On Books

Review: Tending the Fire That Burns at the Center of the World

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Tending the Fire That Burns at the Center of the World, David F. White. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2022.

Summary: An argument for the important role of aesthetics, of beauty, in Christian formation.

Since the Enlightenment, the formation of Christians in their faith has emphasized truth and goodness, reason and praxis, discarding aesthetics. David F. White argues for the recovery of a theologically shaped aesthetic in the church’s effort to form her people. He argues that the consequence of the neglect of beauty has been an excarnate spirituality, divorced from the materiality of being human in God’s good creation.

White begins by considering beauty as a phenomenon pervading all existence from microscopic life to the cosmos. He explores how beauty awakens us to the transcendent, displaces us from the center of existence, draws us into community, and bids us into living worthy lives. From this, he turns to the theological aesthetic of Hans Urs von Balthasar, his aesthetic epistemology and how this leads to our attunement to beauty in creation and the re-enchantment of the world.

Ultimate, an aesthetic of beauty finds its focus in the person of Christ who reveals the beauty of God.in human form. He encourages focus upon the material form of Christ, and a kind of attuned play with the narratives of his life, imagining them, and embodying them ourselves. This leads him into the poiesis or ideas of making of John Milbank. Making begins with the transcendent God who comes as verbum, speech that makes, creates. Humans in the image of God are called into participation in this making as a gift. Formation then cannot remain in our heads; we must get our hands dirty, engaging in a kind of reciprocal gift-giving with others.

White next focuses on liturgy as art. He draws on the insights of James K. A. Smith and the power of liturgies to form us, whether from the church or the culture and he considers how aesthetics can enhance the formative power of liturgy, particularly as beauty is understood as the telos of worship. He urges leaders to recover a vision of the beauty inherent in the rhythms and movements of liturgy, to weave artistic expression throughout and to use the eucharistic meal to focus on the beauty in the form of Christ.

We live in a world that alternates between beauty and terror and White advocates for the role of art in the movement from lament to hope. A theological aesthetic looks for the beauty of people amid brokenness, glimpsing healing amid suffering. He concludes with the image of a church of people formed by beauty as the flash mob interrupting the stale banality of modern life with sounds and sights of exquisite beauty reminding people of the other, better world for which they deeply long.

White, I believe, has made an important proposal in this book, that the church vitally needs to recover a theologically grounded aesthetic. This is more than just embracing the arts. It is understanding the role of beauty, with its focus on both the materiality of creation and Christ, in forming us as knowing makers, participating in God’s poiesis in the world. White takes a deep dive in attempting to summarize von Balthasar, Milbank, and Smith yet ably does so, weaving together their ideas with his own vision of a theological aesthetic. Like White, I’ve been captivated by flash mob videos and like him, I long that the church might captivate the world in this way.

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

Review: Dawn: A Complete Account of the Most Important Day in Human History, Nisan 18, AD 30

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Dawn: A Complete Account of the Most Important Day in Human History — Nisan 18, AD 30, Mark Miller. Good Turn Publishing, 2023.

Summary: An effort to render a unified account of the trial, death, resurrection and post-resurrection appearances of Jesus up to the ascension, detailing the movements of the disciples and especially the women who visited the grave on Easter morning.

Many of us in reading the gospels are struck with the differences in the accounts of the death and resurrection of Jesus in the four canonical gospels. While it helps to realize that several witnesses to an event will give accounts that vary in detail while agreeing in many cases on the key occurrences. But is it possible to take the different accounts and come up with a kind of unified account of what happened. Mark Miller, who has worked as a researcher, professor, and entrepreneur thinks so based on four decades of Bible study and research. His author biography states:

“His research for “DAWN” involved deep dives into the chronology, cartography, and culture of first-century Jerusalem. He examined the temple system and rituals, Jewish burial customs, archaeological finds, and ancient historical records outside of the New Testament.”

The author does several interesting things in presenting his findings. First, he introduces us to the key characters, proposing some interesting relational ties–that Salome, the wife of Zebedee was Mary’s sister, making James and John cousins of Jesus by human descent. Likewise, Clopas (or Cleopas) was the brother of Joseph, also married to a Mary, who were parents of James the Younger. He also proposes that Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene are the same person.

He then offers what may be called a dramatic rendering of the Passion events, putting his unified account in story form with some imagined dialogue and story telling. Following this he offers his unified account of the passages in the four gospels concerning the death, resurrection, appearances, and ascension of Jesus including here Paul’s account of appearances in 1 Corinthians 15. Perhaps the most striking assertion here is that Jesus died on the Wednesday, 14 Nisan, AD 30, on the day of preparation for Passover in that year. Much of this is based on the activities of the women, who prepare spices before going to the tomb between the High Sabbath of Passover (after sunset Wednesday to after sunset Thursday) and before the regular weekly sabbath, from after sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, which best fulfills the prophecy of Matthew 12:40 that speaks of three days and nights in the grave. He also makes proposals for the whereabouts of the disciples–nine in Bethany, John with his family who had a home in Jerusalem, and Peter with John Mark and his family, alone from the others because of his betrayal. He also traces the movements of the women, and Peter and John on Easter morning, maintaining that Peter visited the tomb twice, then encountered Jesus alone (as Paul asserts). And he offers a plausible account of the sequence of appearances in Jerusalem, then in Galilee, including how the 500 were gathered, and back to Jerusalem for the ascension on the Mount of Olives.

Part Three explains key features of the unified account including when Jesus was crucified, the relationships, his identification of Mary Magdalene with Mary of Bethany, and the important locations in the geography of Jerusalem. After the epilogue, additional appendices deal with other questions including calendars, whether the last supper was a Passover meal, the hour Jesus was
crucified, the year of these events, the importance of Emmaus, and other questions.

The author notes where he relies on secondary traditional sources as well as where his assertions find support in the biblical text. He also notes the speculative basis of some aspects of his account, especially some of the relationships. One thing he makes clear is that there is no question on the basic contours: that Jesus died, that he was buried in a sealed and guarded tomb, and that the tomb was empty and the risen Christ encountered by the various witnesses beginning with the women. Miller also observes something that should be obvious: how could the soldiers assert both that they had all been asleep and that the disciples stole the body? How would they know who stole the body? This said, the somewhat novel elements (which have been asserted by
others) of when Jesus died or the various relationships do not change the central realities, and likely will not change our observances, based on the appearance that only a sabbath, Holy Saturday, intervened between the crucifixion and the resurrection.

At the same time, I admit that I want to look a lot more closely at the biblical text before accepting that there were two additional days between the crucifixion and the resurrection. The accounts, apart from the small detail of the women’s preparations, don’t appear to allow for these extra days. Is that detail enough to revise our views?

What I so appreciate is Miller’s rigorous effort to look at the evidence of the four gospels and Paul afresh. He traces the movements through Jerusalem and environs, the hurried burial preparations, the distinctive role of the women in attesting to the resurrection in the face of the doubts of men, and the multiple appearances of Jesus. All this allows me to proclaim with even greater joy and assurance, “He is risen!” when the light of Easter morning dawns.

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

Review: Granite Kingdom

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Granite Kingdom, Eric Pope. Montpelier, VT: Rootstock Publishing, 2022.

Summary: Set in Vermont’s granite country in 1910, narrates a rivalry between two granite companies representing old and new ways, with a young newspaperman with social aspirations caught in between.

Dan Strickland is a stonecutter’s son. His father died of white lung disease, breathing in granite dust as he worked in George Rutherford’s granite shops. He has higher aspirations and goes to work at the Granite Junction Gazette, helping with various tasks given him by Slayton, the editor who hopes his weekly editorials will open the way to higher positions with a big city newspaper. Meanwhile Dan begins working as a reporter, whose “Local Lumps” column rapidly becomes the town’s favorite part of the newspaper.

Rutherford Granite is the biggest employer in town. Capitalized by out-of-town investors, they dominate the granite business in this Vermont town, and thus enjoy the favor of the newspaper and the town fathers. The rival is Wheeler Granite, a smaller and older company. Rutherford is a union shop. Wheeler builds personal loyalty and pays well for quality work. Rutherford goes big, with government building contracts in big cities. Wheeler does a smaller but steady business. George Rutherford loves new ways, new machines and methods. Wheeler sticks to the tried and true. Rutherford tries to win Wheeler over, attempting to persuade him to take some smaller jobs. Wheeler refuses.

They clash. Rutherford dumps waste on Wheeler’s property. Rutherford takes over the railroad and charges his competitors more than his own company. This is at the behest of his investors who want more profit. It costs his bookkeeper his integrity. Wheeler challenges him repeatedly in court and wins, but has a tough time with the enforcement of any judgments. George Rutherford would like to get along but his wife Alice is another story. She is determined that the business will succeed and that the Rutherfords will dominate society, even if it means cutting Wheeler’s wife out of the social scene.

Just when Rutherford Granite seems to have the upper hand a series of deadly accidents occur. Rutherford enlists Dan to investigate, suspecting anarchist activity, which has occurred in other towns. Both Dan’s investigative efforts and his social and romantic ambitions expose him to the various strata of Granite Junction society, from the West End where workers live, and where liquor can be bought in the dry town and sensual pleasures satisfied, to the shops on Main Street, where many of the Gazette’s advertising money comes from, and the upper class homes (and girls) on High Street. Others like to use Dan as well, like the winsome Perley Prescott, always working a new business scheme, who uses Dan to procure liquor. Then there is Bob Blackstone, Wheeler’s foreman who resents the favoring of the Rutherford enterprises by the newspaper and Dan’s investigations into the “accidents” at Rutherford’s business. Resentments turn to threats.

Dan discovers how hard it is to rise beyond one’s roots in such a stratified society. As a reporter, will he truly report “without fear or favor?” Will he pursue prestige or power, or listen to Lieutenant Ridgeway who sees a different future in this young man? And beyond these personal matters, how will the increasingly deadly rivalry resolve and what will that mean for Granite Junction and its workers?

First-time author Eric Pope combines a page turning plot with a sociological study of a town in the heart of the granite mining industry. He draws upon his experience editing a northern Vermont paper for ten years while researching the town’s history, the basis for this novel. Like real life, there are characters we love and root for, ones we admire, ones we hate, and a number in between, all the types that make up a town like Granite Junction–and maybe our town as well.

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

Review: Reading the Bible Around the World

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Reading the Bible Around the World, Federico Alfredo Roth, Justin Marc Smith, Kirsten Oh, Alice Yafeh-Deigh, and Kay Higuera Smith. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2022.

Summary: A globally representative team of authors discuss the diverse social locations of different cultures that shape their reading of scripture, developing the student’s awareness of the importance of context in biblical interpretation.

There was a time (and I was influenced by this tradition) where we learned to study scripture with Euro-American interpretive tools often labelled the historical-critical method. It was an attempt to bring a kind of scientific precision to the study of texts that would lead to “assured” interpretations that were privileged above those of other interpreters because they arose from a supposedly rigorous process. Yet such interpretive work was done by people who often were blind to the way their worldview shaped their conclusions, including such things as a radical skepticism of the miraculous or the spiritual world. It was also blind to ways one’s position as part of a dominant, colonizing culture shaped one’s reading of the social and ethnic dimensions of the text. Most of this was also done by men who brought the prejudices of their gender to how they read passages about women and relations between the sexes.

The introduction of this work discusses the sea change that has occurred in biblical interpretation as scholars from every part of the world have engaged the biblical text, bringing the unique sensitivities of their cultural contexts. Women are joining men. Latino/a, Asian, and African scholars are joining Euro-Americans in studying the biblical text. The growing awareness of social location and how this shapes interpretation has led to rich conversations about the different ways we may read the biblical text, the different nuances or features we notice, and the particular applications we make shaped by our context.

In the following chapters, interpreters from different cultures describe and model what this looks like. Each describes particular interpretive emphases that shape study of the biblical text that arise in their cultural context. Then they demonstrate how this works out in their reading of Luke 10:25-37, the parable of the loving neighbor who happens to be a Samaritan, and their reading of an Old Testament passage of their choice.

Frederico Alfredo Roth discusses Latin American approaches, and the influence of liberationist approaches, a concern for the poor and the migrant, and for praxis have in approaching texts. Alice Yafeh-Deigh discusses colonial and post-colonial influences as well as tribalism and patriarchal concerns in reading texts from an African perspective. Justin Marc Smith discusses classic approaches of Euro-Americans, the anti-supernaturalism underlying many readings, and how the post-modern turn brought awareness of the social location of readers and growing self-awareness to Euro-American interpreters. Kirsten Oh recounts the intersection of orientalist, anglicist, and nativist readings of scripture, as well as the influence of underlying Confucianism and the current post-colonial context. Kay Higuera Smith rounds out the discussion with an exploration of the situation of diasporic peoples, often leading to creolized or hybridized readings.

It was more difficult to compare the different readings of Old Testament passages because each chose unique passages (and one did not include this). The Latin American reading of Deuteronomy 24:17-22 was especially aware of the treatment of the marginalized in this passage. The African reading of Esther emphasized the strategies both women used to subvert patriarchal dominance, an issue also wrestled with by African women. The Euro-American reading of David and Bathsheba looks at this primarily from the perspective of David and David’s sin, not seeing the incident through Bathsheba’s eyes. The Asian reading of Ruth focuses on issues of Ruth as “model minority,” combined with her invisibility at the end of the narrative, while also recognizing her distinctive character of hesed.

What was more interesting to me was the reading of Luke 10:25-37. While there were nuances of difference, particularly in application, I was struck by how similar all the readings were. All were aware of the Jew-Samaritan dynamic and drew on this in the discussion of neighboring. Yet the combined discussion offered a much richer reading of a familiar story. It suggested to me that reading with our global neighbors, when it is focused carefully on the same text leads, not to radically disparate readings, but rather fuller readings exposing aspects of the biblical text we may overlook. For example, the Latin American approach raised the question of why the unsafeness of the Jericho road was tolerated. Isn’t addressing this also a matter of loving neighbor?

The subtitle of this book is “A Student’s Guide to Global Hermeneutics.” I think this text accomplishes that task well. The overview of interpretive distinctions of different cultural contexts combined with examples, as well as reflection questions makes this a helpful text in an academic setting. It is also a helpful introduction, especially for North American Christians, to the growing global conversation about how we read scripture together. The suggestions for further reading allow one to go as far as one wants in that exploration. And what will one find? What is suggested here is a richer, deeper, and perhaps renewed engagement with scripture.

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

Review: The Garden of God

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The Garden of God: Toward a Human Ecology, Pope Benedict XVI, foreword by Archbishop Jean-Louis Brugues. Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 2014.

Summary: A collection of Pope Benedict XVI’s statements in homilies, papal greetings, letters, and other written documents, pertaining to a theology of human ecology.

Many would consider Pope Francis to be the environmental pope, especially with the issuance of Laudato Si. This volume shows that, at least in this respect, he builds upon the theology and actions of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI. Afterall, it was under Benedict that the Vatican went carbon neutral. This collection of the Pope’s writings on the environment in speeches, homilies, greetings to various governmental and international bodies, to youth and workers groups conveys a robust and far reaching ecological theology that offers distinctive contributions to our contemporary discussions.

The collection is divided three sections, and because of the “occasional” nature of these writings, many repeat similar ideas. I will discuss some of the key themes in each section.

Creation and Nature

Benedict begins with the idea of creation as the gift of a rational God, intended to be the Garden of God in which he placed human beings to enjoy and tend. From the beginning the peace and prosperity of human beings and the environment are seen to be integrally and reciprocally connected. And for our present day, we cannot hope to have peace in the world if we fail to protect the creation. Its peace is our peace. The creation was set up so that we might fulfill God’s plan for the flourishing of all his creatures, when we set ourselves up at the center and exploit the environment, we threaten our own existence. The protection of creation is also a matter of justice. Our failure to protect creation often puts at risk the poor and marginalized. Benedict celebrates the importance of everything from the Arctic to the Amazon as well as the fragile beauty of the earth as scene by space, with its vanishingly thin envelope of atmosphere on which our lives depend.

The Environment, Science, and Technology

Building on the idea of creation as the rational work of God, Benedict sees faith, knowledge, and science as in harmony. At the same time, the technological applications of science must be informed by the Church’s theology. Human ecology and environmental ecology must work together. He does not accept the pitting of humans against the natural world. The flourishing of families and societies, including the begetting of children is not at odds with seeking creation’s flourishing. Indeed, it is our task. In our time, this means moderating our consumption, turning to alternate energy sources, and ensuring the equitable access to the earth’s resources for all nations. He decries financial gains at the expense of the workers who make this possible, as well as speculative economies, that in the collapse of 2008, inflicted harm to the lives and livelihoods of the global community, as well as leading to environmental degradation.

Hunger, Poverty, and the Earth’s Resources

A number of the Pope’s messages in this section are to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. He urges the adequacy of the earth’s resources to feed the world’s people without compromising biodiversity. He decries policies that denigrate the dignity of agriculture and the rural parts of the world. He upholds the farmer as a model of upholding faith and reason, acting on his knowledge of the laws of nature while trusting in the providence of God. He calls for our solidarity with all of humanity for equitable access to food and the world’s resources. He believes this leads to sustainable development.

Most of the pieces are short, sometimes excerpts of longer documents. That makes this at once a resource for thoughtful Christian reflection on caring for the creation and a resource for those studying the environmental thought and advocacy of Benedict XVI’s papacy. Benedict contributes to the conversation the conviction of the transcendent basis for our use of reason in the care of creation. He affirms the role of humans, not only in environmental degradation but also in remediating these impacts. Human beings are part of God’s plan for the world. As leader of a global church, he speaks to global leaders about their responsibilities to all of humanity, and all living things. He affirms the spiritual values that enable people to renounce excessive consumption and make changes for the sake of both fellow human beings as well as the rest of nature.

I did find relatively few references to global climate change. There are concerns regarding his encouragement of equitable sharing of resources if this only means increased consumption of carbon-based fuels and more greenhouse gas emissions as other nations “catch up.” He seems more focused on land and water resources and assumes that climate will not drastically affect food production. Perhaps because we are further down the road as I write in 2023, we see more clearly the implications of our changing climate. Yet these impacts were not unknown in the years of Benedict’s papacy. Indeed it motivated the Vatican’s move to carbon neutrality. It seems more could have been said.

Yet what the Pope said and advocated was significant and far-reaching both in geographic scope and on the aspects of human existence on which he touched. It is striking how he wove these themes into so many papal messages. It both offers models and raises questions about how well we do this throughout the church. May we do as well.

Review: First Nations Version

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First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament, Terry M. Wildman, Consulting editor, First Nations Version Translation Council. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2022.

Summary: A dynamic equivalent English translation of the New Testament by and for the First Nations people in North America, using the cultural idioms resonating with First Nations people.

“Creator’s blessing rests on the ones who walk a trail of tears, for he will wipe the tears from their eyes and comfort them.”

Matthew 5:4, First Nations Version

I had just begun reading through the First Nations Version of the New Testament when this translation of Matthew 5:4, amid what we call the Beatitudes, stopped me in my tracks. The Trail of Tears is a reference to one of the most tragic episodes of American history, when the administration of Andrew Jackson forcibly removed the “Five Civilized Tribes,” the peoples of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Nations from the southeastern United States to land west of the Mississippi. Over 60,000 were removed and many never made it, dying from exposure, disease, and starvation. If another nation were doing this, we might call it genocide. I was talking with Richard Foster during a recent interview and he observed that there is not a Native Person in this country who has not walked a trail of tears. The actions of Jackson’s administration epitomized what happened throughout this continent.

What a powerful idiom for a First Nations person! I do not think “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Mathew 5:4, NIV) would speak in the same way. It doesn’t for me. I found myself lamenting our terrible history of displacing people from their ancestral lands across this country, certainly in my own state where the name of every river, and even the name of the state, attest to the people whose ancestral home is where I have lived my whole life.

This one verse illustrates the basic approach of the First Nations Version translators. It is a “thought for thought” or dynamic equivalence approach, seeking to use cultural idioms that speak, in English, to the hearts of First Nations people. Terry M. Wildman, the lead translator of a council of twelve all represented the diverse tribal and denominational heritages of North America. Wycliffe Associates of Orlando provided technical support and funding to gather this council. Between the council and reviewers and cultural consultants, thirty-three tribal heritages were represented. They also enjoyed the collaborative support of Rain Ministries, OneBook of Canada, Wycliffe Associates, Native InterVarsity, and Mending Wings.

I was struck that this translation reflects an oral, story-telling culture. This is reflected in this video in which Terry Wildman renders the translation of the Lord’s prayer and teaching on prayer (Luke 11:1-4; 9-10)

One of the other distinctions of this translation is the translation of the meaning of Greek and Hebrew names and titles. Jesus is “Creator Sets Free.” Abraham is “Father of Many Nations.” Jerusalem is “Village of Peace.” Both Jewish and tribal cultures believe names have meaning, and so they chose to translate the meaning of names. Other concepts are idiomatically translated: rabbis are “wisdomkeepers,” temples are “sacred lodges,” angels are “spirit-messengers.” The Gospel of John is “He Shows Goodwill Tells the Good Story.” More information about the translation process may be found at the First Nations Version website.

At times, the text includes insertions of explanatory or transitional material, aiding in the understanding of the story. This is set off with a sidebar and italics. I did not find this to be intrusive. I also felt that the dynamic equivalent, idiomatic rendering brought out meaning in the text but seemed less interpretive to me than Eugene Peterson’s The Message, which is more of a paraphrase. I suspect this reflects the careful control of a translation council and Wycliffe Associates technical assistance. The only challenge is that when you have a number of translated names in a passage, the reading aloud of the passage may be cumbersome, as I found in using this version for a reading that included the names of the twelve apostles.

It is subtle, but I also thought this version captured the context of Jews under Roman Rule–the People of Iron. Reading scripture through indigenous eyes seemed to emphasize the realities of being subject tribes, that we may not so readily see in other dominant Western culture translations. The use of Outside Nations rather than “Gentile” gave much more a sense of the “otherness” of these people, and the remarkable thing that happens when the good story goes to those “outside.”

The primary audience for this translation are the over six million First Nations people of North America. But this is also a translation for those who want to read scripture through indigenous eyes. I want to use this side by side with other translations in study. I’m also heartened to hear that work has begun on a translation of Psalms and Proverbs. Under God’s grace and provision, I hope we will see the remainder of the Old Testament translated someday. There is so much of God’s good story yet to be rendered. But this is a good beginning.

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

Review: The Back Side of the Cross

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The Back Side of the Cross, Diane Leclerc and Brent Peterson, foreword by Lynn Bohecker. Eugene: Cascade Books, 2022.

Summary: A look at the models of the atonement from the back side of the cross, where those abused and abandoned are found, exploring how Jesus died not only for sinners but the sinned against.

Often the atoning work of Jesus on the cross is framed in terms of Jesus death for sinners. Sometimes, this only adds to the burdens of the abused and abandoned, who believe that God is joining the chorus of those heaping blame and shame upon them. The authors of this work consider such people as living on the back side of the cross and what they seek to do is to re-frame the doctrine of the atonement in ways that offer hope and healing for the abused. They do so without tossing out the different models of the atonement but considering ways. Substitutionary atonement means a substitute victim, one who endured abuse and abandonment, violence and scapegoating, nakedness and shame. The cross reveals God’s justice toward those who oppress. Christus Victor offers the hope of justice.

The cross speaks powerfully to abandonment, how the Godhead experiences both abandoning and abandonment. The nakedness and shaming of Jesus (in reality, there were no loinclothes on the crucified), offers hope that God in Christ has entered into these dimensions of the abused. And the resurrection offers the hope of reviving grace, adoption as the beloved of God, the mending of wounds.

One of the chapters that may be challenging is the idea of forgiving God. The abuser struggles with the question of “where was God when they were being abused?” They cried out, and God didn’t save them from their abuser. The back side of the cross becomes the place where God’s “guilt” is addressed and also taken on God’s self in Christ. It allows the possibility of forgiving God.

While we are speaking of forgiveness, the authors discuss the pressure the abused often face to forgive their abuser. They argue there is no true forgiveness without repentance and confession on the abuser’s part. Also, while scripture teaches forgiveness, the authors speak of the long road to forgiveness, one involving their own healing in Christ, and growing in their assurance of the love of Christ. Hasty forgiveness often fails to get at the root of the abuse or wrong and actually further victimizes the victims of abuse, something the church has often done. This chapter may well be one of the most important in the book.

The book concludes with three chapters of pastoral resources. One is the importance of the church in advocating for children and implementing practices that protect children. The second explores the practice of lament, rare in many of our churches and so important in the healing of the abused and abandoned. The third chapter offers liturgical resources including ways the eucharist can signal Christ’s welcome and healing for the abused and abandoned.

This book is valuable in two ways. Unlike some who worked with the abused, this is not a cry to abandon the atonement, labeling it as divine child abuse, but to recognize the ways in which the Triune God has entered into the messiness of abuse and abandonment and the place of the victim at the back side of the cross. It is also a wise book of pastoral counsel in the important work of offering hope and healing for the abused, which begins by allowing them to express the raw feelings, the anger toward God, the sense of betrayal and broken trust. This is substantive theologizing and counsel rather than superficial sugarcoating, that faces the hard theological questions of abuse.

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

Review: The Song of the Cell

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The Song of the Cell, Siddhartha Mukherjee. New York: Scribner, 2022.

Summary: A history of the advances of cell biology including the cutting-edge innovations that allow for the modification or implantation of cells, creating in essence, a new human.

There was a time when those who studied organic life did not understand that a fundamental component of all living things was the cell. And then Hooke in England and van Leeuwenhoek in Amsterdam used their primitive microscopes to look at water droplets and tissue and saw–cells. Not only that, these early cell biologists realized all living organisms were constituted of one or more cells that are the basic structure on which all of life is organized.

Siddhartha Mukherjee, a cancer researcher, takes his readers on a step by step narrative unpacking the basics of cell biology (and pathology) for a lay audience. He takes us through the different structures within the cell and the incredible phenomenon of cell division. He traces how cells develop into living organisms from a tiny clump to a blastocyst to a living human being or other creature.

Perhaps the most fascinating section of the book is that on the nature of blood. He describes the different components of blood–red cells, how blood clots, and the intricacies of the immune cell and how self recognizes non-self, and what happens when self fails to recognize non-self and when self thinks self is non-self. Later, we learn that all the different components of our blood arise from a single type of stem cell.

Amid the story (and the writing) came the pandemic. Mukherjee remarks that it came at a time when cell biologists were celebrating breakthroughs in understanding immunology. And COVID-19 unraveled so much of what we thought we knew, once again showing us how much we’ve yet to learn. Here as in the rest of the story, Mukherjee intermixes personal narratives, sometimes tragic, with the science.

He takes up how cells work together. There are the “citizen cells” of the heart muscle, pulsating in rhythm for decades. There are the “contemplating cells,” the neurons, and the fascinating role of microglia in pruning away unused connections, creating the particular ways we are “wired.” Then there are cells within key organs that maintain homeostasis, those in our pancreas our metabolism, in our kidneys, our salt levels, and our liver, metabolizing harmful chemicals like alcohol.

An underlying theme that Mukherjee draws to a focus at the end are the ways we intervene to modify cells. It may be the interventions to halt and destroy cancer cells, runaway cells that cannot turn off their multiplication and trick the body to not recognize the foreign, yet non-foreign, invader destroying it. We’ve pioneered IVF techniques and, in the case of one researcher at least, genetically edited and embryo (and went to prison for it), resulting in the first gene-edited baby. The use of edited stem cells to reverse sickle cell anemia, to reverse osteoarthritis and a host of other therapies suggest the possibility of “new humans,” or at least renewed ones.

There are always the questions of how far to go with such things, questions that often arise only after we realize something is possible. Mukherjee explores the boundaries between maintaining and restoring health and the enhancements that somehow change who we are. What is most troubling about the latter augmentations is that they reflect a certain privilege not open to all, creating the potential for two races, those of super-humans and then ordinary humans. How long will it be before they are viewed as sub-human?

Aside from these sometimes fascinating and sometimes vexing questions is the sheer wonder Mukherjee describes, aptly called the “song” of the cell. Often, his writing sings and soars, and one finds oneself saying, “how wondrous.” Sometimes the song descends as well, as we learn of the microbes that invade us or the cancer that consumes and wastes us. Sometimes the song is beautifully complex, like a baroque fugue, and other times chaotic, difficult to make sense of, as are many of the intricacies of various cancers. This was a stunning work, leaving me in a state of wonder, even with all the mysteries of the cell yet to be unraveled.

Review: A Just Passion

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A Just Passion: A Six Week Lenten Journey, Ruth Haley Barton, Sheila Wise Rowe, Tish Harrison Warren, Terry M. Wildman, and others. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2022.

Summary: A six week Lenten devotional consisting of brief excerpts from works by InterVarsity Press authors, scripture readings, and breath prayers, considering how, in the passion of Christ, we lament the injustices of the world, find healing in the redemptive work of Christ, and enter into Christ’s heart for justice for the oppressed.

Lent is a season of fasting (except on Sundays), where we begin by remembering that we will die, we lament our sins and those of the world and the impact of these on others. It is a time of repentance and drawing close again to Christ, walking in the way of his passion and anticipating the hope of Easter Sunday. For many, some form of Lenten devotional reading is a part of their practices from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday, the forty days of Lent.

A Just Passion follows in that tradition, offering readings for the forty days of Lent (Sundays excepted because Sunday is a feast and not fast day). The readings are drawn from the writings of InterVarsity Press authors, each reading of two short pages of reading. Among those included are Ruth Haley Barton, Tish Harrison, Warren, Eugene Peterson, Esau McCaulley, Sheila Wise Rowe, Dominique DuBois Gilliard, John Perkins, Tara Beth Leach, and Soong-Chan Rah, just to give you a sense of the stellar lineup represented here.

Also included in each week’s readings are a lectionary reading drawn from the First Nations Version of the New Testament, an English translation for indigenous peoples of North America, whose lead translator is Terry M. Wildman. One day each week includes a “breath prayer” in which we breathe in a short invitation or supplication to God and breathe out a line of response or release. For example, the breath prayer of week one is (breathe in)”Blessed are those who hunger” and (breathe out) “They will be filled.”

The readings focus on the inextricable link between the passion of Jesus and the pursuit of justice. They begin with Tish Harrison Warren reminding us that on Ash Wednesday, the ashes are to remind us that we are dust, that we die, and to hold on to what is real. John Perkins reminds us that Jesus was love incarnate, a mission of reconciliation his son Spencer died pursuing, and that he continues in West Jackson. Mark E. Strong tells the story of a young boy who has nothing for the offering and climbs into the basket, offering himself, which is truly the living worship of every Christ follower. Bethany H. Hoang, director of International Justice Mission, speaks of the exhausting work of fighting injustice, work that only can be sustained if begun in prayer. Christ outpoured in our lives is the beginning of our pursuit of justice.

Each reading gives the author and book from which it is sourced and an index by days gives more complete publication information. Not only is this a wonderful “sampler” of the authors who write for InterVarsity Press, this is a well-conceived and substantive collection that helps us enter into Christ’s passion while calling us into the pursuit of justice. Vice President of InterVarsity Press Cindy Bunch introduces the collection, offering specific practices we might consider in the pursuit of justice. If you are still looking for a Lenten devotional, this one is well worth your consideration.

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

Review: The Inconvenient Gospel

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The Inconvenient Gospel (Plough Spiritual Guides), Clarence Jordan, edited by Frederick L. Downing, Introduction by Starlette Thomas. Walden, NY: Plough Books, 2022.

Summary: A collection of the talks and writings of Clarence Jordan, rooted in the teaching of Jesus, drawing out the radical implications this has for war, wealth disparity, civil rights, and true community.

I’ve known of Clarence Jordan for many years but it wasn’t until this collection of his writings crossed my path that I read him. I knew he was a Baptist preacher in the south, that he wrote his own paraphrase of the gospels, The Cotton Patch Gospels, and that he helped form an integrated farming community, Koinonia Farms, in the face of great opposition. One can learn all this and more in Frederick Downing’s fine introduction to this collection.

What I learned in reading this collection was that here was a man who really was formed more by his reading of the gospels than the culture and I think this comes through in every piece in this collection. He makes this radical claim in the first piece, “Impractical Christianity”: “For Christianity is not a system you work–it is a Person who works you. You don’t get it; he gets you.” In “The Meaning of Christian Fellowship,” he elaborates the meaning of koinonia: common ownership, distribution according to need, and the complete equality and freedom of every believer. In “What is the Word of God,” he emphasizes the priority of the living Word and that scripture must never be a prison for the living Word but rather a witness to him. He forcefully challenges White Supremacy in “White Southern Christians and Race” by contending 1) there is no scientific basis for inferiority or superiority of any race over the other, 2) there is no biblical evidence that God has favorite children, and 3) differences are differences, not signs of superiority or inferiority.

“No Promised Land without the Wilderness” sets out the challenge every true leader of God’s people will face–criticism when things are harder or don’t go the way people expected. In his talk at Goshen College on the Ten Commandments, he stresses the idea that the laws were given out of love–that we not so much break laws but break ourselves upon them. He emphasizes, in “Jesus, Leader of the Poor,” the kind of king Jesus was in sitting on a “mule whereon no man had ever sat,” humorously remarking on his own attempts to sit on such a mule, concluding that he was still “a mule whereon no man had ever sat”! Yet Jesus sits on this lowly yet recalcitrant animal. In “Love Your Enemies,” he recounts a confrontation with the insults of a segregationist with whom he could have easily mopped the floor. Asked why he didn’t, he said that he was trying to obey the command to love his enemies–or at least do him no harm, leading to a conversation on what it means to be a Christian.

“Jesus and Possessions” talks about the distorting power of possessions over us. “Metamorphosis” speaks of the transforming power of the gospel, one that takes two people who would have been at each other’s throats, Matthew the tax collector and Simon the Zealot and turns them into brothers. In “The Man from Gadara,” he explores how this demoniac could have come to lose his own self to a legion of demons. He raises questions about societal hypocrisy–why pigs in a land where no one is supposed to eat pigs?–and raises questions about teaching children not to kill and then sending them to war, and what that does to one, anticipating the traumas of PTSD we see with so many war veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. “Things Needed for our Peace” was a talk given four weeks after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and draws on Jesus’ words approaching Jerusalem, speaking to the needs for racial humility, for an understanding of violence, and that Christian faithfulness may lead, not to success, but the cross, and, if we survive, to a new attitude of servanthood and identification with the hurts of others.

The last in this collection, “The Humanity of God,” returns to the person of Jesus, the concern of Jordan throughout his ministry. He speaks of the attempts of Mary and his earthly family to control him and Mary’s relinquishment of Jesus at the cross, allowing him fully, and finally, to be about his Father’s business. From start to finish, the pieces in this collection face us with the uniqueness of Christ as fully God and human, his authority, and flowing from that his radical call for those who would follow.

This book is part of the Plough Spiritual Guides series. This, as well as the others acquaint us with the best of spiritual reading, which is always to take us into the heart of God to see both great love and unequaled authority. They remind us that there are really only two ways to live and that we can’t have it both ways and that the only good way is the way of the good news, as strange from a worldly view, as it seems. Jordan reminds us that it is both strange and good.

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