FROM ANGER TO ZION: An Alphabet of Faith

In the spirit of Frederick Buechner and Kathleen Norris, Taylor, the newly elected Episcopal Bishop of western North Carolina, presents alphabetical musings on the Christian life. The essays, which began as sermons, all reflect on a different passage from Scripture, with Taylor's topics ranging from "church" (a place where people "learn to love") and "demons" to "transfiguration" and "yes." Taylor is erudite but wears his learning with a light touch. Laced throughout are snippets from a diverse canon of saints, including Dietrich Bonhoeffer, C.S. Lewis, playwright Peter Shaffer and Jewish poet Marge Piercy. From the occasional autobiographical vignettes, Taylor emerges as a humble and likable fellow, devoted Southerner and political liberal, and, most important, a trustworthy narrator and spiritual guide. His words are faithful without being pat, and he makes plenty of room for questions and doubts. (This is particularly true of the meditation on "unbelief," which insists that "the opposite of faith is not doubt. In fact, doubt is the catalyst for faith.") In his discussion of the Fall, Taylor notes that sometimes stories become too familiar. We have to strip away the assumptions and "look at the story again and see if we can hear it in a fresh way." Taylor treats readers to 46 such fresh reconsiderations of comfortably familiar themes in this quiet gem of a book. (Sept.)