On Books

Review: A Prairie Faith

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Cover image of "A Prairie Faith" by John J. Fry

A Prairie: The Religious Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder (Library of Religious Biography), John J. Fry (Foreword by Mark A. Noll. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing (ISBN: 9780802876287) 2024.

Summary: The religious life of Laura Ingalls Wilder drawn from her books and manuscripts, other writings and the places she lived.

I did not discover the Little House books until reading them aloud to our son. Just thinking of that brings good memories of the three of us snuggled on the hunter green sofa bed in our guest room, working our way through the books. I particular remember reading The Long Winter through a particularly cold and long winter, and being thrilled by Almanzo’s daring journey to bring food back to the isolated small town. We loved the affection within the family and the Christian values their lives exemplified and suspected these were important to the author.

That is the conclusion held by John J. Fry, the author of this religious biography of Laura Ingalls Wilder. He maintains that for Wilder, Christian faith was important but not central. Throughout her life, there is evidence of regular personal Bible reading and prayer. Where there was opportunity, she was in weekly attendance at church, but refrained from membership. In many ways, her outlook was more stoic than Christian.

Using her memoirs, manuscripts and publications as well tracing her life through the different places she lived, Fry offers a chronological account of her life. While the focus is on the religious influences in her life and evidence for her religious beliefs, Fry does offer an extensive, if not definitive, account of her life. Until the Wilders settled in Mansfield, Missouri and became established, much of it was life on the move–Kansas, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, the Dakotas, Minnesota again, and Florida.

Surprisingly, before Laura wrote the Little House books, she was, and continued to be, a farm journalist. She translated her own experiences into columns for women in agricultural setting. Then she wrote a memoir, Pioneer Girl, but could not find anyone who wanted to publish it. Working with her daughter Rose, she re-fashioned her account into a series of children’s stories, and with rose’s help found a publisher.

In fact, one of the things we learn, and on which Fry dwells, is the role Rose played in the writing of the books. An accomplished writer herself, Rose reworked Laura’s writing, often “showing” rather than “telling.” This made the books more readable and interesting. In addition, Fry explores the influence of Rose’s religious views on the books, often comparing Laura’s early manuscripts with the published text. Rose was a deist at best, and held a less than friendly view of the church. The record is mixed. Sometimes, she strengthened the portrayal of Christianity. Sometimes the finished manuscripts were more negative. It is striking that Wilder doesn’t mention Jesus in the books, only God. What is clear was that Rose was a significant collaborator in the writing of the books. She deserves more credit than she received.

Fry considers Laura’s religious life in later years. It seems she was less involved in churches and more in fraternal organizations like Eastern Star. But she apparently kept up personal scripture reading. Her faith was characteristic of mainstream moderate Christianity, with a strong emphasis on good works of love for neighbor.

However, she did not extend that love to indigenous peoples. Fry, in assessing the afterlife of her books, notes the criticism of her attitudes toward indigenous peoples. Again, she was typical of her time, which would not be problematic, except for the popularity of her books.

Fry offers an informative and well-paced narrative of Laura’s religious life. This underscores his contention that her faith was important but not central. He also elaborates the collaboration of Rose in the Little House books and the substantial contribution she made to their popularity. None of this detracts from the portrait of the remarkable life of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: Dream Work

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Cover image of "Dream Work" by Mary Oliver

Dream Work, Mary Oliver. Atlantic Monthly Press (ISBN: 9780871130693) 1986.

Summary: Poetry of Mary Oliver running the gamut from dogfish to Dachau, from starfish to Orion, and Robert Schumann to Stanley Kunitz.

It seemed fitting to read a collection of the poetry of Mary Oliver in the month of her birth. Dream Work follows Oliver’s Pulitzer winning American Primitive. Like much of her writing, Oliver’s poetry moves from the commonplaces of the natural world like dogfish, geese, starfish, and marsh hawks to remind us of the transcendent, our evanescent existence and the existential questions that endure.

She juxtaposes tiny dogfish with a cri de coeur “to know / whoever I was, I was / alive / for a little while.” She sees the rising sun over a pond of blazing lilies as “a prayer heard and answered / lavishly, / every morning”. Wild trilliums on the hillside contrast with the lack of tenderness of childhood’s ambiguities and the difficult years.

“Dreams” captures the “Dream Work” of this collection’s title. Dreams are likened to budding flowers with a letter at the center of each that eludes the waking self. “Whispers” describes the elusive “heaven of sensation” from which she finds herself held back. Then in “Members of the Tribe” she lists artists, her tribe, who lived between madness and genius. Yet it is not their unhappiness she cannot forgive but the “hurtling / toward oblivion / on the sharp blades of their exquisite poems, saying: / this is the way.“

“Robert Schumann” exemplifies madness in art, thought of by her every day in his lifelong struggle with madness. Yet there was the brief moment when Clara first came into his life. Because of this poem, I had to look up the story of Schumann, who composed brilliantly between fits of madness. On the other hand, there is “Stanley Kunitz.” Likening his work to a beautiful garden effortlessly blossoming, she now understands the toils behind the beauty.

However, it is often the commonplace that speaks most deeply. For example, in “Landscape” she listens each morning to the mosses and the black oaks around her pond. If she closes her heart to them, she is “as good as dead.” Or an approach of a thunderstorm reminds her of how the normalcy of life may be shattered in an instant.

Some of the poetry is darker. For instance “Rage” describes the sexual abuse of a child in chilling terms (Oliver suffered sexual abuse as a child). In a poem written on the fortieth anniversary of the revealing of the German camps, she struggles with the incongruity of forest scenes, mountains of bodies and Mengele enjoying a gourmet meal.

Yet she cannot end here. Rather, the collection concludes with “The Sunflowers” that invite us into the fields to listen to their stories. Amid ugly realities, Oliver points us to a deeper magic. She cannot always find the words. But there is something to be heard.

Review: Othered

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Cover image of "Othered" by Jenai Auman

Othered: Finding Belonging with the God Who Pursues The Hurt, Harmed & Marginalized, Jenai Auman. Baker Books (ISBN: 9781540903914), 2024.

Summary: How God sees, loves, and pursues those hurt, harmed and marginalized by the church and offers them rest, healing, and hope.

Jenai Auman grew up as a bi-racial child in the South, so the experience of feeling marginalized or “othered” was not new to her. But the last place she expected to experience othering was on the staff of a church where she and her husband worked, a church that had been formative in her faith journey. In Othered, she describes the experience of being subject to leadership abuse resulting in a forced “transition” out of her position. She names the abuses, reinforced by the ways it was rationalized, the ways she was blamed, and forced out. But this is not a bitter book. Auman did not abandon her faith. Rather she describes how God embraced her when the church did not.

It began on her first day of work. She was five minutes late for an optional staff Bible study. She was late because her four year old son needed extra attention on the first day of camp. Rather than being given grace, she was upbraided for ten minutes for her lateness. Her executive pastor concluded, “You need to listen to me and respect me, but you also need to give me grace. I had a rough morning.” This was an example of a pattern that only worsened. That is, until Jenai spoke up. That led to her firing.

In succeeding chapters, she describes coming to terms with the abuse. First, it was important to name the abuse. In this case, it was an abuse of power and spiritual authority. Such abuse, she writes, is like the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey on her city of Houston. The winds weren’t so bad as the insidious flooding from days of rain. She describes “fauxnerability” by which abusive leadership confesses small vulnerabilities to cover up and hold onto larger ones. From a therapist, she realized the broken trust from a former friend for what it was–betrayal. Naming her betrayal helped her see why she struggled to find peace and rest. And it drove her to the God of hesed who doesn’t break trust.

But healing required going deeper into the naming of the dysfunctions in her church. In particular, she describes the love of comfort that shields congregations from seeing abuse.–things like toxic stress, triumphal Christianity, and bypassing pain. In response, Auman discovered the power of lament which names the truth and is met by a God who never outlawed the cries and the tears of the marginalized.

She describes how the longing for belonging can be used to rob a person of the sense of oneself. She learned about DARVO (Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender). This gave her language to describe her treatment by elders at a severance meeting. She is able to exercise a prophetic voice against the abuse of others, having found this language for her own.

But this is a book that goes beyond naming the ways othering inflicts harm. Auman describes how God met her as she named her grief to Him. He met her, as he met many in scripture, in the wilderness. Wilderness became a space of safety to learn to trust again. She learned flourishing in Jesus who was both othered and welcome the othered to his table.

Paradoxically, repentance precedes a life of blessing others. Auman writes, “I will not become the hammer that hurt me.” We must break the cycle of trauma and sin or perpetuate it. Auman concludes by urging remembering rather than forgetting, of refusing rushed forgiveness, just as we refuse to rush to resurrection without the waiting of Holy Saturday. For Auman, honestly facing both her own brokenness and that of the church leads her to Jesus who prayed forgiveness for those who know not what they do. And behind it all is the God Who Sees and the One who is preparing for us a home.

Auman’s personal narrative of othering is powerful both for naming the evils of church abuse and offering hope for the abused. She never names her abusers in this book. I think that may have detracted from the power of naming the abuses she suffered. Instead, she describes how one may heal even when the perpetrators of harm do not repent. In this, she speaks both for and to many in similar situations who live in grief and anger. She reminds us that God especially sees, loves and pursues the marginalized–even those marginalized by the church.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer Program.

Review: The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien

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Cover image of "The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien" by Georges Simenon

The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien (Maigret Number 4), Georges Simenon, translated by Linda Coverdale. Penguin Books (ISBN: 9780141393452) 2014 (First published in 1931).

Summary: The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien, in which Maigret’s swap of a suitcase as he follows a suspicious character results in the man’s suicide.

Maigret is on business in Brussels when he notices a shabbily dressed man mailing a pile of bank notes in an envelope labeled “printed matter.” The man is carrying a cheap cardboard suitcase. He sees the address, a Paris address. His curiosity piqued, he follows the man. Then at a buffet, he manages to switch the suitcase for one filled with paper. Subsequently, he follows the man to a cheap hotel, getting a room next to him. When the man opens the suitcase, he cries in dismay. The next thing Maigret hears is a shot. The man has committed suicide and Maigret, unintentionally, is the cause.

But what was in the suitcase? When Maigret opens it, he finds an old suit, too large for the deceased, with dark stains on it, with a tailor’s label from Paris. Then Maigret goes to the morgue and a businessman, Van Damme shows up as well and offers to travel with Maigret. And he keeps showing up as Maigret explores the life of the deceased, Jean Lecocq d’Arneville. In Paris, when he meets several others connected to the deceased and each other and later in Liege, Van Damme is there. One of the others is a highly successful businessman, Belloir. Another, Janin is a sculptor. And a third, Jef Lombard, is a painter in whose studio are numerous paintings of hanging men.

There’s something they are keeping from Maigret. At times, it seems they are a step ahead, destroying records. At one point there is an attempt on Maigret’s life. And we wonder where the hanging man of Saint-Pholien in the title comes in and whether Lombard’s paintings have anything to do with that. Above all else, Maigret needs to find a satisfying explanation for why Jean Lecocq d’Arneville would kill himself over a suitcase of old clothes that weren’t even his.

This is a short novel that makes for a quick read. What I want to know if you’ve read this or when you do, is whether you liked the ending. I didn’t see it coming, but I liked it when it came.

Review: Christianity and Constitutionalism

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Cover image of "Christianity and Constitutionalism" edited by Nicholas Aroney and Ian Leigh

Christianity and Constitutionalism, edited by Nicholas Aroney and Ian Leigh. Oxford University Press (ISBN: 9780197587256) 2022

Summary: Christianity and Constitutionalism explores the contribution of Christianity to constitutionalism in light of history, law, and theology.

What is constitutionalism? Broadly speaking, it refers to the written and/or unwritten legal framework by which a particular political entity orders its life, be it a monarchy or a democracy. The editors of this work, in their introduction emphasize that this is a contended term. It is either descriptive of what exists in a particular political community or prescriptive of what ought to be. They note its concerns with jurisdiction, authority, and the rule of law. And this reminded me of how important a check this can be on the intrusion of power beyond its proper sphere and the safeguard of the rule of law against corrupt exercises of power.

This purpose of this volume is to explore the contribution of Christianity to constitutionalism. In its three parts, the contributors delineate that contribution through three lenses: history, topics in constitutional law, and particular doctrines bearing on constitutionalism. My review will follow that plan of organization.

Part I: The Historical Influence of Christianity

The articles in this part span history from the Old Testament through Modernity. Jonathan Burnside shows the contribution of Torah to ideas of sovereignty (in this case the sovereignty of God), the covenantal relation between sovereign and people, limited government, separation of powers (kings, priests, and prophets), federalism, and civic virtue. Dorothea H. Bertschmann traces the tension between God’s ultimate rule and the deference due imperial rule. But what pertains when the emperor is Christian? Peter Leithart discusses Constantine and the limits upon state authority when the state recognized church authority. Then Mary Keys and Colleen Mitchell describe how Augustine’s City of God both reoriented love from the earthly to heavenly city while humanizing earthly politics.

As the church moves into the Middle Ages, the emergence of canon law deals with both superior law, binding all, and the division of powers. Richard Helmholz shows how this contribution to constitutionalism haltingly emerged. While the Reformation broke the uniform structures of church and state, it brought forth new elements contributing to constitutionalism. Thus, John Witte, Jr. delineates the new theories of church and state, authority and liberty, duties and rights, legislation and adjudication, and more that proliferated. Finally, Joan Lockwood O’Donovan shows the distinctive contribution of English Reformation public theology in the modern period.

Part II: Christian Perspectives on Constitutionalism

In this part, contributors turn to various topics in constitutional law. Beginning with the concept of sovereignty, Joel Harrison shows how Christianity contributed the idea of intertwining duality and plurality with the one. Li-ann Thio shows how the Christian idea of higher law enriches the rule of law and societal flourishing. Then Richard Ekins addresses the importance of self government to democracy and how ideas of equality and consent of the governed flow from an understanding of God’s rule. Carlos Bernal shows the biblical foundations for the separation of powers, already noted in the Old Testament essay. Julian Rivers offers a critiques of various approaches to human rights rooted in liberal ideologies, arguing that Christians “maintain a coherent and compelling theory of constitutional rights for the good of all.” Capping off these topical discussions, the editors contribute two fine essays on freedom of conscience vis-a-vis religious freedom and on federalism.

Part III: Christian Theology and Constitutionalism

To conclude this volume, the contributors address the relevance of several key Christian doctrines to constitutional law. David VanDrunen explores the relevance of scriptural revelation. Particularly, he focuses in on covenants and especially the Noahic covenant, which authorizes civil authorities to secure justice for capital crimes. According to David McIlroy, Trinitarian belief imposes limits on authorities and distributes authority. And it requires rulers to preserve God’s creational gifts. Jonathan Chaplin traces out eight contemporary implications of the biblical teaching on justice. Tracey Rowland, in a chapter on Christology explores the implications of Poland declaring Christ as her King.

John Milbank contributes one of the denser essays in this collection on natural law and natural right. Then, in an essay that was a highlight for me, Iain T. Benson writes on subsidiarity. Specifically, the focus on the local from families and neighbors to voluntary association re-centers governance in the face of the rise of various forms of statism and obsession with national politics. To conclude the book, Douglas Farrow argues the importance of eschatology for our teleology. We need to know not only for what we were made but also what the achievement of that end will look like. Our eschatological hope for bodily resurrection shapes all sorts of legal thinking about our bodies now.

Recommendation

In some of our countries, it seems that the only thinking about Christianity and law is trying to have enough power to enact our own moral vision into law. This volume represents a recovery of a deeper form of Christian thinking about how governments are constituted in such ways to support God’s aims for the flourishing of humanity and other creatures. There is good thinking about the relation of human constitutions to higher law, about the ways law directs both to good ends and protects from harm. Nicholas Aroney’s chapter on “Federalism” challenged me to think about why federalism exists, something I hadn’t considered since reading the Federalist papers.

The international team of scholars adds to the richness of this collection, representing every continent. This is an excellent supplemental text for courses in constitutional law and a valuable read for anyone who cares about governance. With only one or two exceptions, the chapters are both substantive and accessible, a tribute to the editorial work on this volume.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: The Tiger in the Smoke

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Cover image of "The Tiger in the Smoke" by Margery Allingham

The Tiger in the Smoke (Albert Campion Number 14), Margery Allingham. Open Road Media (ISBN: 9781504087483) 2023 (First published in 1952).

Summary: In a soupy fog, a war widow about to re-marry receives photos of her husband while an escaped killer is on the loose.

A pea soup fog has descended upon London, which only thickens with the plot of this Albert Campuon mystery. A war widow, Meg Elginbrodde, daughter of Canon Avril, is about to marry again to an enterprising young man, Geoffrey Levett. Then she receives grainy photographs purporting that her husband is still alive. As a result, she enlists the help of Campion and Police Inspector Luke. Then she sees the man, who is wearing the coat of her husband. He’s a recently released convict, “Duds” Morrison but there is not enough evidence to hold him.

However, Geoffrey is not satisfied and tries to chase him down. But before he can question him, they are both attacked by a gang led by “Tiddy” Doll. Before Morrison suffers a fatal blow to the head, Doll asks him to reveal the whereabouts of “the Gaffer.” The gang takes Levett, thinking him associated with Morrison, to their hideaway.

Meanwhile, an escaped killer, “The Tiger” a.k.a. Jack Havoc a.k.a. “The Gaffer” is on the loose in the smoky fog. He’s looking for something and soon there is a trail of dead bodies. Then he breaks into Levett’s house while Meg and Amanda are there. They barely escape. Havoc, on the other hand, finds his way to Doll’s hideaway. Levett’s life is in jeopardy until Campion shows up. The gang, including Havoc, escape, but Levett overhears what Havoc is after. It all connects back to a mission Meg’s first husband and Havoc were on before D-Day. This sets up a climactic episode on the coast of France.

Canon Avril, perhaps, is the most heroic figure in the story. In one scene, he confronts Havoc in his church. His concern is for the man’s soul. Havoc trusts his “science of luck.” He stabs Avril, but only wounds him, suggesting how deeply Avril has shaken him. At the same time, Amanda, Campion’s resourceful wife plays only a bit part in the plot. I hope Allingham develops her in future numbers.

All told, Allingham delivers another twisting plot ending with a thrilling climax.

Review: Mercy Falls

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Cover image of "Mercy Falls" by William Kent Krueger

Mercy Falls (Cork O’Connor Number 5), William Kent Krueger. Atria Books (ISBN: 9781439157800) 2009 (First published in 2005).

Summary: Mercy Falls, number five in the Cork O’Connor series finds Cork in a hitman’s sights and danger to his wife in the form of her old flame.

Cork O’Connor, despite reservations from but with the support of Jo O’Connor, is once again sheriff of Tamarack County. One of his practices is to go on calls to the Ojibwe land since he is part Ojibwe. He and deputy answer a domestic violence call. When the deputy, Marsha Dross goes to the house, she is shot by a sniper and Cork must call for help, fight off the attacker, and render first aid. In the end, she survives–barely. But as the investigation proceeds, it is clear the bullet was meant for him. But why?

Meanwhile, Jo is working with a sleazy client, Eddie Jacoby, representing a company that wants to take over the tribal casino management, which has struggled. Then, he is found dead by the overlook to Mercy Falls, gruesomely murdered. There is evidence he’d been with a woman. His rich father and brother arrive from Chicago, along with a “consultant.” Former FBI agent Dina Winter is there to “assist” the investigation and get results. Eddie, for all his troubles, had a special relationship with his father. But the other brother, Ben, is trouble in his own way. Ben and Jo had been in a relationship during law school, before he walked away, and Cork came into her life.

A bomb under the hood of the Cork’s car convinces the family this would be a good time for college visits in the Chicago area, staying with Jo’s sister, now married to Mal. Meanwhile, Cork, now free of family concerns (or so he thinks), goes on a hunt for the sniper. Henry Meloux joins him along with Dina and a deputy. She reveals her skills and there is a growing connection between her and Cork. What Cork hasn’t reckoned with is the danger Jo faces as she comes within reach of the Jacobys.

Krueger explores the complicated relationships between fathers and sons, especially when those relationships come laden with expectations. We also wonder what will happen between Jo and Ben, and between Cork and Dina. These will prove not to be the only tests to the marriage.

This was one of those stories that doesn’t end with the book (I won’t say how). But I’ve got book six in waiting. I just hope Krueger doesn’t do this too often!

Review: The Return of the Kingdom

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Cover image of The Return of the Kingdom" by Stephen G. Dempster

The Return of the Kingdom (Essential Studies in Biblical Theology) , Stephen G. Dempster. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9780830842919) 2024.

Summary: Traces the themes of kingship and kingdom throughout Scripture from creation to new creation.

How would you summarize the storyline of the Bible in a phrase. Stephen G. Dempster proposes the succinct phrase, “the return of the kingdom” will serve well. He argues that the Bible presents a vision of the creation as a temple over which God is king and human beings his vicegerents and a kingdom of priests. That kingdom was disrupted when human beings rebelled against God’s calling. Hence, the rest of the story is how God works to restore that kingdom and humanity to their rightful place.

In this book, Dempster traces the theme of the return of the kingdom through the whole of scripture, as part of a series covering essential theological themes in scripture. Thus, he begins with a chapter setting out the big picture. He does so by looking at how Genesis 1-3, the creation, and Revelation 21-22, new creation, bookend the story of scripture. Specifically, he frames a story of creation, fall, and a greater restoration.

In subsequent chapters, Dempster traces this theme from creation, through a thoughtful exploration of the fall narrative and the spread of sin, resulting in the flood. Dempster moves from patriarchal narratives through the exodus and the establishing of a nation over which God is king. From here, he follows the Hebrew scripture order, showing kingdom growth and decline in the former prophets and the once and future kingdom in the latter prophets. Under the Writings, the Psalms and Wisdom literature teach us kingdom prayer, life, and hope. The Daniel through Chronicles portray the posture of an exiled people awaiting the kingdom.

Turning to the New Testament, Dempster covers this corpus in four chapters, one on Matthew, one on the remaining gospels, one on Acts and all the letters, and one on Revelation. I found the allocation of his attention puzzling. For example, Acts, the Pauline and Catholic epistles are discussed in eleven pages, half of which is devoted to Acts. Likewise, the chapter on Matthew is nearly twice as long as the chapter on Mark, Luke, and John! While his summaries were on the money, this felt like he had to truncate his material to meet page limits. And his material on Revelation, one of the bookends, also included what seemed to be a conclusion of how then do we await a delayed kingdom, all in ten pages.

That said, he helpfully sketches the coming of the king and the particular aspects each gospel writer develops. He traces the kingdom expansion from Israel to the ends of the earth. and the glory of the new Jerusalem and the trees (plural) of life for the healing of the nations.

Overall, this is a valuable work, tracing the theme of God’s rule through scripture. Particularly, showing how the Old Testament develops this theme is valuable. This is so because, for many, the Old Testament is undiscovered territory. I could see this book encouraging people to read the Old Testament. And attending to the reality of God’s reign is great encouragement in our troubled times!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: The Printer and Preacher

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Cover image of "The Printer and the Preacher" by Randy Petersen.

The Printer and the Preacher, Randy Petersen. Thomas Nelson (ISBN: 9780718022211) 2015.

Summary: Recounts the story of the unlikely friendship of George Whitefield and Benjamin Franklin.

The printer and the preacher. They were the most unlikely friends. One was an Oxford educated Englishman, thoroughly convinced of the gospel of Christ which he preached, and a man of utter rectitude in his marriage and dealings. The other was a Boston-born grammar school dropout, a deist who expounded a gospel of self help, an industrious printer and civic leader in Philadelphia, and not above sexual flirtation and affairs. George Whitefield and Benjamin Franklin.

Randy Peterson offers a fascinating account of how these disparate figures became friends, a relationship that lasted until 1770 when Whitefield, the younger man, died. Petersen also sketches the lives and impact of these two important figures in early American history. It all began in 1739 when Whitefield established a business relationship with Franklin as the printer of his sermons. This was a huge success for both men, multiplying Whitefield’s influence, already widespread, and profiting Franklin’s printing business. Franklin used his newspaper to report Whitefield’s preaching engagements (as well as his critics).

Over the years, the two became friends, with Whitefield a regular guest in Franklin’s home whenever passing through Philadelphia. Naturally, Whitefield, the evangelist, tried to convert Franklin, who believed in God, but did not believe Jesus to be God but merely a good teacher. But why did Franklin not only tolerate these efforts but regard Whitefield so highly. Among the reasons, was Whitefield’s eloquence and powerful preaching and its impact. This was because Franklin cared deeply about the civic growth of Philadelphia and the colonies, and the transformed lives of converts contributed to the improvement of morals and the advance of the common good. Not only that, Franklin admired Whitefield’s work in founding and supporting an orphanage in Georgia. And he showed concern for Whitefield’s health, weakened by his tireless preaching.

Petersen argues in this book that not only was their friendship mutually beneficial, it was important to America’s beginnings. Printing was the basis of Franklin’s influence, prospered early on by Whitefield’s sermons. Through printing, Franklin established a communications network, connecting the colonies. Whitefield’s preaching throughout the colonies, amplified by Franklin’s efforts, connected the colonies spiritually. In addition, Whitefield operated outside hierarchies and across denominations, a kind of revolution of the spirit that preceded political revolution.

And there is one more important consequence of their friendship identified by Petersen. They modeled religious freedom in their friendship. Franklin deeply respected and advanced Whitefield’s efforts, while never embracing Whitefield’s faith. And Whitefield remained a fast friend of Franklin, respecting his life and benefiting from his civic vision.

Petersen doesn’t offer the definitive biography of either man but probes deeply into this important friendship. And in this, he probes the wonderful opportunity of what can happen when differing parties keep talking and listening in mutual respect, recognizing common interests and respecting differences without requiring compromise. Might they serve as a model for our own day?

Review: Metaphysics of Exo-Life

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Cover image of "Metaphysics of Exo-Life" by Andrew M. Davis

Metaphysics of Exo-Life, Andrew M. Davis. SacraSage (ISBN: 9781958670040) 2023.

Summary: Metaphysics of Exo-Life constructively engages the naturalistic cosmotheology of Steven J. Dick using A.N. Whitehead’s process metaphysics.

The universe is much bigger than we once thought it. The Hubble and Webb telescopes reveal that our Milky Way, as vast as it is, is but one of millions of galaxies. The observation of habitable planets orbiting stars in our own galaxy leads to the extrapolation that there could be billions of such planets in the universe where living organisms may have evolved, including beings with intelligence equivalent to or greater than our own. That raises interesting questions for any of us who are theologically minded: questions about God, about creatures of other worlds and whether parallels exist to our own understanding of creation, fall, and redemption, and how God manifests God’s self in these numerous worlds.

Cosmotheology is the branch of theology considering such metaphysical questions with regard to exo-life, or life on other worlds. Appropriately, one of the pioneers of this area of thought is NASA historian Steven J. Dick, who has formulated a “naturalistic cosmotheology” centered on evolutionary becoming. He has even observed the ways this resonates with the process theology of A.N. Whitehead, the father of process thought. Dick denies the existence of God in a traditional sense while allowing for the possibility of the evolution of “superintelligences.”

In this book, Andrew M. Davis argues that the “resonances” with A.N. Whitehead’s process theology may be developed in a way that deepens and extends, rather than denies Dick’s thought. He does this by engaging six principles of cosmotheology formulated by Dick. He shows that Whitehead’s thought may be formulated into an inverse statement that deepens and extends Dick’s thought. It also resolves some unanswered questions.

Dick’s six statements are:

  1. Humanity is not physically central to the universe.
  2. Humanity is not central biologically, mentally, or morally in the universe.
  3. Humanity is not at the top of the great chain of being in the universe.
  4. Cosmotheology must be open to radically new and non-supernatural conceptions of God…a God grounded in cosmic evolution.
  5. Cosmotheology must have a moral dimension, extending to embrace all species in the universe–a reverence and respect for life in any form.
  6. Cosmotheology must embrace the idea that human destiny should be linked to natural cosmic events, not to the divine.

Summing up, Dick enunciates an imaginative cosmotheology, or rather, a cosmophilosophy that does not premise the existence of God. Rather, he roots his proposal on evolutionary processes on a cosmic scale. By comparison, Davis affirms much in Dick’s work with regard to evolutionary processes on a cosmic scale and the absence of a God apart from these processes. But where he differs from Dick is in incorporating God into those processes through the process thought of Whitehead. He does this through devoting a chapter to each of Dick’s principles and develops a Whiteheadian inverse principle for each of Dick’s principles. These are:

  1. Humanity exemplifies metaphysical principles that are utterly central to the universe.
  2. Humanity exemplifies biological, mental, and moral antecedents that are metaphysically central to the universe.
  3. Humanity exemplifies the same metaphysical principles that are expressed in various intensities throughout the great chain of being in the universe.
  4. Cosmotheology must be open to truly radical and non-supernatural conceptions of God, a God grounding and exemplifying the metaphysical conditions of cosmic evolution.
  5. Cosmotheology must provide the ontological basis and stimulus for ideals of moral reverence and respect in the nature of things.
  6. Cosmotheology must embrace human destiny as inextricably linked to the destiny of the cosmos as an infinite evolutionary expression of the metaphysical conditions chiefly exemplified in the divine.

Thus, Davis shows how a God inextricably engaged in cosmic evolution, while not privileging human experience, is able to connect that with the existence and experience of other beings. By adopting Whitehead’s process thought, he avoids a supernatural God external to the processes. Rather God is developing apace with the cosmos.

While I do not hold to process theology (I do believe in an eternal, self-sufficient, super-natural God over the cosmos) I appreciate the engagement between and mutual respect of these scholars. Indeed, they have cleared substantial ground in this pioneering area of theology. Specifically, they take planetary and species imperialism off the table. Likewise they engage creatively the questions of God’s engagement in evolutionary processes and questions of morality on a cosmic scale. I’d like to see traditional theists constructively engage this conversation.

In addition, Davis includes two helpful reference articles in the appendix to this book. One is a literature survey of the work of process theologians with regard to extraterrestrial life. The second reprints a foundational article by Lewis S. Ford, “Theological Reflections on Extraterrestrial Life” from 1968. This is a mind-stretching work, but one valuable for conversations between cosmologists and theologians and for anyone interested in thinking deeply about our place in the universe.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through Speakeasy for review.