Original RBL Reviews
Things Seen and Unseen: A Catholic Theologian’s Notebook
Lawrence S. Cunningham. Sorin Books,$20 (256p) ISBN 978-1-933495-25-5
Gleaned from a 20-year-old collection of notebooks containing his reflections, this latest work by Cunningham, a University of Notre Dame theology professor, is filled with short and provocative, if disconnected, tidbits, jottings, thoughts, and opinions. Cunningham’s takes on subjects spanning prayer, atheism, the disappearing independent bookstore, and a scholar’s life are written in true notebook style; he sets down an idea and works out his thoughts. He is at his best when he takes an uncommon view, such as saying he is less bothered by “spasms of anti-Catholicism” in the culture than he would be if there were a total lack of interest in his faith. “It would be a sign of irrelevancy,” he writes. In opening his private musings to public view, however, Cunningham has left intact an occasional but unfortunate condescending tone that seems out of character for someone who presumably supports a diversity of ideas. For instance, he expresses his distaste for the Catholic Tridentine Mass in a way that is less than respectful of those who prefer this worship form. His references to some of the new Catholic colleges and his treatment of TV reporters are similarly dismissive. Nonetheless, readers cannot help finding his writing thought provoking. (Oct.)
The Next Christians: The Good News About the End of Christian America
Gabe Lyons. Doubleday Religion, $22.99 (240p) ISBN 978-0-385-52984-6
Lyons (unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity and Why It Matters) garnered attention in 2007 with fresh research quantifying evangelical Christianity’s image problem among American youth. His newest book aims to “restore” U.S. evangelicalism by elevating a generation of leaders marked by six traits suitable for a postmodern, pluralistic, post-Christian America. Evangelicals will need to be “provoked, not offended; creators, not critics; called, not employed; grounded, not distracted; in community, not alone; and countercultural, not relevant.” Lyons surrounds his argument with engaging personal stories; he also draws on the successful community model of William Wilberforce’s Clapham Hill group, the theology of N.T. Wright and Dallas Willard, and—surprisingly—the sociopolitical strategy of gay rights activists to demonstrate where this youthful evangelicalism is rooted and what effective cultural engagement might look like. It’s possible to fault Lyons for his almost exclusively male and predominantly white role models. They don’t represent future U.S. generations—evangelical or otherwise. However, for those following what church growth expert C. Peter Wagner called the “new apostolic reformation,” this is an important book for the shelf. (Oct. 5)
Catherine Hart Weber. Bethany House, $14.99 trade paper (256p) ISBN 978-0-7642-0808-9
A licensed marriage and family therapist, Weber (A Woman’s Guide to Overcoming Depression) has compiled a neatly written how-to resource on living a life that flourishes in every sense possible. Weber’s homespun, gentle writing style draws readers close as the author shares generously about her own life struggles through various seasons of darkness and physical setbacks. She offers equal measures of positive can-do pep talks and biblically oriented principles for thinking, believing, and feeling with vibrancy, successfully communicating hope, help, and a sense of positive expectation for the future. Weber demonstrates via real-life examples how to transform a mediocre existence into one that radiates peace, joy, and resilient hope. Practically perfect, Weber’s book is more than just another feel-good read. This author equips readers to pass the “goods” along to others. (Oct.)
H Blessed and Beautiful: Picturing the Saints
Robert Kiely.Yale Univ., $40 (288p) ISBN 978-0-300-16277-6
Kiely’s knowledge of literature and his fascination with religious images come together exquisitely in a book that will be appreciated as much for its analysis of great art as its commentary on relevant texts. The Yale University English professor emeritus deftly employs and intermingles both in a project that took root nearly two decades ago as he visited churches, monasteries, and museums during a stay in Tuscany. Kiely concentrates here on the religious art of 15th- and 16th-century Italy and a dozen or so saints he particularly likes, including his acknowledged favorite, Francis of Assisi. He incorporates as well a chapter on 19th-century English art critic John Ruskin, whose Protestant sensibilities were affected by exposure to Catholic culture in art. Kiely examines, too, how artists struggled to depict the humanity of Mary, Christ’s mother, and reflects on the contrast between the worldly life of the artist Sodoma and his paintings of St. Benedict and the monastic life. Engagingly written with 130 fine reproductions, this is a book that is certain to attract a diversity of readers with interests in religion, literature, and art. (Oct.)
One Fine Potion: The Literary Magic of Harry Potter
Greg Garrett. Baylor Univ., $19.95 trade paper (160p) ISBN 978-1-60258-198-2
Should evangelical Christians be alarmed by boy wizard Harry Potter? For Greg Garrett, novelist (Free Bird) and Baylor University professor of English, the answer is a resounding no. Rather, they should embrace the stories as affirming the central messages of Christianity. To show this, Garrett presents four readings of the Potter cosmos: a compelling argument about the role of magic, an explanation of the need for community, a discussion of true heroism, and an explicitly Christian exploration of Harry as savior and Dumbledore as Holy Spirit. Quotes from both the Potter novels and the Bible pepper the work, without proving intrusive. Christian elements are limited until the last section and their generic treatment will avoid alienating most readers. A few discussions (such as using the Potter novels to critique the Bush administration’s position on torture) might be off-putting to those who disagree. The connection between Harry and Jesus is also introduced a bit glibly. Still, Garrett treats both the Christian and the Potter worlds with affection and passionate reverence. His work may not convert naysayers to Potter, but it will provide fans much to consider about the novels and their message of hope, joy, and love. (Oct.)
The Twelfth Imam
Joel C. Rosenberg. Tyndale, $26.99 (512p) ISBN 978-1-4143-1163-0
Bestseller Rosenberg (The Last Jihad) has carved out a deep niche in conservative political fiction, vividly sweeping from 1979 Iran during the hostage crisis to a world-threatening crisis in the present day. When a prophecy of the coming Mahdi, or 12th imam, is believed to have been fulfilled through a Muslim prophet, a nuclear attack is threatened by Iran against Israel to bring the end of days. Iranian-American CIA operative David Shirazi must infiltrate the Iranian government without leaving American fingerprints and stop the ultimate disaster that would certainly escalate into international conflict. Filled with Islamic culture and history, this story of an Iranian family and an American one trying to understand one another is coupled with an emerging love story that will no doubt play out in coming books, since the ending is left open for more. Readers must keep track of many characters, but the author has provided a character list. Toeing the Christian conservative line while still writing sympathetic Muslim characters, Rosenberg is a go-to novelist for Christian political fiction. (Oct.)
Sneak Peek: Religion Book Reviews Coming in PW, October 11
Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just
Timothy Keller. Dutton, $19.95 (256p) ISBN 978-0-525-95190-2
The pastor of New York City’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church offers a persuasive plea for evangelicals to embrace social justice efforts. Keller (The Reason for God), whose evangelical credentials are well respected, is among a new breed of conservative Christians eager to break out of the straitjacket that frowns on justice work as doctrinally unsound or the work of overzealous liberals. Without ever resorting to hyperbole, Keller carefully analyzes Old and New Testament passages to make the case that God’s heart for justice on behalf of widows, orphans, immigrants, and the poor is indisputable, and that an encounter with grace will inevitably lead to a desire for justice. This short manifesto goes further: Keller argues that gospel preaching that aims only to change hearts while remaining oblivious to unjust social structures will never fully succeed. Keller recommends that evangelicals partner with non-Christians in pursuit of social reform while speaking distinctively in their own religious idiom. Emergent Christians as well as others serious about their faith and eager for a balanced and authoritative voice on the subject will appreciate this book. (Nov.)
God’s Guest List
Debbie Macomber. S&S/Howard, $23 (208p) ISBN 978-1-4391-0896-3
New York Times bestselling author Macomber—with more than 100 million books in print—started out with a list of 30 people she wanted to meet. Yet she was often disappointed when she met them. “I had misplaced my admiration,” she writes. That’s when God prompted her to make a blank list of people he’d send into her life. “From that point on I’ve looked deeply into each face I meet,” she writes. She records her encounters, along with stories of others’ encounters, tales of historical figures, and more. Macomber uses her considerable storytelling ability to encourage and inspire, sharing anecdotes of meeting folks from New Orleans chef Tory McPhail to a childhood friend she reconnects with. Stories are divided into themed parts such as prickly people, children, family, colleagues, and business associates; each part includes “Take Note” and “RSVP” sections offering to-do advice and spiritual application. Macomber offers readers her signature charm and sincerity (she shares her struggles with weight and also her children’s struggles), always urging readers to “look for His fingerprints on your own life.” (Nov.)
A First Look at the Stars
Starred Reviews Coming in PW, October 11
H American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation—How Indian Spirituality Changed the West
Philip Goldberg. Harmony, $26 (416p) ISBN 978-0-385-52134-5
Spiritual coach and author Goldberg (Roadsigns) is a knowledgeable and sympathetic chronicler of the past 150 years or so of Indian spiritual ideas’ influence on American spirituality. Correctly starting with Emerson and American transcendentalism, Goldberg follows a trail that gets broader, more diverse, and more powerful until yoga is as American as Starbucks, and “spiritual but not religious” becomes a cultural catchphrase describing millions whose notions of the transcendent are more shaped by India’s Sanatana Dharma (Eternal Religion) than by Yankee divines and Southern Baptists. Goldberg sorts gurus and systems of yoga, correctly understanding the spiritual aspects of what many Americans think of as a physical fitness discipline. He’s on point in tracing the influence of the spiritual philosophy of Vedanta on a legion of influential artists and writers beyond the titular ones—think John Coltrane and the late J.D. Salinger. This book fills a void; scholars have mined the subject of Indian spiritual philosophy, but mostly for the academy, despite the broad impact of Vedantism on popular culture. Goldberg gets it. (Nov.)
H Beginner’s Grace: Bringing Prayer to Life
Kate Braestrup. Free Press, $25 (256p) ISBN 978-1-4391-8426-4
Braestrup (Here If You Need Me), a Unitarian Universalist minister who serves as chaplain to the Maine Warden Service, graciously escorts true prayer into real life. In her fourth book, Braestrup approaches prayer from 24 angles, including from the threshold, in mixed company, for enemies, before service, and with laughter. She presents prayers in lyrics or without words. She understands that prayers can be posture and presence but never formulaic: “They need not be factual, but they must be true.” Braestrup’s voice registers in a wide range—from scholarly to deliciously earthy (she declares God a “noodge”) to motherly—as she plaits a story strand about herself with a good hank of biblical exegesis, then finishes with personal ribbons, drawing material from her family (familiar from her memoir) and her friends in ministry and law enforcement. Some disquisitions, like the one on sleep, dull when compared to richer, exemplary narratives, such as her teasing chapter on hypocrisy. By often returning to her theme of empathy and consciousness, Braestrup remains a persuasive pastor, praying right through the amen. (Nov.)
H God’s Almost Chosen Peoples: A Religious History of the American Civil War
George C. Rable. Univ. of North Carolina, $35 (608p) ISBN 978-0-8078-3426-8
Apart from Charles Regan Wilson’s classic Baptized in the Blood: The Religion of the Lost Cause, 1865–1920, Civil War historians have often neglected the story of religion in their chronicles of America’s sectarian conflict. In this brilliant and groundbreaking book, University of Alabama historian Rable draws upon newspapers, sermons, diaries, letters, and journals to show that many people on both sides of the conflict turned to faith to help explain the war’s causes, course, and consequences. Rable demonstrates that both Northerners and Southerners tried to make sense of the brutal war by thumbing through their Bibles, listening to their preachers, and interpreting battles as a fulfillment of a divine plan. Thus, Stephen Alexander Hodgman, a Northerner who had lived in the South for 32 years before the war, declared that God had not just sealed the doom of slavery, but that the war had helped prepare the way for the reign of Christ. Because of its thorough research and its chronicle of the lives of ordinary people, Rable’s engrossing study of the role of religion in the Civil War will stand as the definitive religious history of America’s most divisive conflict. (Nov.)
On the Virtual Shelves
Web Exclusive Religion Book Reviews
The Greatest Prayer: Rediscovering the Revolutionary Message of the Lord’s Prayer
John Dominic Crossan (HarperOne, Sept.)
Jesus and Gin: Evangelicalism, the Roaring Twenties, and Today's Culture Wars
Barry Hankins ( Palgrave Macmillan, Aug.)
Prophetically Incorrect: A Christian Introduction to Media Criticism
Robert H. Woods Jr. and Paul D. Patton (Brazos, Aug.)
God Attachment: Why You Believe, Act, and Feel the Way You Do about God
Tim Clinton and Joshua Straub (S&S/Howard, Aug.)
The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God, Having the Guts to Respond
Bill Hybels (Zondervan, July)
