Pat Hoffman Wipf & Stock publishers, 158 pages Reviewed by Dean McDonald Full disclosure: My husband and I have known and loved Pat and Cecil Hoffman since 1971 when the two of us interned for the National Farmworker Ministry in and around Los Angeles. Pat Hoffman’s memoir focuses on her time ministering to the AIDS-affected community in and around Los Angeles. Such involvement would seem unlikely if one would simply see her as an unassuming woman of a certain age. However, in the stories she tells, one begins to understand the depth of her faith that was cultivated over previous years of committed spiritual practices, and her deep relationships with spiritual guides in justice-based causes. She was primed to listen for God’s calling and she was faithful enough to risk responding to the call she heard. Hoffman’s ministry required that she grow from the “learned helplessness” acquired in childhood, to trusting that she was indeed powerful enough to set forth into a … [Read more...]

Martha L. Moore-Keish WJK Press, 205 pages One might ask, as the author candidly does, why another commentary on James? After all, she asks, didn’t James urge listening and encourage the brevity of words? James reminds his audience that words are the source of destruction, cruelty and pain. Martin Luther famously described the book of James as mere straw and would rather it not be in the canon. Yet, Martha Moore-Keish, associate professor of theology at Columbia Theological Seminary, boldly and clearly replies to such comments that the book of James may in fact be crucial for living in these times. While noting the irony of a commentary on a book that cautions against the misuse of words, she gives three reasons for a new exploration: the wisdom contained herein, the uniqueness of its place in the New Testament and a counter-story to Luther’s approach to the book. She proceeds along these lines. The value of this commentary, like the others in this series, is the theological … [Read more...]

Serene Jones Viking, 336 pages Reviewed by Matt Bussell Throughout her books, articles and essays, Serene Jones makes the point that life and theology are impossible to separate. In much of her work, Jones uses life experiences to illuminate her understanding of doctrine. However, in “Call It Grace,” Jones changes the focus to telling her story and that of her family. As a masterful storyteller, Jones draws the reader into the story, inviting us to share in her joys and sorrows, fears and reliefs. As she powerfully shares her stories, she unpacks the roles they have played in the formation of her theology. Her grandfather was a judge who experienced God as a judge who dispassionately dispenses punishment for sin. Her grandmother experienced the grace of God in the touch of a cool water jug in the hot Oklahoma summer. Jones’ struggle with forgiveness comes to light amid her messy divorce and her hatred of Timothy McVeigh before his execution. Her views of sin, grace and forgiveness … [Read more...]

Richard Rohr Convergent Books, 260 pages Reviewed by Leslie A. Klingensmith “Homecoming” — that’s the best word I can think of to describe the feeling I have when I read Richard Rohr. It has never made sense to me – intuitively or spiritually – for the love of God to be tied to only one culture or faith tradition. We grow up hearing of a God of love, and yet are told that the same God will damn anyone to hell for eternity for being born into a Muslim or Buddhist family. Such an exclusive and narrow interpretation of the gospel has never added up for me with the doctrines of mercy and grace that we claim in the Christian church. Where did this rigidity concerning who is “in” and who is “out” come from? Why do we humans even concern ourselves with something that ultimately is up to God and not really any of our business? When I read “The Universal Christ” I could tell that Richard Rohr has given much prayerful consideration to developing a theology that creates space for everyone, … [Read more...]