Dale C. Allison Jr. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Mich. 185 pages Reviewed by Susan R. Garrett What hope for life beyond death can thinking Christians have? In “Night Comes,” Dale C. Allison Jr. explores core Christian doctrines of death, resurrection, immortality, judgment, eschatology, hell and heaven. Allison is the Richard J. Dearborn Professor of New Testament at Princeton Theological Seminary, and the work reflects not only his virtuosity as exegete and theologian, but also his skills as a writer who can engage and even entertain. Allison begins with the premise that death is more than a biological fact: It is a cultural construct with a history to be interrogated. “We can’t rightly understand doctrines without understanding the people who’ve promoted and demoted them, and we can’t do that without understanding broad historical trends and social tendencies,” he writes. As Allison surveys the development and change of various tenets through the centuries, he presses those … [Read more...]

by Linda C. Loving Reviewed by Judith Watt One in eight women will receive the diagnosis of breast cancer in her lifetime. Our congregations are filled with such women who often make this journey in isolation and in a culture that encourages them to return to “normal” as quickly as possible. Survivors know that it is a “new normal” that awaits them. There is now an important, unique new resource available to women in faith-based communities that can help them articulate their breast cancer experiences in a supportive group context. Written by Linda C. Loving – a breast cancer survivor and pastor who served several Presbyterian churches around the country – this workbook provides a consistent and holy scaffolding for women to gather for seven sessions of encouragement, storytelling, devotions and sharing of resources. The structure allows women (whether newly diagnosed or long-term survivors) to lead themselves through the exercises without need of outside authority or pastoral … [Read more...]

Elizabeth Lesser HarperCollins. New York. 320 pages Reviewed by Leslie Klingensmith The subtitle of this book (“A Love Story”) is accurate, but not in the way we would initially imagine. Thankfully, we are living in a world where we are learning to recognize and celebrate love in all its forms, as well as the myriad ways that we experience it as human beings and children of God. Lesser writes in her introduction: “This book is a love story. It is primarily about the love between two sisters, but it is also about the kindness you must give yourself if you are to truly love another. Love of self, love of other: two strands in a love braid.” “Marrow” is a genre-defying narrative. It is a memoir of one sister (Elizabeth) donating marrow to another (Maggie) in an effort to save Maggie’s life as she battles lymphoma. It also is an expository description of the whole medical process of a bone marrow transplant, and at the same time it is a spiritual meditation on relationships, … [Read more...]