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Religion in Review
Two scholars argue that “every theology is inherently political”; how America got Bad Religion; examining faith through the lens of cognitive science; how to raise happy kids; what Scandal means in the Catholic Church; finding God in the light and in the dark; a prominent imam sees Islam beyond Ground Zero; has Christian youth ministry damaged the church?; psychotherapy as a spiritual endeavor; translating Swedenborg’s understandings of scripture for modern readers and doers; for children: picturing Our Lady of Guadalupe and the lost synagogues of Europe, YA fiction about life on the moon; plus Web-only reviews.
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E. Kent Rogers: Ask, and It Will Be Given
E. Kent Rogers has lived in the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains since 1999. A deep believer in meditation, nature, and prayer, he says “In Kathmandu, you can get out into nature and soak in the patterns of peace and beauty from God which patiently wait to bless us.” After graduating from Swedenborg-affiliated Bryn Athyn College, Rogers journeyed to Nepal to start the New Life Children’s Home orphanage. 12 Miracles of Spiritual Growth: A Path of Healing from the Gospels (Swedenborg Foundation Press, May; starred review in this issue), Rogers’s first book, is a non-denominational exploration of the spiritual message behind the healing miracles of Jesus and their application in everyday life.
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James Alexander Langteaux: Christian and Gay
It took eight years for James Alexander Langteaux to write his latest book, Gay Conversations with God: Straight Talk on Fanatics, Fags and the God Who Loves Us All (April, Findhorn Press), but the long process had nothing to do with writer’s block. “It was more due to fear,” Langteaux says. “I was angry and hurt and wounded by a lot of ignorance among Christians, and didn’t think I could be gay and a Christian.” In addition, as a senior producer for a Christian television network, he knew the book could put his job in jeopardy.
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E-books Provide Fast Platform for Ripped-from-the-Headlines Debates
Thanks to the nouveau magic of e-books, it’s never too late, or too early, to weigh in at mini-book length on this week’s headlines. No stranger to controversy, progressive evangelical author and former pastor Brian McLaren has penned three e-books that address this election year’s raucous collision of religion and politics. Word of the Lord To Democrats e-pubbed mid-March; comparable titles aimed at evangelicals and Republicans are due April 2 and April 16, respectively. And McLaren’s not alone. Also entering the religion and politics arena via e-book is Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput. A Heart on Fire: Catholic Witness and the Next America (Image, Mar. 27) is an original e-book in which the Catholic prelate makes the case for “the disappearance of a Christian critical mass in American life” as part of his argument for present-day threats to religious liberty in America.
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New Books Highlight the Life-Changing Power of the Miraculous
Look out heaven, here come miracles. Books on the hereafter are still going strong on the bestseller lists. Now four new books tell the stories of lives that came crashing down but were saved by the power of the divine. From honor student to American Idol finalist, from mother of four to Hollywood washout, each one tells of the faith and strength that changes lives.
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Faith and Writing Fest Gearing Up
Preparations are well underway for the 2012 Festival of Faith and Writing, to be held April 19-21 at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. The biannual conference brings together writers, readers, editors, agents, and publishers who are interested in the intersections of faith and writing. Headliners from a roster of more than 60 featured writers include Marilynne Robinson (Gilead), Jonathan Safran Foer (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close), and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Half of a Yellow Sun).
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Heaven Is for Real Juggernaut Keeps on Rolling
Thomas Nelson recently marked some significant milestones for its wildly successful Heaven Is for Real, the account of a six-year-old boy’s near-death experience. Published in November 2010, the book has spent 69 weeks on the New York Times paperback bestsellers list and this past Sunday (Mar. 25) was once again at #1—the 57th time (non-consecutively) in that position. It has been on the Publishers Weekly trade paperback list for 65 weeks, at #1 more than 10 times in the past year. With 6.5 million copies in print, it’s the top-selling trade book in the history of Thomas Nelson, as well as the longest tenured at #1 on the bestseller lists. Heaven Is for Real for Kids, released this past November, has sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide.
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Catholic Education Congress Gives Publishers Maximum Exposure
With more than 200 speakers and 40,000 attendees, the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress offers a firsthand look at the diversity of people and opinions within the Catholic Church. But at this year’s congress, most publishers acknowledged at least one key commonality: an increase in sales. And in the midst of thousands of titles, it seems many readers are choosing to go back to basics. Several publishers stated that Bibles and scripture study resources were among their most popular products.
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Rowman & Littlefield Resurrecting Jason Aronson Judaica Line
At the Public Library Association conference, RBL learned that Rowman & Littlefield is reviving the Judaica line under its Jason Aronson imprint. R&L acquired Aronson in 2003 and continued to publish its Judaica backlist through 2008. The line went dormant until 2010 when Aronson publisher Julie Kirsh got a proposal for Surviving Your Bar/Bat Mitzvah: The Ultimate Insider’s Guide (Aug.). She was preparing for her own daughter’s bat mitzvah, and the book struck a chord.
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At Library Meeting, Religion Publishers Showcase Their Books
The Public Library Association conference, held March 13-17 in Philadelphia, Penn., played host not only to more than 6,000 librarians, but also to more than a dozen publishers of religion books, there to build awareness of their titles among attendees. In recent years, religion publishers have expressed the desire to reach the library market more effectively, and this biannual conference, as well as the larger annual ALA conventions, have become increasingly important places for them to exhibit and to interact with librarians.
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Conversations about Religion: PW’s Top 10: Religion
Feisal Abdul Rauf is familiar to much of the country as the imam behind the controversial proposal to build an Islamic community center near ground zero in lower Manhattan. Moving the Mountain: Beyond Ground Zero to a New Vision of Islam in America will likely stir some Islamophobes, but it is also likely to give the conversation about American Muslims a move forward in the direction of greater awareness. Those whose awareness of religious controversy is shaped by watching Comedy Central may recognize sometime Daily Show guest Bart Ehrman. The religion scholar that evangelical Christians love to debate offers a surprising argument for the historical existence of Jesus in Did Jesus Exist? Other illusions do, however, exist, chief among them Frank Peretti’s new novel. Illusion is the first novel in nearly seven years from the writer who invented Christian horror.
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New Books on Jesus Offer a Path to Easter Reflection
While in some sense every Christian book about Jesus, a number of new books put Christ front and center, examining his humanity, his suffering, his Jewishness, and his poetry. Any one is a candidate for reading and reflection during the Passion Week that precedes Easter, Christianity’s holiest day, occurring on April 8 this year. Our annotated listing offers five choices.
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Editor’s Note
The weeks before Easter are a traditional time for publishers to release new Bibles—for both adults and children—because they are a popular gift on that most joyful holy day for Christians. It’s also a time, not surprisingly, we see a plethora of books about Jesus, as he is front and center in the minds of believers. In this issue we highlight some of those books with an annotated listing. We also cover the release of another controversial book on archaeological discoveries that purport to add physical evidence for Jesus’ life on earth. Christian believers don’t need the evidence, but the controversy over the claims, believe them or not, is sure to sell some books.
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It Is Written: News in Bibles and Sacred Texts
Nelson and Zondervan partner on new MacArthur Study Bible; seminal Zen Buddhist text newly translated; in time for Easter, new Bibles for kids; Jimmy Carter’s study Bible taps his years teaching Sunday school; 21-day devotional app leads believers to Easter Sunday
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Same Old Same Old or New Evidence of Jesus?
A new book on archaeological findings by a controversial pair has sparked wide media coverage but elicited skepticism from archaeologists, who have generally dismissed the new claim as not-new sensationalism. The Jesus Discovery: The New Archaeological Find that Reveals the Birth of Christianity by scholar James Tabor and filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici (Simon & Schuster) was published yesterday (Feb. 28). It argues that evidence from ossuaries (bone boxes) newly excavated from a previously unopened tomb under a Jerusalem condominium--near what has been called “the Jesus Family Tomb,” first excavated in 1980--revive the possibility they are related to the family of Jesus.
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March 2012 Christian Bestsellers: Adult, Children's, Bibles
Musical chairs in the top 6 adult books; Real Marriage debuts at #7; Love & Respect is back; at #10, Zacharias asks Why Jesus?. In paperbacks, The Harbinger comes in at #2; the women join the men in a Resolution. A children’s book from Anne Graham Lotz; a new KJV Bible from Thomas Nelson.
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Short Takes
Catholic publishers recognize two; Tiffany windows go to Reno; personnel changes at Baker; Moody launches blogger review program; Episcopal Church site has resources for pastors; Nelson line reaches sales milestone; Rohr Prize awarded; strong pre-sales for a talking dog; ACFW launches new journal; IVP authors win biography prize; Munce show a success; talking about “Race & The Christian”; church campaign launching.
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Publisher Looking for Sales Bump from an Amish Moment
With a story in last Sunday’s (Feb. 26) New York Times about an Amish man charged in a Ponzi scheme that ensnared his own Plain Community; as well as last night’s (Feb. 28) PBS American Experience program on the Amish, publishers of books about the Amish are probably hoping for a boost in sales from media attention (whether positive or negative). At least one publisher has prepared for that hoped-for result.
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Religion in Review
Joy as a choice; a prayer for complete surrender; overcoming religious intolerance; tackling the problem of evil; plumbing The Power of Parable; a survey of the world’s sacred texts; for children: do pets go to heaven? and what five faiths share; compelling YA fantasy; how to cultivate love-consciousness; an Olympic athlete redeemed through a mother’s prayers; stories and songs from a mother and daughter; braiding the essences of the Abrahamic religions; a woman finds heaven by going through hell; plus Web exclusive reviews.
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Dinesh D’Souza: A New Look at an Old Problem
Dinesh D’Souza is no stranger to controversy. A bestselling author (What’s So Great About Christianity) and conservative speaker who served in the Reagan White House, his stances on race, President Obama, liberals, and 9/11 have raised many an eyebrow. His new book Godforsaken: Bad Things Happen. Is there a God who cares? Yes, here’s proof. (Tyndale, Mar.) is set to do the same. D’Souza tells Religion BookLine that in Godforsaken he attempts to address the age-old question of why God permits suffering and evil.
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