defends her decision to embrace these apocryphal accounts because she finds a deep truth in them that speaks to her.
Both films feature, prominently, the country's president--a fit, trim, handsome, well-dressed, well-manicured white man somewhere in his 50's. Both feature terrorist plots against the president. In both, the terrorists themselves are somewhat shadowy foreign figures whose motivations are uncertain, but seem more political than personal. In both, an affair not only undercuts the integrity of the participants, but puts everyone else at risk, as well. One is a deadly serious drama and the other a completely satirical goof, but both have somber, sober, cynical undertones.
by Thomas G. Long. Louisville: WJKP, 2005. ISBN 0-664-22943-3. Pb., 267 pp., $24.95.
In the preface to this Second Edition, Tom Long writes that when he first wrote The Witness of Preaching in the late 1980s, he was attempting to do two things. First, he sought to provide a basic textbook on preaching that would be both accessible to new preachers and yet still helpful to experienced pastors. Second, he hoped "to create a textbook that was in direct conversation with other voices and opinions in the field of preaching" (p. ix).
It is easy to see that Long delivered on his first promise. The textbook immediately found its way into introductory preaching courses in divinity schools and seminaries of all types, and countless experienced preachers found renewed passion for their preaching after reading The Witness of Preaching. What made the original particularly helpful was its rich theology of proclamation that clearly gave life to the nuts and bolts of sermon crafting that Long espoused.
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