Four Reviews Coming in PW on August 11
-- Publishers Weekly, 7/23/2008
Catholic Does Not Equal the Vatican: A Vision for Progressive Catholicism
Rosemary Radford Ruether. The New Press, $23.95 (160p) ISBN 978-1-59558-406-9
Scholar and activist Radford Ruether issues a clarion call to fellow progressive Catholics to stay the course for change in a church she says has become "deeply polarized." In what the book's foreword (authored by Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite, president of Chicago Theological Seminary) calls a "great 'encyclical,'" Radford Ruether lays blame for the present situation at the feet of the late Pope John Paul II. It was he, she writes, who sought to reverse much of the progress that was achieved in ecumenism, modern scholarship and social justice following the reforming Second Vatican Council of the 1960s. In the face of a church leadership that is committed to John Paul's vision, Radford Ruether restates the progressive agenda, zeroing in on such issues as reproductive rights and clericalism and taking aim at the church's male-only priesthood in her concluding essay, "Can Men Be Ordained?" Radford Ruether will have her intended audience cheering and perhaps inspired to work anew for the church she envisions—one that is multicultural, admittedly fallible, free from sexism, democratic, and committed to the poor and oppressed. (Oct.)
Jewish Stories from Heaven and Earth: Inspiring Tales to Nourish the Heart and Soul
Edited by Dov Peretz Elkins. Jewish Lights. $16.99 paper (304p) ISBN 978-1-58023-363-7
This potpourri of Jewish short stories and essays was diligently amassed for many years by Rabbi Elkins, author and anthologist. He begins his presentation with the mistaken claim that Jews "are the original storytelling people," ignoring the fact that in all societies, a significant way of transmitting culture from one generation to the next is through stories. The 69 stories presented here represent Elkins's "passion for uplifting stories." They come from a variety of sources, including books, newspaper articles and journals. The authors are, for the most part, rabbis, doctors, writers and teachers. Their work is sorted by Elkins into nine topical sections, each containing from five to nine stories as well as an introduction by him. Two sections deal with the Holocaust, while the others explore timeless virtues like goodness, hope, endurance, tradition and providence. A final section addresses Israel as a land of miracles. Although they are uneven in quality, the simply written stories testify eloquently to the Jewish capacity for survival despite the long litany of suffering that has dogged the tearful history of Jews through the ages. (Oct.)
Bulletproof Faith: A Spiritual Survival Guide for Gay and Lesbian Christians
Candace Chellew-Hodge. Jossey-Bass/Wiley, $17.95 (208p) ISBN 978-0-470-27928-1
Chellew-Hodge, a former journalist, is a UCC pastor who runs the online magazine Whosoever. Her experiences as a gay Christian searching for how to live with integrity while contending with sometimes-hateful opposition inform this book. The "spiritual survival tips" that conclude each chapter serve not only as summaries but also as direct points of advice for GLBT persons coping with inevitable conflict. She also includes brief meditation exercises. Chellew-Hodge offers a realistic voice of experience filled nevertheless with compassion and love—not just for her intended audience, but also for their attackers. Although some may find her impulse to forgive premature, Chellew-Hodge does not naively excuse much less accept the abusive language and behavior of anti-gay Christians. This is not a book explaining relevant Bible passages and their interpretations, though Chellew-Hodge advocates biblical literacy beyond literalism. Instead, it is a confident, sensible approach to handling the opposition and self-doubt that can undermine a GLBT person's sense of worth and belonging as a Christian. (Oct.)
The World We Have: A Buddhist Approach to Peace and Ecology
Thich Nhat Hanh. Parallax, $10.95 paper (110p) ISBN 978-1-8883-7588-6
Past the age of 80 now, the indefatigable Vietnamese Buddhist monk Nhat Hanh continues teaching. As peace flows from Buddhist teachings, so too does an environmental ethic rooted in awareness and interrelatedness. Nhat Hanh's engaged Buddhism, a Buddhist school that emphasizes social responsibility, takes on the task of preserving and protecting the earth. A special bodhisattva (enlightened being)—Dharanimdhara, the Earth Holder—will guide human efforts to guard and restore the natural world. No effort is too small; an "Earth Peace Treaty Commitment Sheet" in an appendix lists nearly 60 easy behaviors to minimize ecological impact. The Zen monk's often poetic voice redeems what might otherwise seem repetitive writing or simplistic views; seeing with "the eye of the elephant queen" provides deep insight. A foreword by bestselling, environmental journalist Alan Weisman (The World Without Us) adds a fresh framework for understanding Nhat Hanh's Buddhist insights about interrelationships with the natural world. This is an urgent call from a revered spiritual teacher about the moral imperative to treat the earth with respectful awareness. (Oct.)
A First Look at the Stars: Two Starred Reviews Coming in PW on August 11:
The Grand Inquisitor's Handbook: A History of Terror in the Name of God
Jonathan Kirsch. HarperOne, $26.95 (304p) ISBN 978-0-06-081699-5
Mention the Inquisition to any informed person and you're likely to garner a response somewhere between horror and disgust. Kirsch, a prolific writer and documenter of our past (A History of the End of the World; Gods Against the Gods), offers up an amazing recounting of the abuses of clergy and state in those terrible times. Clinical in its descriptions, the narrative's lively and crisp prose brings us right into the torture chamber, shining a much-needed light into the mindset of the church and its representatives. Alarmingly, the author insists that although the Inquisition is but a memory for us today, the inquisitional mindset is alive and well. Kirsch discovers many examples in more modern and familiar history: Hitler's Germany, Senator McCarthy's communist-hunting, the Salem witch trials and Roosevelt's placing Japanese-Americans in interment camps. All of these injustices, he says, find their root in the same sense of power and privilege. Kirsch's powerful and cautionary account is essential reading for historians and anyone who wants to understand the potential dark side of religion. (Oct.)
The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why
Phyllis Tickle. Baker Books, $17.99 (176p) ISBN 978-0-8010-1313-3
North American Christianity is presently undergoing a change every bit as radical as the Protestant Reformation, possibly even as monumental as its natal break with Judaism. And it's right on schedule. Tickle, author of God-Talk in America and PW's founding religion editor, observes that Christianity is holding its semi-millennial rummage sale of ideas. With an elegance of argument and economy of description, Tickle escorts readers through the centuries of church history leading to this moment and persuasively charts the character of and possibilities for the emerging church. Don't let this book's brevity fool you. It is packed with keen insights about what this "great emergence" is, how it came to be, and where it may be headed. Tickle issues a clear call to acknowledge the inevitability of change, discern the church's new shape and participate responsibly in the transformation. Although Tickle's particular focus excludes the dynamic forces of Asian, African, and Central/South American Christianity, this is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the face and future of Christianity. (Oct.)
You Saw It Here First: Original RBL Reviews
A Short Life of Jonathan Edwards
George M. Marsden. Eerdmans, $15 paper (164p) ISBN 978-0-8028-0220-0
In 1741, Jonathan Edwards delivered what would become the most famous sermon in American history, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Noted historian Marsden has written a slim but solid biography of Edwards (1703-58). This work is not an abridgement of his monumental 2003 biography of Edwards, but instead offers an original account intended for a general audience. Though Edwards is best known for his fiery "Sinners" sermon, Marsden shows the evangelist struggled with skeptical doubts before joining the clergy only to then emphasize God's grace and love over retribution throughout his preaching career. Edwards often gets relegated to works of religious history, but Marsden shows the preacher's central place in the nation's colonial history and to the Revolution he did not live to see. As one of the foremost revivalists of his time, Edwards was a "towering figure among the founding fathers of the first American revolution, the spiritual revolution of the awakening." At times Marsden's work veers into the overly evangelistic itself, especially in the concluding chapter on what we can learn from Edwards. However, his work provides an accessible and informed account for scholars and laypeople alike. (Sept.)
Jesus Laughed: The Redemptive Power of Humor
Robert Darden. Abingdon, $16 (144p) ISBN 978-0-68764-454-4
Senior editor of The Wittenburg Door for 20 years, the periodical that describes itself as "the world's pretty much only religious humor and satire magazine," Baylor journalism professor Darden knows something about wit. Combining passion for humor and his scholarly sensibilities, his new offering is and isn't a laughing matter. In an often breezy style, this historical, biblical, philological and psychological treatise is "a call to reclaim Holy Laughter for the church." Darden examines the ingredients of humor and ferrets out what's funny in scripture. After documenting how the Church lost its sense of humor, he champions the reasons "the redeemed ought to look more like it." Darden's reach is broad, embracing first-rate thinkers and writers such as Karl Barth, Elton Trueblood, C.S. Lewis, Annie Dillard and Anne Lamott, whose idea that "laughter is carbonated holiness" much captures his fancy. Insisting that a vital part of the human spirit needs to be brought to center stage within and without the walls of the Church, Darden maintains, "I believe with all my heart that God laughs and plays." Quoting Mark Lowry to bolster his case, Darden hammers home his point with "What healthy father doesn't love to hear his children laugh?" Clergy and laity should find reasons to rejoice in this important, timely book. (Sept.)
Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life
Charles J. Chaput. Doubleday, $21.95 (272p) ISBN 978-0-385-52228-1
In one of his most memorable sayings ("render unto Caesar the things that belong to Caesar and to God the things that belong to God"), Jesus instructed his followers to recognize that their deepest religious commitments had inevitable and life-changing political implications. Using Jesus' saying as his foundation, Chaput, the outspoken Archbishop of Denver, urges all Catholics to stand up for their faith in public life. Every person who meets an American Catholic, he says, should come away "knowing that they have met a true Catholic." True Catholics, he observes, work for political justice and the common good and believe that Jesus Christ, the Gospel, and the Church are central to the religious lives that enable them to act with love toward society. While many critics will challenge his assertion that the American belief in the sanctity of individual rights depends on a God who guarantees those rights, Chaput nevertheless challenges Catholics to put their faith into practice thoughtfully and deliberately. (Aug. 12)
