Review: 30 Events that Shaped the Church

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30 eventsWriting an accessible church history for a general adult audience is no small task, particularly writing one that people will read. Alton Gansky’s book succeeds in providing a readable, fast-moving survey of the history of the church through 30 succinct vignettes of important events in this two thousand year history.

One of the strengths of this book is Gansky’s ability to narrate events and give us concise profiles of key individuals and concluding summaries that underscore the significance of each event for the church. Many will find his accounts of early church history especially helpful, including the fall of Jerusalem, the burning of Rome, the Edict of Milan, the Nicaean Council, and so forth. It was particularly illuminating for me to realize the fine scholarship involved in Jerome’s Vulgate translation, as well as to understand the expansion of the power of the papacy. I also appreciated his even-handed narrative of the evolution controversies in this country.

Of course, one of the difficulties of Gansky’s approach is the selection of events. For the most part, this is a narrative of Western, and in the last third, American Christianity. While this is probably what is of greatest interest to those who would be the target audience of this book it fails to account for the rise of the modern missions movement and the explosive and game-changing growth of Christianity in China, other east and southeast Asian countries, and in much of the southern hemisphere. And in its narrative of American Christianity he seems to have little to say about slavery, the abolitionist movement, and the black church and civil rights.

I found his decision to include the Jesus Movement as both personally of interest (because of the impact of this movement in my life) and yet questionable as a major church-shaping event–particularly because of the focus on contemporary Christian music, which certainly has changed American church worship. I would not have given separate chapters to Darwin and the Scopes trials.

I also found one inaccuracy (probably a proof-reading error). On page 242 he notes the death of Pope Pius XII, who preceded Pope John XXIII and Vatican II. On page 244 he indicates that Pius XII succeeded Pope John XXIII, which would have been a far more momentous event than Vatican II. In actuality it was Pope Paul VI.

In summary, I found this a highly readable and informative account of Western and white American church history. It is regrettable, considering the readability of this volume, that it is not more truly representative of the whole Church.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

“Our Healing is in our Obedience”

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Pieter Aertsen 1507/08 – 1575 The Healing of the Cripple of Bethesda

Pieter Aertsen 1507/08 – 1575
The Healing of the Cripple of Bethesda

“Our healing is in our obedience.”

I’ve been musing on this phrase ever since Rich [Hagopian, for those of you who don’t know my pastor] said this during this past Sunday’s message on the healing of the invalid at the pool of Bethesda in John 5:1-15.

The basic story is that Jesus comes upon this man who he has learned has been in this condition for 38 years. It was believed that if you could get into the water when it was stirred, you could be healed.

Jesus asks him, “do you want to be well?” The man never answers this searching question. Yet it had to be asked–you can get accustomed to being sick, having others care for you and so forth, to the point that healthy life is the scary thing.

Instead, the man gives the many reasons why he could not get into the pool before others. This provokes all kinds of questions and one wonders if this is a pretty lame excuse.

Jesus neither questions the answer or re-asks his original question. Jesus doesn’t blame or judge him. Instead, Jesus simply tells him to get up and take his mat with him. The man does what Jesus says, and in so doing, in the moment of obedience, finds himself healed. His healing is in his obedience. In doing what Jesus says, he finds he is able to walk.

It seems to me that this speaks to those critical moments where we face the choice to trust and follow Jesus in some critical area of obedience, or not. On the one hand, we often can come up with many reasons why we haven’t been able to follow up until now. On the other hand, we sometimes want all kinds of assurances and proofs that Jesus will heal us, help us, be with us, before we follow.

And like this incident, there will be times where none of it matters.

The only thing in those moments is, will we trust that Jesus knows what he is doing enough to do what he says? Sometimes, that is all he will give us and we can only find whether he is true by obeying him.

Probably in my own life, the area where I’ve most been challenged by this is in the matter of giving. It seems crazy, mathematically at least, to set aside a portion of my salary each month for kingdom purposes and to somehow believe that what remains (especially after Uncle Sam gets his chunk!) will be enough. There is no way to know that will be the case before you do it! Yet the crazy paradox is that it is the times when I’ve not been faithful in giving where I’ve felt the most financially stressed. Leaning into giving and generosity, as crazy as it seems, has been the thing that has helped heal me from being obsessed about having “enough.” My healing in the areas of worry about money has been in obedience.

And God has taken care of us through 36-plus years of marriage, and sometimes miraculously, such as the time when we were facing $2000 in unreimbursed medical bills, and the same day we added this up we received a gift of $2000 from someone who said God had told them to send us a check.

I continue to face these moments where I simply have to decide, will I trust Jesus enough to do what he says, laying aside my excuses and not asking for any proofs (which really don’t make obedience easier).

What about you? It might be that the place where you find it hard to trust and obey is the very place where Jesus can bring healing as you obey. What does “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk” look like for you?

This blog also appears on Smoky Row Brethren Church’s Going Deeper blog.

Review: Daring Greatly

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Daring GreatlyI can’t seem to get away from Teddy Roosevelt! Brene’ Brown begins this book with a quote from a speech of his at the Sorbonne in 1910 in which he talks about the man in the arena being the one who counts and not his critics, the man who strives for great things at great cost. Her title is drawn from these words:

“…who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly….”

Brown describes her research into vulnerability as one that led her to a personal breakdown, which her therapist described as a spiritual renewal. She traces her research course, which began by exploring human connection and discovered in her interviews that the fear and shame of disconnection is what came up over and over again. She says she was hijacked by her data into researching shame, and the flip side of this, a shame resilience that enables people to overcome shame and live “wholeheartedly.” Wholeheartedness comes from a sense of one’s basic worthiness, cultivated through a variety of practices such as letting go of perfectionism, of numbing and powerlessness, of scarcity fears, of the need for certainty and more.

A key to wholehearted living that “dares greatly” that is at the core of this book is the embrace of vulnerability. Vulnerability requires courage and a willingness to press against all the “vulnerability myths” shared by both women and men. But it leads to compassion and connection, nowhere illustrated more than in Brown’s concluding chapter having to do with vulnerability and parenting. I found myself saying “Amen” and “Amen” and wishing that my peers in parenting could have heard this sooner and not inflicted so much pain on each other around being the perfect parent. Her stories of being imperfectly vulnerable with her children and allowing them to dare greatly, even if this just meant showing up, were worth the price of admission.

I found her insightful in the ways we shield ourselves from vulnerability through foreboding joy, where we do not allow ourselves joy because we are waiting for the other shoe to drop, through perfectionism, where we think that by doing things right we will never know shame, and through numbing, by which we deaden ourselves from the painful things in life. Instead, she advocates practicing gratitude in the moments of joy, appreciating the “cracks” in our life that shed light on our humanness, and learning how to feel and lean into our hard feelings while setting proper boundaries.

She also challenges organizations to “mind the gap” and practice “disruptive engagement”–developing awareness of the gaps between strategy and culture and the ways we discourage engagement through corporate shaming practices. Bringing the best that we have often involves vulnerability and risk in disruptively engaging broken corporate culture.

I found this a helpful book that was immediately applicable for me in several situations in which I was mentoring young leaders facing the choices of “safe” disengagement or vulnerably stepping into their work as leaders. Vulnerability is scary for all of us and yet ultimately the only path to real connection and real greatness. Brene’ Brown helps us on that path through her stories and research, even while helping us to see that each of us makes that path our own by walking into vulnerability.

Atticus Finch and Scout Live!

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MockingbirdI think it was back in high school when I read To Kill a Mockingbird, which would be over forty years ago. It was probably too early to fully appreciate the book. I’ve never read it since but have come across many who love it. It still sells at a brisk pace earning $1.7 million per year for its 88 year old author, Harper Lee. It was the only book she ever published and she swore she would not publish another. Until now.

It has been announced, with some controversy apparently, that another manuscript of Lee’s has been found. Go Set a Watchman is set twenty years later than To Kill a Mockingbird but was written first. Tonya Carter, Lee’s attorney, found the manuscript while doing some legal work for Lee and realized that while Scout and Atticus Finch were part of the story, they were older and this was a different story. According to a New York Times interview with Carter, Lee acknowledged that this was the “parent” of To Kill a Mockingbird, because the publisher wanted a younger Scout.

This is the publishing blockbuster of the year. The controversy only adds to the interest. Why would Lee only now consent to its publication? Was it really lost all this time? Was she pressured by her lawyer? Whatever the truth may be and whatever the quality of the book, it is currently the #1 bestseller on Amazon even though it won’t be released until July 14.

I wonder if after all these years whether Harper Lee wants to vindicate the judgment that led her to write this book. It is interesting to think that Go Set a Watchman was the original idea and To Kill a Mockingbird the afterthought. Given the acclaim and publishing history of the latter, I wonder if she truly believed her initial book to be lost. Otherwise, it would seem logical to follow it up with this book–the reading public would eat it up, even as it is now. I kind of wonder if she is thinking, “if you liked Mockingbird, you should see the book they never let me publish.”

So I’m inclined to take this at face value. But whatever is the case I find myself like the rest of reading America anticipating the release of this new novel–and wanting to revisit the now classic To Kill a Mockingbird, which is temporarily out of stock on Amazon. Apparently, I’m not the only one eager to reacquaint himself with Atticus Finch and Scout.

How Much Do You Read?

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How much do you read? This was a question posted on Facebook as a comment on my review of Theodore Roosevelt’s The Bully Pulpit. The truth is, I read a good deal, but even so, it took me a month to read Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book. And the truth is, I enjoyed every minute of it! That might be as good an answer as any for how much to read — as much as you enjoy without interfering with other obligations in life.

rooseveltTeddy Roosevelt found time to read for several hours most days, interspersed through his days. He was known to read a book or more a day. The Art of Manliness has an article on Roosevelt’s reading list — some of which he read multiple times.

What do I do? Most days I try to read for 60 to 90 minutes in the morning in a couple different books. On evenings when I don’t have commitments I do the same, usually with a mug of something hot and listening to some good music. I read most of Sunday afternoons, unless the weather is so inviting that you just have to get out. I usually have a book or two (or my Kindle) in my bag and will “snatch read” when I have some spare moments. I have several books going at once. (You can see what I’m reading on the Goodreads widget on my home page.)

This may be thought odd, and if so, guilty as charged. But is it any less odd that watching three to four hours of TV a night, or a number of two hour or longer movies every week? Or what about the time we spend on the internet or on our smart phones (doing something other than reading)? My point is not to criticize those choices. We choose what we value. One of the things I value is good literature. If you decide to read more, it may mean deciding to do something else less.

I try to read when I can best concentrate. I don’t try to read something overly heavy if I’m listening to music. That is a tug of war. I think I read relatively quickly, although speed is not the issue. If someone is taking a lot of time to elaborate a point he or she has made, I will read that more quickly.

How much to read is as individual a choice as your favorite flavor of ice cream. Years ago, so, someone told me that if you read 15 minutes a day, you can read 15 books in a year. (I probably average 120 minutes a day, and I read about 120 books a year, so this might be a good rule of thumb.) It’s not good to read beyond your ability to absorb what you are reading. It ceases to be enjoyable at that point. For me, that usually comes after an hour of uninterrupted reading. That’s a good time to do something else, or at least refill the coffee mug. So in the end, I come back to the idea I began with, read as much as you enjoy without interfering with the other obligations in your life.

How much would you say you read?

Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown — What We Still Have

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IMG_0773

Stone Bridge on Lake Glacier (c)2015, Robert C Trube

How good it was. How much we’ve lost. These two phrases seem to capture the gist of so many of the online conversations I’ve had with present and former Youngstowners since starting this series of posts.

On the one hand, so many of us, especially those of us who grew up in the 50s, 60s, and 70s, share these incredibly rich memories of working class Youngstown ranging from good jobs to healthy neighborhoods to close extended families to a surprisingly rich cultural life ranging from ethnic festivals to classical concerts, from baseball and bowling leagues to art shows at the Butler.

On the other hand, even with all the efforts to create a “new” Youngstown, we live with a communal grief for what has been lost–from the skies aglow with steel-making, to summers at Idora Park, to the sadness when we visit the neighborhoods of our youth to find an abandoned house or vacant lot where we once lived. It is not a simple thing to occupy, let alone maintain all that housing stock when you’ve lost 100,000 of your people.

I could go on but what I would rather focus on is what we still have, whether we are living in Youngstown or are part of the “Youngstown Diaspora.” What I’ve discovered as I’ve written and interacted and reflected is that having grown up in Youngstown, there are things we carry with us. You may take us out of Youngstown. You can’t take Youngstown out of us.

  • For one thing, we know good food. If nothing else, our mission to the world ought to be one of educating people about what makes a good pizza! It has been a delight to meet Bobbi Ennett Allen and see the great work she and her friends have done in Recipes of Youngstown to preserve so many of those family recipes and good ethnic dishes we grew up with. [2/8/15 update: There is now a second Recipes of Youngstown that will be coming out soon to benefit the Mahoning Valley Historical Society that may be pre-ordered at their website.]
  • There are values we grew up with that are worth preserving and passing along to our families and others. Youngstowners are no-nonsense, hard-working, family-oriented, and resilient. Youngstowners do not tolerate those who whine, indulge in self-pity, or self-adulation. We would say they are “full of it” (or something more earthy).
  • Not all our memories are nostalgia. We know what makes a good place. We know what the “new urbanists” are only just discovering–that a good place has sidewalks, home owners, and a diversity of businesses and services in walking distance. I’ve had a chance to talk to some working in the Idora Park area to renew the neighborhoods there and they get this–and that good places are not 90 day wonders but take years of hard work.
  • We cherish beauty. Somehow, we’ve managed to preserve and enhance Mill Creek Park and we return there whenever we visit. We’ve always supported the fine and performing arts. The gritty world of manufacturing taught us that it was not enough just to make things–we craved things of beauty. The world still needs people with this vision.
  • We are people who know how to celebrate. I can’t think of any place where the weddings are more fun than in Youngstown. Nobody else (except some Pittsburgh folk who probably got it from us) even knows what a cookie table is let alone what a good one looks like! We didn’t think all of life is a party. Much of it was hard, so when there was a wedding, or even a wake, you celebrated. When there was a holiday, you cooked and baked like crazy and you celebrated.

I could go on, but I think you get the point. There is so much we carry within us that has not been lost. But it can be if we keep it within because none of us lives forever. The best of our heritage can live on if we share it with our children, and bring our best into our communities, our places of worship, and our work.

Writing this series has been a fun project with a serious purpose. The experiences and memories that we’ve shared and enjoyed together are things that have shaped us. I think much of that is profoundly good–good to remember if we are seeking the peace and prosperity of Youngstown–and good to be mindful of and draw upon wherever we find ourselves.

Read all the posts in the Growing Up in Youngstown Series by clicking the “On Youngstown” category link either at the top of this page or in the left column of my home page.

Review: The Bully Pulpit

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Bully PulpitWow. Biography of Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the best of the “muck-raking” investigative journalists all in one book! Doris Kearns Goodwin pulls this off by exploring the interaction of these three in promoting Progressivism in early twentieth century America. What Goodwin highlights in particular, justifying her title, was the skillful use of the “bully pulpit” of the presidency by Theodore Roosevelt, including the close relationships he developed with writers like William Allen White, Lincoln Steffens and Ida Tarbell. By contrast, Taft, with a more judicial temperament, tended to allow his speeches and policies to speak for themselves.

Having read Edmund Morris’s three volume biography of Roosevelt recently, I did not find this book casting much new light on Roosevelt except that it seemed that Goodwin probably took a less favorable view of Roosevelt’s role in the breach of the friendship between him and Taft over the 1912 election where he ran against Taft.

What I found particularly illuminating in this book were the portraits of Taft and of the investigative journalists brought together by Sam McClure. Taft is from my home state and was more or less an unknown to me before this novel. Goodwin’s portrait not only underscores his strengths as a jurist and as an administrator, but also that this is a man whose friendship one would count as precious, as did Roosevelt until the break between them. Taft ably governed the Philippines after America’s victory in its war against Spain, putting down insurgencies and turning over government to the Filipino people, albeit an elite. He always wanted to sit on the Supreme Court more than wanting to be president and considered being named Chief Justice in 1921 the highest honor of his life. That he was elected president was a result as much as anything of Nellie Taft’s ambitions and Roosevelt’s orchestration. Sadly, Nellie was afflicted with stroke ten weeks into her husband’s term of office and never fully enjoyed being First Lady. It was Taft who initiated reconciliation with Roosevelt in 1918, less than a year before Roosevelt died, and he who stood quietly weeping at Roosevelt’s grave.

Equally fascinating was Goodwin’s account of the writers for McClures and Sam McClure himself, who took investigative journalism to a high point that may have been matched but probably not exceeded by others. Ida Tarbell’s work investigating the monopolistic practices of Standard Oil and John D. Rockefeller represented years of careful tracking down of information, interviews with sources on all sides and an effort to achieve a balance of reporting that made the case against Standard Oil all the more convincing. Such reporting served as a valuable adjunct to Roosevelt’s reform efforts, creating the public support that enabled Roosevelt to fight business interests.

Because of the focus on the presidencies of Roosevelt and Taft, other aspects of their lives, and particularly their life after the presidency are covered in a more cursory manner than in a focused biography. But the relationship of presidents with the press is crucial to the effective use of presidential power, and thus, this is a landmark study with continuing relevance.

Review: Paul & Judaism Revisited: A Study of Divine and Human Agency in Salvation

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Paul & JudaismThe New Perspective on Paul espoused by E.P. Sanders, J.D.G. Dunn, and N.T. Wright, each in somewhat distinctive ways, emphasizes the idea of continuity between the Apostle Paul and the Old Testament and Second Temple Judaism writers. These theologians oppose the idea that the Old Testament focused on salvation by works of the law while the New Testament teaches salvation by God’s gracious initiative. They propose the idea of “covenantal nomism”, that is that God initiates a covenant relationship with his people and obedience to the law or commands of God follows as a response of covenantal faithfulness to God’s gracious work. The Apostle Paul’s main contention was that under the New Covenant, God has extended that covenant to all peoples and that covenant faithfulness continues to be the appropriate response of recipients of this grace. The “works of the law” to which Paul refers are the “identity markers” of circumcision, and ceremonial and food laws that excluded Gentiles.

My point in this review is not to discuss or debate the New Perspective (which I hope I’ve adequately summarized) but to review Preston Sprinkle’s recent work which takes a finer grained look at the contention of “continuity” between Paul and his various Jewish sources. First of all Sprinkle makes a distinction which he observes in Old Testament scripture between approaches to salvation that emphasize divine versus human agency. The latter he refers to as Deuteronomic and emphasizes that the blessings of the covenant depend on the human agency of keeping the law. The former he refers to asProphetic which emphasizes a perspective he finds in the prophetic literature that emphasizes human inability to keep the law or even come to repentance and the initiative of God to restore Israel apart from these things. The prophetic prospective also emphasizes divinely empowered obedience to the law that comes from heart renewal. Sprinkle would contend that this is in continuity with Paul.

He then explores the Qumran and other post-Old Testament writings, looking at the issues of the work of the Spirit, pessimism about human ability to repent and keep the law, the basis on which people are declared right with God, and the issue of judgment according to works. While he finds some instances of a more Prophetic perspective (particularly in some Qumran hymns, and Pseudo Philo and the Testament of Moses), he finds that most take a Deuteronomic or mixed approach that emphasizes human agency in repentance and observance of the law.

What Sprinkle helpfully does then, is show that the contention of continuity between Paul and Second Temple Jewish sources needs to be nuanced. His extensive survey of this literature, which he often parallels with Paul, makes the discontinuities apparent. What I wonder about however in his use of the distinction between Deuteronomic and Prophetic perspectives is, has he created or sanctioned a discontinuity within the Old Testament canon, and is this warranted? He simply seems to accept and argue this discontinuity, or at least distinction without consideration of the implications thereof.

The great value in this work is its exploration of the Qumran and other Jewish writings of the Second Temple Period in the light of the New Perspective discussion. What he makes clear is much of this literature reflects an “obedience to the law” rather than strictly “covenantal nomism” perspective. These sources do not speak with one voice, and not all are in harmony with Paul.

Unsung Heroes

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"Washington Dulles International Airport main terminal". Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Washington_Dulles_International_Airport_main_terminal.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Washington_Dulles_International_Airport_main_terminal.jpg

“Washington Dulles International Airport main terminal”. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons – http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Washington_Dulles_International_Airport_main_terminal.jpg#mediaviewer/File:Washington_Dulles_International_Airport_main_terminal.jpg

Isn’t air travel when “weather events” occur fun? I have a whole variant on Sartre’s Hell that involves websites that don’t work, long periods on hold, frenzied rushes through unfamiliar airports, flight cancellations, mechanical difficulties, and more. I won’t bore you with the details of attempting to fly from Columbus to Dallas and back because you probably have stories that may easily top mine.

What I want to highlight are the unsung heroes in my own saga, the people who provided good customer service, who helped at key points along the way–not to deal with the weather and its affects nor to fix malfunctioning planes–but to make a lousy situation a bit more pleasant and to get me to my destination and back. My big regret is that I did not get the names of these heroes, being absorbed in my own travel woes. But I can at least celebrate customer service done right in three instances over as many days.

The first was on Sunday night when I called my airline after my connecting flight to Dallas was cancelled and there were no alternatives online. Because so many others were in the same predicament, the hold times on the phone were long–I waited 80 minutes. The first thing the rep did was acknowledge this and apologize–probably a standard script but still helpful. Then he graciously and quickly solved my problem, booking me on a different airline which actually got me to my meetings sooner than I needed to be! And it was all done right, confirmed on the itinerary I immediately received and the boarding passes I immediately was able to print from the other airline. Only afterward did it occur to me that all the time I’d been on hold, he’d been getting an earful from an avalanche of customers. None of that came through in our conversation.

The second was a small thing but helped make the difference between making and missing a connection. My flight out of Columbus on Monday needed to de-ice, which delayed us. We were met by a gate agent who not only gave me the gate of the connecting flight but gave me clear instructions of how to get from one terminal to another at Hartsfield in the quickest possible fashion. I made my connection with five minutes to spare.

The third was the customer service rep who helped us last night as my returning connection from Dulles to Columbus was cancelled after a two hour wait due to mechanical difficulties. This was at 11:20 pm. Before midnight I not only had an 8:20 am flight booked to Columbus (even with TSA Pre-check!) but also was checked into a comfortable hotel room with meal vouchers for breakfast. He even helped navigate me through Dulles, which I’d never flown through before!

I suspect that most of these folks probably feel under-appreciated by both the traveling public and perhaps by the airlines for which they work. They are not making big bucks and probably have to scrape in their personal lives to make ends meet. But I’d propose that they are very crucial in a world where our best laid plans are subject to weather and mechanical vagaries.

So I want to sing the praises of these unsung (and unnamed) heroes. And in the future, I hope to have the presence of mind to get their names to let their employers know how well they’ve been represented by these people when they are getting us at our worst. And maybe that will serve as a small reminder that customer service really pays.

The Month in Reviews: January 2015

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January was the month of longer-than-usual books. I’m still working my way to the end of The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin. But I still managed to finish an assortment of books ranging from a Tolstoy classic to the first book of an Ohio sci-fi author (John Scalzi). Among the weightier books I reviewed an exploration of the relationship of God to the natural world and a thoughtful re-appraisal of the nature of power. And I reviewed a new book by young activist Ben Lowe that was followed by my first author interview with Ben. So, without further ado, here is my list for January:

1. Doing Good Without Giving Up by Ben Lowe. Lowe, a creation care activist, shares what he has learned about sustaining a life of activisim, particularly when progress is slow and opposition is real. My author interview with Ben is here.

Doing GoodResurrectionSeton2. Resurrection by Leo Tolstoy. What happens when you sit on a jury and the defendant is a prostitute whose life was shaped by a careless romantic dalliance resulting in a pregnancy years before. Tolstoy explores the spiritual awakening and deepening of Prince Nekhlyudov as he seeks to make restitution for his wrong.

3. American Saint: The Life of Elizabeth Seton by Joan Barthel. Seton is the first native-born American to be canonized a saint by the Roman Catholic Church. Barthel narrates the tragedy of widowhood that led to conversion, and formation of the first community of women religious in America.

4. The God of Nature: Incarnation and Contemporary Science by Christopher C. Knight. Knight responds to the alternatives of a supernaturalist/naturalist divide by proposing an incarnational naturalism, a position akin to panentheism (all of nature in God).

17293092 (1)Faith and ReasonGod of Nature5. Faith and Reason: Three Views edited by Steve Wilkins. Wilkins and three contributors explore the relationship of faith and reason under the rubrics of faith and philosophy in tension, faith seeking understanding, and the synthesis of reason and faith. Each contributor critiques the other two views yet with a spirit of grace and respect.

6. Playing God by Andy Crouch. The author re-appraises the common view that power is corrupt and corrupting. He considers God’s intention for us as image bearers to use power well to reflect being image bearers, that is “playing God.” He explores both the corrupting effects on power of sin and the redemption of power.

7. Contagious Disciple Making by David Watson and Paul Watson. The authors contend that modelling and teaching obedience to truth discovered in the scriptures and then shared with others resulting in the same obedience is critical to planting Discovery Groups and churches. A very practical book with clear descriptions of practices the authors believe are biblically rooted to build multiplying church plants.

CDMnight trainold mans war8. Night Train to Memphis by Elizabeth Peters. This is the fifth in a series of “Vicky Bliss” mysteries involving a Nile voyage, an ingenious and huge theft of antiquities, and a hair-raising chase across Egypt.

9. Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. Imagine the possibility of human colonies in space defended by an army of seventy five year olds promised rejuvenated bodies. John Perry is one such enlistee and the book explores the surprises Perry will encounter beginning with his own body as well as the unknowns of the cosmos that can kill you before you even recognize the danger. Perhaps the greatest surprise is who he encounters after being rescued as the lone survivor of a military disaster.

I have described myself as a reading omnivore. This list probably gives you a taste of that, ranging from philosophy and theology, to activism, and to mystery and sci-fi thrillers.  I hope there might be something here to pique your interest.

You can now find of all my “The Month in Reviews” posts by clicking on the link with this title at the top of this page, or in the “Categories” list on the left side of my home page. You will find monthly review summaries beginning with February 2014, with links to individual reviews.