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God for a Secular Society: The Public Relevance of Theology

By Juergen Moltmann
Fortress. 1999. 292pp. Pb. $20. ISBN 0800631846

Reviewed by C. Benton Kline, Atlanta, Ga.

 

In this collection of 12 essays and lectures, Juergen Moltmann writes about some of the significant issues with which people must wrestle who seek to live in the modern world and address it from the perspective of a biblical and Christian faith.

Family Ministry

By Diana Garland
InterVarsity. 1999. 600 pp. $ 34.99. ISBN 0-8308-1585-6

Reviewed by Mary Anne Fowlkes, Richmond, Va.

 

Diana Garland has produced a comprehensive guide to family ministry. Based on her expertise in teaching and research, she presents social, cultural, psychological and historical understandings of family.

The Word: Imagining the Gospel in Modern America

By Ann Monroe
WJKP. 2000. 208 pp. $21.95. ISBN 0-664-22141-6

Reviewed by George A. Johnson, Cary, N.C.

 

This book is the report of a journalist's investigation into the many ways in which the Bible is understood, used and studied in America, and her reflection as a reporter on the findings of her study.

Being Presbyterian in the Bible Belt: A Theological Survival Guide for Youth, Parents and other Confused Presbyterians

By Ted V. Foote Jr. and P. Alex Thornburg
2000. Geneva. 80 pp. Pb. $12.95. ISBN 0-664-50109-5

Reviewed by Sallie Watson, Austin, Texas

 

"Being Presbyterian in the Bible Belt" is pithy, witty and well-organized. So much did I enjoy it that I bought five copies to give to my Austin, Texas, high school graduates this year. Although Ted and Alex claim the "Bible belt" as the arena for this, their first book together, I would recommend this book to my former youth groups in California and Utah in a heartbeat.

Surveying the Religious Landscape

By George Gallup Jr. and Michael Lindsay
Morehouse. 1999. 171 pp. Pb. $ 17.95. ISBN 0-9192-1796-4

Reviewed by Edward A. White, Washington, D.C.

 

This study reflects the glaring incongruities of the religious situation in the United States today. Religion in general (whatever that may mean) remains popular but for many there is little substance.

Jesus the Holy Fool

By Elizabeth-Anne Stewart
Sheed & Ward, 1999. 242 pp. Pb. $15.95. ISBN 1-58051-061-2

Reviewed by Herb Meza, Jacksonville, Fla.

 

The theme of this book is the reconciliation of folly and holiness. In beautifully written paragraphs, folly is described not as foolishness or buffoonery, but as vulnerability; risk above safety; truth above security; love above self-gain; and celebration over somberness. (Harvey Cox's "A Feast of Fools" and Henri Nouwen's "Clowning in Rome" play upon the same theme.)

Inspiration and Authority: Nature and Function of Christian Scripture

By Paul J. Achtemeier
Hendrickson Publishers. 1999. 166 pp. Pb. $ 9.95 ISBN 1-56563-363-6

Reviewed by John O. Barksdale
Madison, Va.

 

This book is a revision of the helpful and well-received work first published in 1980 as The Inspiration of Scripture: Problems and Proposals. The author, a retired Union-PSCE professor of biblical interpretation and past president of the Society of Biblical Literature, wishes to affirm very strongly two things: the authority of Scripture and the legitimacy of careful critical scholarship in the church.

God’s Wisdom: Toward a Theology of Education

By Peter C. Hodgson
WJKP. 1999. 168 pp. Pb. $20. ISBN 0-664-25718-6

Reviewed by Daniel L. Migliore
Princeton, N.J.

 

In recent years the question of the purpose, content and reform of theological education has been widely discussed. While Hodgson's book is related to this discussion, it has a broader concern. Its primary focus is not theological education, or even religious studies, but the educational process itself.

The Secular Mind

By Robert Coles
Princeton University. 1999. 189 pp. $19.95 ISBN 0-691-05805-9

Reviewed by Charles Davidson
Farmington Hills, Mich.

 

What does it mean to be within hearing distance of the Holy? Does it mean we hear? And if we hear, we understand? And if we understand, we heed what we hear?

Reading the Bible and the Confessions: The Presbyterian Way

By Jack Rogers
Geneva. 1999. 151 pp. Pb. $10.95. ISBN 0-664-50046

Reviewed by Theodore J. Wardlaw
Atlanta

 

In every Presbyterian ordination service for elders, deacons or ministers of the Word and Sacrament, a series of huge, life-sized questions are asked. One of them, which trips off the tongue with deceptive ease, is: "Will you fulfill your office in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and be continually guided by our confessions?"

World Without End: Mainstream American Protestant Vision of the Last Things, 1880-1925

By James H. Moorhead.
Indiana University Press. 1999. 26 pp. $29.95. ISBN 0-253-33580-9

Reviewed by George Laird Hunt
Lakeland, Fla.

 

From the latter part of the 19th century through the first quarter of the 20th, mainstream Protestantism's post-millennial stance (that Christ will return after a "thousand years of earthly bliss," p. xi) led to strenuous efforts toward bringing in the kingdom of God and the evangelization of the world "in this generation." It was a period of social reform, social progress, which, at a later date, led to movements toward social justice.

The Truth About God: The Ten Commandments in Christian Life

By Stanley M. Hauerwas and William H. Willimon.
Abingdon. 1999. 144 pp. Pb. $10. ISBN 0-687-08202-1

Reviewed by Nathaniel S. Murrell Wilmington, N.C.

 

What should one expect of a book titled The Ten Commandments in Christian Life, published in 1999 when hysteria pervaded the media over a "Bible Belt" idea of posting the Ten Commandments on the walls of an Alabama courtroom?

Urban Churches, Vital Signs: Beyond Charity Toward Justice

By Nile Harper
Eerdmans. 1999. 334 pp. Pb. $25. ISBN 0-8028-4441-3

Reviewed by Carl S. Dudley, Hartford, Conn.

 

If churches were portraits, this book would be a national museum. Urban Churches, Vital Signs offers a magnificent gallery of verbal portraits of city ministries, with the brilliant colors illuminating the artistry of those who are doing the job.

Thriving After 55: Your Guide to Fully Living the Rest of Your Life

By Henry C. Simmons and E. Craig MacBean
Prime. 2000. 232 pp. Pb. $24.95. ISBN 0-9668813-1-1

Reviewed by Richard Lyon Morgan
Morganton, N.C.

 

Not a week passes that someone doesn't ask me about some of the issues discussed in this book. Older persons wonder, "Where will I live when I can no longer stay in my own home?" or "How can I handle the spiraling cost of home health care or long-term care?" Adult children ask, "What will our parents do when they can no longer manage by themselves?" or "Isn't there some way to get our parents to make their own decisions about later life now?"

The Gold Coast Church and the Ghetto: Christ and Culture in Mainline Protestantism

By James K. Wellman Jr
Univ. of Illinois Press. 1999. 257 pp. Hb. $49.95. Pb. $21.95. ISBN 025206804

Reviewed by William P. Thompson
LaGrange Park, Ill.

 

The "church" in the title of this book is Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago and the "ghetto" is the Cabrini-Green public housing project a mile west of the church. The author, James Wellman, is a lecturer in the Comparative Religion Program of the University of Washington, who served from 1993 to 1996 as a member of the staff of Fourth church, directing the young adult education program.

No Future Without Forgiveness

By Desmond Mpilo Tutu
Doubleday. 1999. 289 pp. $ 23.95. ISBN 385-49689-3

Reviewed by Jorge Lara-Braud
Austin, Texas

 

If you are a teacher or a preacher of Christian faith, or if you are simply in need of a persuasive argument that God is still in charge of your life and everything there is, you should get a copy of this book.

The Divided Church: Moving Liberals and Conservatives from Diatribe to Dialogue

By Richard G. Hutcheson Jr. and Peggy L. Shriver

InterVarsity. 1999. 224 pp. Pb. $12.99 ISBN 0-8308-2223-2

Reviewed by Lewis S. Mudge

 

This is a rich and nuanced study of voices on both sides of the well-known right-left division of American Protestantism, with special emphasis on the PC(USA). Richard Hutcheson and Peggy Shriver personally represent the "evangelical" and "liberal" wings of the church, respectively.

Presbyterian Polity for Church Officers

By Joan S. Gray and Joyce C. Tucker

Geneva. 1999. 204 pp. Pb. $17.
ISBN 0-664-50018-8

Reviewed by James E. Andrews

 

The third edition of Presbyterian Polity for Church Officers by Joan Gray and Joyce Tucker is an improvement of a resource that has been essential for Presbyterian leaders since it first appeared in 1986.

Hopeful Realism: Reclaiming the Poetry of Theology

By Douglas F. Ottati

Pilgrim. 1999. 134 pp. $14.95. ISBN 0-8298-1322-5

Reviewed by James G. Kirk

 

If you are looking for a book to use this fall with your adult education class, look no further! This is a wonderful resource that lends itself to an eight-week class on "How a Church Can Engage the World."

Praising God: The Trinity in Christian Worship

By Ruth C. Duck and Patricia Wilson-Kastner
WJKP. 1999. 207 pp. Pb. $22. ISBN 0-664-25777-1

Reviewed by Gene Huff
San Francisco

 

"The Trinity are a grammar problem," according to an answer once noted on a theology exam. The authors of this remarkably useful book suggest it has too often also been a worship problem and they assume the task of showing how we can more adequately speak to and about the Trinitarian God in worship.

Telling the Truth: Preaching about Sexual and Domestic Violence

John S. McClure and Nancy J. Ramsay, eds.
Cleveland. United Church Press.1998. 162 pp. Pb. $15.95
ISBN 0-8298-1282-2

Reviewed by Gail A. Ricciuti

 

This challenging book, a collection of essays emerging from a 1997 Presbyterian Consultation on Preaching and Sexual and Domestic Violence, may be the most helpful resource available on preaching with integrity in the face of the violence that, often invisibly, permeates our congregations.

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