by William G. McAtee. Martha Gilliss, editor. Louisville: Witherspoon Press, 2006. ISBN 1571530657. Pb, 434 pp. $24.95.
Dreams Where Have You Gone? is several things: a survey of Presbyterian history, a chronicle of the Union Presbytery Movement, an oral history of that movement, a memoir of a Presbyterian pastor, and a probing assessment of where the Presbyterian reunion of 1983 came from with questions about where we are going. It is a wonderful book that can be read at several levels and will provide wisdom and insight for all its readers.
Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) had it all: he was a star athlete, young, handsome, and charming. He's driving a convertible at night along a country road, and wants to show his date, and his best friend in the back (with his date), how amazing it is to drive with the lights out and watch the luminescent fireflies. They are at once enchanted, thrilled, and frightened. As he speeds up to heighten the sense of danger, the others start "freaking out," begging him to turn on the headlights, and as he does, they all see the combine inexplicably parked on the road, just before they hit it head-on.
by Fleming Rutledge. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2005. ISBN 0-8028-2786-1. Pb. 81 pp. $12.00.
One of the great traditions of the Christian Church is to take time, during Holy Week, to reflect upon the words Jesus spoke from the Cross. Sometimes this happens in a three- hour service on Good Friday, in which the combination of the crucifixion accounts in the four Gospels are read and interpreted in turn. Out of this tradition, Fleming Rutledge has created a series of mediations that are helpful for personal reading, reflection, and devotional use at any time of the year.
by N. T. Wright. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity, 2006. ISBN 0-8308-3398-6. Hb., 176 pp. $18.
Every pastor and every politician should read N.T. Wright's newest book, Evil and the Justice of God. It serves as both a concise explanation of what the Christian faith has to say about evil and also as a way of understanding all of the terrible things happening in the world around us.
Wright starts by discussing the problem of evil, which is not only a philosophical riddle but a terrible reality in our world today. Wright says that most of us in the West have accepted the Enlightenment myth of progress. Thus we tend to ignore evil in the world for as long as we can, and when it slaps us in the face, we respond to its existence in immature and inappropriate ways.
This is the fascinating story of the life of William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd), the late-eighteenth century member of the British Parliament whose life work was finally succeeding in getting a provision passed that banned the slave trade in Great Britain. (OK, so historically, it just moved to other places during the next century, like the Indies and the Americas, but it was still a heroic struggle.)
Outlook: How has your faith helped you in your whole journey?
JD: My faith has been central to me. From the very beginning, in Sudan, I was baptized when I was two years, or one year. And later, in the camp, when we formed into 93 groups, of about a thousand each, every group had a covenant box, like the people of Israel on their journey. And the box was in the middle of the gathering, and we would pray together every day, from 6 in the evening until 9 in the evening, singing songs to the Almighty in our native language, though in the camp they taught us English. Then, on Sundays, we would all gather together, outdoors, with just the fence around us, and worship the Lord. We are the Gentiles, not the Jews, and we believe that Jesus Christ is for all people.
Theodore J. Wardlaw reviews Barbara Brown Taylor's "Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith."
After reviewing scores of films in 2006, these are my selections for the best in their categories. We will see which films and performances win honors at the 2007 Academy Awards on February 25.
Both are about people dealing with grief and emotional displacement. Both are about how easy it is to say, 'You need to move on with your life,' and how difficult that is to do. In both, the hardship comes in unexpected places, and so does the relief. In both, the redemptive part is how people love one another.
'Breach' is a chilling tale, based on actual events, of an FBI agent convicted of selling secrets to the Soviets.
No, it wasn't during the Cold War era. This was 1991, when our country's relationship with the former Soviet Union was supposed to be glasnost. But we've had a spy network since before we were officially a nation---George Washington relied heavily on his 'intelligence community' during the field maneuverings of the Revolutionary War---and we still routinely spy on other countries with whom we are theoretically at peace. Most of us just don't know the extent of our network of 'operatives.' And we never will. But some of us have attained some access, and some of us have abused the privilege.
c. 2007 Religion News Service
Of all the actors, athletes and hip-hop performers venerated by urban teenagers in Southern California, most improbable of all, perhaps, was a 13-year-old girl by the name of Anne Frank.
So goes the inspiring story behind "Freedom Writers," a recent movie starring Hilary Swank. The film's Jan. 5 release was timed to precede the nation's commemoration of another figure in the ongoing fight against racial prejudice: Martin Luther King Jr.
Both are about people struggling to survive in a hostile environment. Both are about people who start out very awkwardly, but slowly learn to care for each other. Both are about experiencing racial discrimination, both overtly and covertly. Both are about learning to succeed in small but important ways, like relying on hard work, and refusing to be beaten down, and withstanding the criticism and rejection of others. Both are about taking pride in one's own story, one's own struggle, one's own life. Both are about gaining respect by maintaining dignity, integrity, and self-reliance. Oh, and getting by with a little help from your friends.
'Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby': This bumpy-ride lowbrow comedy about a race car driver (Will Ferrell) contains a startlingly frank and lengthy discussion at the dinner table about prayer. Is it OK to pray to 'baby Jesus'? Or must we address a 'full-grown Jesus with a beard'?
by Harry S. Stout. New York: Viking, 2006. ISBN 0670034703. Hb., xxii + 552 pp. $29.95.
Wars take on their own mythologies and none more so than the American Civil War. It stands at a center of American consciousness and identity. More than 100,000 titles have been written on the conflict, in its various facets. Now Yale historian Harry S. Stout has given us a "moral history" of the Civil War, providing a unique--and disturbing--view of the years when this nation tore itself apart.
by N.T. Wright. New York: HarperCollins, 2006. ISBN 10:0-06-050715-2. Hb., 240 pp. $22.95
N.T. Wright admits, "Being a Christian in today's world is, of course, anything but simple. But there is a time for trying to say, as simply as possible, what it's all about, and this seems to me that sort of time."
Now is that sort of time, it seems to me. Some who claim that Christianity "makes sense" pare it down until the mystery is peeled away and we are left with a God whose edges are sharply drawn and whose greatest attribute is clarity. N.T. Wright is not to be confused with these voices that reduce Christianity to simplicity.
by Allen C. Guelzo, Grand Rapids, Eerdmans. Paperback edition, 2003. ISBN 0-8028-3872-3. 528 pp. $24
Lincoln has been the subject of an unending stream of biographies. Among the many good treatments of Lincoln's life and times, Guelzo's excellent biography deserves special attention because he examines Lincoln as a man of ideas. Lincoln famously wrapped his political ideas in religious themes, a trait that led many to lionize him as the "Christian president." Often forgotten, however, is that Lincoln entered politics as an enlightened skeptic (friends burned a scandalous, irreligious pamphlet "Infidelity" so it would not ruin his political career). The story of the development of Lincoln's philosophical and religious thought makes a fascinating story and Guelzo tells it well.
Reviews of 'Dreamgirls' and 'Home of the Brave'
Jeff Lipsky, director of the film, "Flannel Pajamas" is interviewed by Ron Salfen, OUTLOOK film reviewer.
Good News for a Fractured Society: Matthew Speaks to Divisions of Power, Wealth, Gender, and Religious Pluralism, by Stephen McCutchan. Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, 2006. ISBN 1425956785. Pb., 196 pp. $15.95.
'You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.'' (Matthew 5:27-8)
Maurice (Peter O'Toole) and his best friend Ian (Leslie Phillips) are two old English stage actors who meet for breakfast regularly at their favorite café, sometimes with other friends. They accompany each other to the theater. They look after each other, and frequently enjoy cocktails together in the early evening. Though Maurice is married, he doesn't seem to spend much time with Valerie (Vanessa Redgrave). Oh, he wanders over to visit occasionally, and they talk like old friends. Sometimes he gives her money, when he's had a little acting gig, maybe playing a dying man on a television hospital drama.
In the darkness of Christmas morn
by James E. Atwood. Victoria, B.C., Canada: Trafford. ISBN 1-4251-0004-X. Pb., 120 pp., $13.95.
Last summer, my brother gave me a book of church humor filled with lame stories every pastor has heard before: the children's sermon that involves describing a small animal ("It sounds like a squirrel, but I know you're going to tell us it's Jesus."); the man stranded on his roof during a flood who waved away the life boat and the helicopter believing "God would save him" only to be chastised at heaven's gate for refusing God's practical assistance.
You know the kinds of stories I'm talking about. Corny, schmaltzy stories with shaky theology and dated metaphors. This is not that book.
'Déjà Vu': The problem with time-travel movies is that the logic always breaks down somewhere. So it is here. We want to root for Denzel Washington, the likable detective, and his impossible romance with Paula Patton, the once-and-future victim, but the time-warp theory gets, well, warped.
'The Pursuit Of Happyness': We've also seen the Dad-struggles-to-raise-his-son-by-himself movie. Because this one is based on a true story, and because Will Smith is playing the primary character with his real-life son, Jaden, this one has a very authentic feel to it. But the screenplay is a slow spiral downward for two hours, followed by a few moments of triumphalism at the end. Yes, we get to walk out relieved, but most of the experience is, well, not one of 'happyness.'
One is set in modern-day England, the other among the ancient Mayans, just prior to the time the Spaniards arrived. Both are about 'nice' people who encounter outlaws. In both, the characters' ordeal is such that nothing will be the same for them afterwards. In both, a startling revelation alters the whole paradigm. In both, at the end, the main characters are desperately clinging to a love fiercely tested.
What was it like in Berlin, in the summer of 1945? In "The Good German," we get a surreal glimpse, and the picture isn't pretty.
There's rubble everywhere. Bombed-out buildings are part of the landscape, as are the gaunt faces, the food lines, and the palpable smell of despair. The Allies have already partitioned the defeated city, and the rifts between them are already swelling to the surface, even as the Potsdam Conference decides how the victors will divide the spoils.
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