Review: Epic Science, Ancient Faith

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Epic Science, Ancient Faith, D. E. Gunther. Ellensburg, WA: Truth in Creation, 2022.

Summary: A discussion of essential attitudes in making sense of both God’s Word and God’s world with two case studies and a discussion of how we resolve differences between these two “books” of God.

For any thoughtful student both of the Bible and science, the question arises of how we make sense of these accounts of the world, particularly where they differ. For many, this especially arises in the first years of college, if not earlier. D. E. Gunther, who has worked in a research lab and serves as a campus minister, has written a helpful introduction to this subject, offering a basic framework for reading what he considers the two “books” of God without becoming skeptical of either or compartmentalizing his study of the Bible and science.

The first five chapters of the book discuss essential attitudes for the fruitful study of scripture and science. First of all, he recommends suspense as an antidote to a brittle worldview. He urges the strategy taken by many Christians through the ages of not having such a rigid theory of creation and the world that subsequent developments in science shatter faith. Suspense believes all truth is God’s truth even when it is not clear how this works in detail. Second, he commends an approach of delight as God’s image bearers who are also part of God’s creation, giving ourselves to whole-hearted exploration of the creation, both to enjoy and care for God’s world. Thirdly, he encourages equity in our reading of the texts of science and scripture. Science involves multiple texts and is limited by its methods. Scripture also involves multiple texts that are limited by the authors’ intentions. It is wise not to look to scripture for details about nature, given its theological purpose, even as science cannot render theological detail, although it discloses the grandeur of God.

The fourth attitude is one of curiosity. Curiosity recognizes that our ability to grasp reality is neither impossible not utterly clear and easy. It is like looking through a hazy glass. The more we look, the more we question, the more we see. Finally, particularly toward scripture, he proposes reverence for the context of scripture, avoiding either literalism or concordism, recognizing both the ancient context of scripture and the modern context of science.

Guenther then offers two case studies of how the Christian holds scripture and science together. One is the study of Greenland ice cores dating to 100,000 years, far older than many Christians believe the earth. The second is the study of genealogies in Genesis, suggesting the first couple walked the earth just 6,000 years ago despite various forms of evidence that homo sapiens and the earth existed far before that. Guenther models respectful curiosity about the ice layers and whether they each represent years or much shorter intervals. He looks with reverence at the context of genealogies and the arguments for and against them being all inclusive.

The final chapter, titled “Optimism” speaks of resolving differences well. He look at four models. Conflict models assume one must be right and the other wrong. Compartmental models approach scripture and science look at different things without overlap. Complementary models suggest each contributes something to our understanding with science focused on immediate and scripture on ultimate causes. Guenther advances a fourth that he prefers, coinherence. Each tell us many different things about the same thing and each is essential or inherent in the other.

He concludes with some starting points toward an optimistic approach: 1) separate content from personal belief; 2) balance opinions from respected sources; 3) pursue relationships with researchers and thinkers who are both broad-minded and careful; 4) recognize when a researcher is out of his depth; and 5) remember that religion and science have no inherent conflict.

This is a good introduction and guide for the young Christian thinking about these things. Guenther offers clear explanations. In place of brittle dogmatism, he offers a resilient curiosity and an attitude of suspending judgment without compromising reverence for scripture or rigor in scientific inquiry. Instead of approaching the study of the world with suspicion or fear, he notes that the proper response both of Christian and scientist is one of delight. There are certainly much more advanced treatments of the relation of scripture and science and Guenther provides references for many of these. What he does so well in this book is address the basic attitudes of approach that can set up one well for life of exploring these questions.

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

Review: Cronkite

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Cronkite, Douglas Brinkley. New York: Harper, 2012.

Summary: The biography of Walter Cronkite, from his early reporting days, his United Press work during World War 2, and his years at CBS, including his nineteen years on the CBS Evening News, and his “retirement years,” where he came out as a liberal.

I grew up with “Uncle Walter.” I was a fourth grader when John F. Kennedy was assassinated and watched as Walter Cronkite walked us through the days that followed, from his initial announcement of the death of Kennedy, removing his glasses and sitting in silence, connecting with the stunned response of all of us. I watched the unfolding of the Vietnam war, which Cronkite declared, after visiting the front lines in 1967, a “stalemate.” He covered the horrors of 1968 from the deaths of Kennedy and King through the turbulent 1968 Democratic convention. With the world, I watched the orbiting of the moon on Christmas eve in 1968, and the landing on the moon in the summer of 1969, accompanied by his characteristic “Oh, boy!” Watergate, the fall of Saigon, the Iran hostages, and that final sign off in March of 1981. “That’s the way it is.”

Douglas Brinkley chronicles all of this in this outstanding biography, and so much more. He covers the shaping and the rise that made him “the most trusted man in America.” We follow him from his sports reporting forays, his unfinished college career at UT Austin, his radio news experience at KCMO, and the pivotal opportunity of becoming night editor at the United Press office in Kansas City, that honed his instincts as a news hound both careful with the facts and eager to be the first to break the story that would go with him for the rest of his life. Then the war came, and through persistence he won the opportunity to cover the war in Europe for the United Press on the front lines, flying in a bombing run, and with troops in northern Africa, on D-Day, and the Battle of the Bulge, first meeting Andy Rooney as part of the “Writing 69th.” His bombing dispatch caught the attention of Edward R. Murrow, who thought he’d succeeded in recruiting Cronkite to CBS only to have him renege, still believing print was the thing.

Murrow tried again and Cronkite joined CBS in the fifties to cover the Korean War. Returning stateside, he failed as the host of CBS’s version of the Today show, hosted “You Are There,” a weekly show in which Cronkite would interview historical figures or cover events like the Boston Tea Party. It was in 1956 that he found his true calling as anchor of CBS television’s political convention coverage, first earning the nickname, “Old Ironpants” for his stamina.

We learn about the complicated relationship with Edward R. Murrow, the dean of broadcasters, both mentor and rival. Cronkite continued to accumulate achievements, polishing his TV credentials with the coverage of the Mercury 7 astronauts and his relationship with John Glenn. Murrow left CBS at Kennedy’s request to lead the US Information Agency. When it became apparent that Douglas Edwards was coming to the end of his tenure, the rivalry became fierce. In the end Cronkite won over Eric Sevareid, who did offer commentary at the end of newscasts for a time, Charles Collingwood, Charles Kuralt, and Howard K. Smith. Cronkite was Paley’s choice, and for nineteen years anchored the CBS Evening News.

Brinkley covers the team of people who worked with Cronkite, perhaps most important of all, Richard Salant as news director, and a young, ambitious reporter by the name of Dan Rather. He describes the slow, upward climb to supplant NBC’s top position in the news ratings. He recounts the decisive role Cronkite played in changing the narrative about Vietnam, after passing along the administration version in 1965 and 1966, how he served to “platform” the story Woodward and Bernstein were putting together about Watergate, and his role in bringing Sadat and Begin together.

Brinkley offers an unvarnished account of how difficult Cronkite’s retirement was and his bitterness toward Dan Rather, his successor, who cut him out of opportunities to continue to contribute, despite Rather’s flagging ratings. They would never reconcile. Freed of the reporter’s commitment to neutrality, his own liberal views came to the fore, brought on, in part, by the movie, Network. In later years, he would rail on the war on drugs, and argue for the legalization of marijuana.

Betsy Cronkite, Walter’s wife of 65 years comes through as a force in her own right, often traveling with Cronkite, and helping him keep perspective. I was also surprised to learn that two of his close friends were Mickey Hart, drummer for the Grateful Dead, who encouraged Cronkite’s drumming, and Jimmy Buffett. I never knew Cronkite was either a “Deadhead” or a “Parrothead.” Buffett was actually at Cronkite’s death bed, playing songs, which he also did at his funeral.

Brinkley gives us a portrait with warts and all. Cronkite was absolutely tenacious about both getting the facts straight and getting the story out, and he succeeded so well at this because of his relentless pursuit of the reporter’s disciplines. He had a kind of “common touch” that came from middle-American roots but his credibility was earned and not just because of an “on air” personality. Yet he was contemptuous of some of his rivals, both Murrow and Rather. He liked to carouse, and while he gave opportunities to women like Connie Chung and Katie Couric, he was a bit of a chauvinist, still enjoying the company of his “old boys.”

Reading this account makes one wonder whether such news coverage is possible today, and perhaps wistful for a different time. Cronkite did not have to deal with a 24/7 news cycle on cable TV and the internet and the increasingly partisan character of many news outlets. I suspect he would have done what he did, pursue the facts and work at getting the story out both quickly and right. What this biography reminds me of is why we did not have the epistemic crisis in the Cronkite years that we face when it comes to the news today. Back then, you trusted Cronkite, and he warranted that trust. We didn’t ask, “who can you trust?” Today that sounds incredibly naïve. Sadly, today it is.

Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown — When WHOT Became 1330 AM

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On April 15, 1963, sixty years ago, the four ads appearing above, were scattered through the pages of the Youngstown Vindicator. Most of us grew up associating WHOT with 1330 on the AM dial. For most of us, our radios were permanently set to 1330, as we listened to the rock ‘n’ roll hits of the day. George Barry, Dick Thompson, Johnny Kay, and Boots Bell, and the other “Good Guys” who later joined them were DJ personalities not only on the radio but at dances throughout the Valley.

These ads actually represented a big change for WHOT. Myron Jones acquired the station in 1955, broadcasting at 1570 AM from a low power station. Located at the far end of the radio dial, at that time, meant you could only broadcast during the daytime. So how would we listen to rock ‘n’ roll on the earphone that came with our transistor radio at night? The only alternatives were stations in Cleveland or Pittsburgh, if we could get them. In 1959, its sister FM station, then WRED, and later WHOT-FM, still broadcasting under this call sign at 101.1 FM.

In 1963, the 1330 radio frequency became available and WHOT snapped it up, moving to a 24 hour format. Remember “Big Al Knight”? He wouldn’t have been possible without this change. WHOT firmly established itself as one of the top TOP 40 stations in the country.

Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com

The “twist” in the ad is a clever play on words. Most radios at the time had a “dial” with a needle or pointer that you moved by twisting a nob. Most of us just turned the knob until we found 1330 on the dial and left it there. Our car radios also had buttons you could use to set the radio to tune to your favorite stations and we’d set one to 1330.

But “twist” was also a popular dance in the early 1960’s, popularized by Chubby Checker, who you could hear on WHOT. Here’s a fun video to bring back memories:

The Twist – Chubby Checker

WHOT continued to broadcast on the AM dial until 1990, when it moved to the former WFMJ’s 1390 frequency. There is no longer a WHOT on the AM dial but WHOT-FM carries on the top 40 tradition. One other tidbit I discovered is that Johnny Kay and Dick Thompson worked together until 2007. After retiring from WHOT, both of them went to Salem’s WSOM where they worked until their “second” retirement in 2007. The two had been together since 1961, when Johnny Kay joined Dick Thompson at WHOT. Johnny Kay died in 2014 and Dick Thompson in 2017. Boots Bell, another of the good guys came to WHOT in 1959. He passed away of a heart attack in 1993. I’ve not heard what happened to George Barry.

But sixty years ago marked a big change for these guys who were joined by people like Jerry Starr and Smoochie Causey who helped fill the broadcast schedule when they moved to a 24/7 format.

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!

Review: Signals of Transcendence

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Signals of Transcendence, Os Guinness. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2023.

Summary: The stories of people who have experienced signs or promptings that there is more to life awakening them to pursue the unseen realities beyond the signal.

Peter Berger has described the experience of a sense that there is “something more” with the phrase “signals of transcendence.” In Irish parlance, it is the sense that the barrier between the seen and unseen is barely there. This is all the more significant in the “world without windows” we modern versions of Plato’s cavedwellers inhabit. Os Guinness contends that such signals still come to us. Will we heed, and then search for the transcendent source beyond the signal.

The signals vary for each of us. Guinness tells the stories of ten individuals who, in different ways encountered such signals. For Malcolm Muggeridge, swimming from shore to end his life, one final glance back at the shore lights filed him with so mich hope he needed to find its source, a search of many years. For Peter Berger, the mother’s assurance that “all will be well” in a world where that cannot truly be promised signals a deeper reality where this is so.

For Phillip Hallie, driven to despair with the horrors of the Holocaust, the unworldly goodness of Le Chambon’s people who rescued 5000 Jewish children, rescued him as well. For Chesterton, consumed with the evil in the world, the sight of a beautiful dandelion set off a “thin thread of thanks” and a search for a worldview that could explain a world of brokenness and beauty, which he found eventually in Christianity.

The signals are different for each of us, contends Guinness. For fashion model Windsor Elliott, it was the sense of emptiness at a glamourous gathering that began the quest for something more. For C.S. Lewis, on the other hand, it was glimpses of joyful longing that caught his attention.

Guinness urges our readiness to hear the call and reiterates in each chapter, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.” Yet his last story is that of Kenneth Clark, who experienced “the finger of God” in a church in San Lorenzo yet did not heed the signal until on his deathbed when he was received into the church, as attested by those with him. It’s never too late in this life.

He includes his own grandfather’s story, caught up in the Boxer Rebellion, narrowly escaping alive. He writes with a sense of the preciousness and significance of our lives. While he focuses on the signals of the something more for which we are made, he urges the quest for that something, elaborated more fully in his previous book, The Great Quest.

This is a wonderful book for someone who, in Frederick Buechner’s words is “listening to one’s life” and longing for more. Far from being distracted or thinking oneself crazy, Guinness assures us that the signals are worth heeding and the quest pursuing. He who seeks, finds.

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

Review: Augustine: On Christian Doctrine and Selected Introductory Works

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Augustine: On Christian Doctrine and Selected Introductory Works (Theological Foundations), Augustine (edited by Timothy George). Nashville: B & H Academic, 2022.

Summary: Four works on Christian doctrine, written in the context of catechesis, by Augustine.

At some point, hopefully, the maturing Christian will hunger to read the great works of Christian theology through the history of the church. This new series, by B & H Academic, promises to offer affordable, handsomely presented and well-edited editions of the thought of prominent figures in church history. This work, along with John Calvin’s Commentary on Romans are the first volumes in what is hoped to be a growing series.

The four works included in this volume have in common Augustine’s concern to instruct his people in Christian belief.

On Christian Doctrine. Rather than a work on systematic theology or even core beliefs, it is instruction in how to understand the Bible, the source of all doctrine. We discover quickly what a formidable thinker Augustine is as he distinguishes between things and signs and between use and enjoyment. He instructs us how to deal with obscurities in scripture, the value of diverse interpretations and how to deal with false ones, the value of extrabiblical (heathen) sources. He is perhaps the first to propose interpreting obscure passages by those which are clearer. Book IV addresses preaching, the proper use and limitations of rhetoric (from a master rhetorician) and how important prayer is before preaching. While there are matters addressing questions of the times, there is much timeless and valuable counsel.

A Sermon to Catechumens on the Creed. This is perhaps one of the first expositions of what we call the Apostles Creed. He goes into depth on what it means that God is Almighty, what it means that the Son is begotten and yet One God with the Father, the incarnation, in which he was “born lowly” to “lift us up.” He affirms the trial before Pilate, the cross, the death, the resurrection, and ascension. On the Holy Spirit, he commends the Trinity. The Church, he says may be fought; but not fought down. We are raised, not like Lazarus but to bodily life everlasting. Read this to breathe life into your recitation of the creed!

A Treatise on Faith and the Creed. While also framed by the creed, this also addresses heresies of the time (which have recurred in various forms through history). He defends creation ex nihilo, the deity and consubstantiality of the Son, Mary’s crucial role, and the role of the Church in the remission of sins. A theme running throughout is the priority of faith and yet the necessity of reason.

A Treatise on the Spirit and the Letter. This is an extensive discussion of the issues at the heart of the Pelagian controversies, defending Adam’s immortality before the fall; the corporate character of sin in Adam, that sin is not just imitation; that grace is a supernaturally imparted gift, not a part of human nature; that original sin had universal effect and that no one could live a sinless life under the law; and that predestination is based on divine sovereignty and that human works are the fruit of divine grace but not its cause.

Throughout, Augustine employs reason, step by step logic, and biblical exegesis in addressing various questions. He anticipates many later discussions of biblical interpretation, offering good sense to catechumens. The discussion of Pelagianism seems especially relevant in our present day focus on human potential. We can neither save ourselves nor grow in holiness by sheer willpower but only by the gift of God’s grace. The two pieces on the creed give us a sense of the historical concerns that led to this formulation and what a glowing affirmation these words are. These shorter works underscore why Augustine stands out as one of the greatest theologians in the history of the church.

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

Review: The Remarkable Ordinary

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The Remarkable Ordinary, Frederick Buechner. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017.

Summary: A collection of essays drawn from two lecture series, focusing on our attention to the ordinary around us, and in so doing becoming attentive to our own lives and the working of God in them.

Frederick Buechner gave two sets of lectures, the Norton in 1987, and at Laity Lodge in 1990. The essays here are drawn from these lectures, sharing a common theme of stopping and listening to one’s life. Buechner invites us to pay attention to the ordinary, noting that this is the beauty of haiku. It doesn’t mean something. In a few words, it notices the beauty in very ordinary things and occurrences. He proposes that this is much of what it is to love. Loving is taking the time to really see another. In seeing, love emerges and grows.

He spends time in these essays sharing how he has listened to his life. He recounts sharing a platform with Maya Angelou and the idea of the place of worship as the laughing room, a place where we stop amid our rituals and just laugh at ourselves, which is probably what God is doing. He also recalls their connection as she insisted that though they appeared nothing alike, they were. Both had wrestled with how one becomes a human being and struggles to have faith in a world that makes that hard. He writes of his own struggles with the church, and of his religious con man character, Leo Bebb, and the subconscious connection between Bebb and his own life. He “discovered cracks in the ground of my life through which I was able to glimpse the subterranean, life-giving grace of God.

He remembers the day his father committed suicide and how this had marked his life, and how fifty years later, he was finally able to weep for his father. He recounts seeking out a priest after returning from military service, when his earlier carousing no longer filled his life. The priest, who said little because of a stroke invited him to confess his sins, and then told him, “You have a long way to go.” And so do we all, he suggests, as he describes his own journey. He recounts his encounter with Dr. George Buttrick and his decision to go to seminary, escorted to Union Seminary by Buttrick, meeting Tillich and Niebuhr, teaching John Irving at Exeter, and being prayed for by Agnes Sanford, one more step in healing.

He recounts his daughter’s anorexia and realizing the ways he was also sick within. He writes of his journey of therapy and a significant dream of his mother shortly after he died, of the unhappy rules he had internalized and inflicted on his daughter. He concludes he is “better than I used to be but far from well.” And then there is the dialogue during therapy through a crayon held in his left hand, with the father who had committed suicide, where he finally listen’s, whether it is to his father’s voice or another’s, and finds peace, discovering that he is held by the everlasting arms of God.

We spend our lives learning to become human beings. Buechner invites us to listen to the beckoning of our own sin-sick souls and the longings for something more. We often run from our own stories instead of deeply listening, where light can shine through the crack, the light of God’s grace. Yet by learning to listen in the ordinary, the prosaic moments, we learn to go where we can hear what God would say to each of us, to discover our own belovedness, and the deep joy of being carried and cared for by the Beloved. As Buechner recounts how he has listened to his life, we find ourselves invited to listen to ours…

Review: False Scent

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False Scent (Roderick Alleyn #21), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2015 (originally published in 1959).

Summary: The fiftieth birthday celebration of famed stage actress Mary Bellamy is interrupted when she is found dead in her bedroom, poisoned by her own insecticide.

It’s the fiftieth birthday celebration for Mary Bellamy, a famed stage actress, and supposedly much-loved by those around her, who visit her throughout the day and are present for her birthday celebration that evening. Like many famous, aging actresses, she both holds power over the lives of others and is jealous of them all as she recognizes those rising in the world, even as she struggles to keep her edge. Those around her have noticed she is increasingly agitated.

Her husband, a businessman, worries about her use of an insecticide called Slaypest on the flowers in her bedroom. Her ward, Dickie Dakers, adopted by Mary and her husband when young, is a budding playwright who has written one play in which Mary has starred and has another one, with a lead part written, not for her, but his romantic interest, a young actress working at a nearby bookstore. Dickie has not yet told her. There is a former lover, an actress friend, a costumer, and a director, all dependent on the whims of Mary…and the Management. There are also a nanny and her dresser, rivals with each other, thinking the worst of the other.

The tensions simmer through the day, although Mary, disapproving of Dickie’s love interest, schemes to invite her to the party to show her up. As it turns out, without intending, she not only steals the show with her stunning beauty, it becomes clear from an overheard conversation that she is Dickie’s intended lead for the play. Mary is furious, and after so thoroughly offending the girl and her father that they leave, she has it out with Dickie in her bedroom, between the cutting of the cake and the presents. He leaves in a rush, the guests waiting for Mary to open their gifts. Finally the dresser goes up and finds her in the throes of death. By the time the somewhat inebriated family doctor who is at the party makes his way to the bedroom, she is dead.

It’s a case of poisoning with the insecticide she was so fond of using. But was it an accident, suicide, or murder? At this point, Fox, followed by Alleyn make their entrance, quickly narrowing the possibility to murder. Dickie is the obvious suspect but Alleyn takes his time–he’s not so sure. To complicate it all, it seems everyone is withholding the truth of what went on in Mary’s house on that fated birthday.

Marsh’s seems at the height of her powers in this one. At one time or another you believe almost all those in the house could have done it. And the one who did…I didn’t see that one coming. As in so many of her stories, she focuses around a theatrical company, reflecting her own theatrical background. As in others, there is an acted civility under which there are jealousies, plottings, resentments, and rivalries. Once again, she comes up with a gruesome instrument of murder (although I found myself muttering “get rid of that d**ned Slaypest”). This is one case where Alleyn solves the crime but the murderer eludes capture.

Review: Non-Toxic Masculinity

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Non-Toxic Masculinity, Zachary Wagner. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2023.

Summary: Focusing on the distortions of male sexuality coming out of the purity culture movement, charts what a healthy male sexuality might look like that is responsible, selfless, and loving.

“IT’S A CONFUSING TIME TO BE A MAN.”

These are the opening words in Zachary Wagner’s new book, Non-Toxic Masculinity. The book focuses particularly on the brand of male sexuality that has emerged out of the evangelical church’s purity movement culture that has been marked by scandals of sexual abuse and harassment in the church and unhealthy patterns of sexuality in many marriages. This also has resulted in male shame and body hatred. Wagner writes for men, reflecting on his own experiences growing up in purity culture, calling for men to be accountable both in owning the problem they have had and seeking the healing and vision of positive masculine sexuality that he believes may be found within the scriptures.

Wagner focuses the first part of the book on the Purity Movement of the 1990’s and early 2000’s, defining it as “the theological assumptions, discipleship materials, events, and rhetorical strategies used to promote traditional Christian sexual ethics in response to the sexual revolution.” He contends that the messaging of the movement led people to believe:

  1. Bodies are evil and sex is bad
  2. Abstinence will result in great sex later
  3. In sexual certainty in an uncertain world
  4. Sexual sin always had clear consequences
  5. Sex is at the center, it is a big deal
  6. Singleness is subhuman (and only temporary)
  7. Boys are dangerous (and so are girls)

These messages inculcated shame rather than a recognition of the gift of our sexuality and bodies, that men were out of control animals (and that women bore the burden of not arousing their desires), and also led to attitudes of male sexual entitlement in marriage. It also created ideals of masculinity that many men struggled to identify with, whether they were straight or gay. Wagner shows how these messages were dehumanizing for both men and women.

In the second part of the book, he seeks to articulate a vision for renewed male sexuality. He begins with the assumption that men are victims of their own desires that may result in shame, self-hatred, and may be the root of compulsive pornography use. He speaks of his own breakthrough of recognizing the wonder and beauty of being male and that desire, curiosity, and attraction reveal our longing for this deepest of human connections for which God made us. He also deal with biblical misconceptions, challenging expectations of marital sexuality, male desire being greater than female, that sexual frustration is a good reason to marry, and that wives owe husbands sex. Finally, he focuses on the male sexuality of Jesus, that as truly male and not androgynous, Jesus had a penis, modeled healthy relationships with both men and women, and the dignity of singleness. He rehumanized women who had been ill-treated.

In the last part of the book, Wagner explores what “grown up” male sexuality is like. He begins with the role of parents and significant adults in shaping the male sexuality of boys and protecting them from abuse, teaching them of the dignity of both boys and girls bodies. He challenges the “every man’s battle” narrative while offering a helpful critique of pornography use. He offers healthy alternatives for young men and their parents to the “I kissed dating good-bye” narrative. He discusses how we cultivate cultures of dignity, accountability, and friendship between men and women in the church, recognizing the failings of both complementarians and egalitarians. He punctures the overblown expectations of marital sexuality, talking honestly (with his wife’s explicit permission at the beginning of the book) about their own sexual struggles, and how marriage is a process of learning to love in all of life and in the bedroom.

Wagner also goes to a place I haven’t seen many books go. He talks about the connection between male sexuality and fatherhood, that this is one of the central purposes of men’s sexuality. He contends that this capacity teaches us that male sexuality is relational, cooperative, life-giving, responsible, nurturing, and self-sacrificial. What I so appreciate here is that Wagner frames male sexuality and fatherhood in broader issues of Christ-like character that extend far beyond our intimate relations.

I found this an important book to read to understand the fallout to the Purity Movement that I’ve encountered both in other books and in the experience of those raised within it. I appreciate both the analysis of the impact of that culture on young men (so much more has been written from female perspectives) and the effort to articulate healthy male sexuality within a traditional Christian sexual ethic without the messaging of purity culture. The frank discussions of pornography use and the underlying issues is an important aspect of this book. Wagner also manages, I think, to convey respect for LGBTQ+ persons while adhering to a traditional Christian sexual ethic, as well as to reflect upon the negative ways purity culture impacted LGBTQ+ persons.

There is only so much one book can cover. The book deals only tangentially with the sexual ethics of the wider culture. While speaking trenchantly against male sexual entitlement and patriarchy, there is an opposite extreme of male passivity that I have discussed with Christian leaders, both male and female. It is a confusing time for men, and declining male college enrollments and other measures suggest that as women advance in many areas, men are not advancing with them. Some of the qualities of healthy masculinity addressed in this book seem to bear on such questions and I hope Wagner will write more about this.

What Wagner has done is articulate a vision of masculinity that is humanizing for both men and women, that articulates the goodness of male sexuality and bodies within a biblical sexual ethic, and that is positive, life-affirming, and attractive. The church has been losing young men and women for lack of this, even while the culture offers nothing better. What I hope is that this will be a book that starts a conversation among Christian men that has been sorely lacking.

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

Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown –Ralph Ellis

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Lanterman’s Mill by Ralph Ellis. Photo courtesy of Ted Barnhart (modified from original)

Many of us who grew up in Youngstown at one time or another have been enthralled by the view of Lanterman’s Mill and Falls, viewed from the north looking south up the Mill Creek gorge. Perhaps no one was more enthralled with this view than Ralph Ellis, who painted over 800 copies of the Mill during his lifetime, including the one above, owned by Ted Barnhart of Byesville, Ohio. It was originally owned by Frederic Theodore O’Connor who lived on North Maryland Avenue in Youngstown. He was the instructor of a Masonic Class at the Argus Lodge 545 in Canfield, of which Ralph Ellis was a member in 1945. The painting was presented to Mr. O’Connor at the conclusion of the class, passed on to his daughter, the mother of Ted Barnhart, upon his death. The painting is 18″ x 24″ on a wood panel.

Ralph Ellis was born in Elmira, New York on May 22, 1885, son of Victor and Rachel Crook Ellis. He moved to Youngstown in 1909 and was employed as a sign painter and painted murals for many commercial establishments in the city. He formed the Ellis Art Club for other painters, that met in the studio behind his home. He was also an accompanist, playing at the Opera House on the Square. Among the stars with whom he performed was Sarah Bernhardt. He also accompanied silent movies and loved playing the “chase” scenes!

He was active in Masonry Work, as a member of the Western Star Lodge 21, F & AM. This lodge was originally in Canfield and moved to Youngstown, the Argus Lodge taking its place. His largest Lanterman’s Mill painting was a 28 foot by 16 foot mural for the Masonic Temple. He also painted murals on the four walls of a large meeting room on the third floor of the WPA Memorial, built in 1937. The building housed a branch of the Reuben McMillan Library on the first floor along with a theatre where movies were shown, also used for community activities. The second floor housed the American Legion and Ladies Auxiliary. The Argus Lodge used the third floor, and hence the commission to fellow Masonic Brother Ellis. Here is a description of the mural from The History of the Argus Lodge:

The mural in the East depicted the Trial of the Iron Monger before King Solomon. Many of the characters in the mural bore the resemblance of members of the lodge who had given their time and talents to the craft. The other walls depicted the Tyler’s Gate, the Sun in the South, the Sword, the Pot of Incense, the Naked Heart, and King Solomon’s Temple with a path that, because of the optical illusion, seemed to lead to the Temple, no matter from which angle it was viewed.

The work took Ellis two years to complete with his wife keeping him company many weekends.

“WPA Memorial Building” by Jimmy Emerson, DVM is licensed under CC BY ND-NC 2.0

Sadly, the murals have been covered with dry wall with several businesses currently using the building.

Ralph Ellis went on to paint every nook and cranny of his beloved Mill Creek Park for many years. He passed away at the age of 80 of pneumonia on September 27, 1965. Beyond his obituary in the Vindicator on September 28, 1965 and the Argus Lodge History, there is little information that I could find on him. If others have paintings by him, it would be wonderful to see images. The Masonic Temple closed in 2016 (although it was used for a film in 2022). It would be interesting to know if Ellis’s mural has survived and if there are any efforts to preserve it.

[I would like to acknowledge my appreciation to Ted Barnhart, who suggested the article and provided the picture of the Ellis painting as well as a copy of Ellis’s obituary.]

To read other posts in the Growing Up in Working Class Youngstown series, just click “On Youngstown.” Enjoy!

Review: Endless Grace

/ rtrube54 / 1 Comment

Endless Grace: Prayers Inspired By The Psalms, Ryan Whitaker Smith & Dan Wilt. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2023.

Summary: Prayers in free verse inspired, psalm by psalm, from Psalm 76 to Psalm 150, responding with ideas from the whole of scripture as well as literature.

Endless Grace, covering Psalm 76 to Psalm 150 is the companion volume to Sheltering Mercy, prayerful responses to Psalm 1 to Psalm 75. This is a gem of devotional literature! What the writers have done is to render prayers of response for each of the psalms. These are not paraphrases. Rather, what the writers have done in free verse is to write prayers drawing upon the whole of scripture as well as references from literature and The Book of Common Prayer that connect to the themes of the psalm. Where they do so, they provide footnotes citing the relevant biblical or other text.

One of my favorite psalms is Psalm 127. Here is Psalm 127 in The New International Version:

Psalm 127

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
    the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
    the guards stand watch in vain.
2 In vain you rise early
    and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
    for he grants sleep to[a] those he loves.

3 Children are a heritage from the Lord,
    offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
    are children born in one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
    whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
    when they contend with their opponents in court.

Here is the rendering of Psalm 127 by the authors:

PSALM 127

LORD OF THIS HOUSE

------------
Who is our head and host?

Christ,
Lord of the Feast.

Who watches over us?

Christ,
our stronghold and refuge.

Who grants us peace?

Christ,
our Eternal Sabbath.

Who is the giver of life?

Christ, 
in whom all the families of the earth are blessed.

Who is King over this house?

Christ,
who loved us
and gave Himself up for us--
who call us His own.

The center justification of the verse reflects the format used throughout these psalms and, for this reader allowed meditative reflection on each phrase.

As evident in Psalm 127, the writers draw upon the full redemptive arc of the biblical material, praying these psalms through the eyes of Christ, or a Christ-centered perspective. Custom artwork throughout complements the text and the book is hardbound, allowing for many seasons of devotional use. I found this not only a way to read the Psalms with fresh eyes but to pray with fresh words.

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