Original RBL Reviews
The Pastor
Eugene H. Peterson. HarperOne, $25.99 (336p) ISBN 978-0-06-198820-2
Theology professor, author (The Message), and long-time pastor Peterson brings his remarkable storytelling skills and empathic understanding of human nature to this insightful and entertaining exploration of his evolving vocational discernment as pastor and writer. With short story-like chapters named after people, places, and spiritual disciplines, such as “Uncle Sven,” “My Father’s Butcher Shop,” and “Eucharistic Hospitality,” Peterson brings to life the environments and relationships that shaped him: his Norwegian-immigrant, Pentecostal upbringing in small-town Montana; seminary professors and Presbyterian pastors in New York City; and his lengthy pastorate in Maryland, a ministry fully shared with his wife, Jan. With wisdom and humility, Peterson grapples with challenges particular to parish ministry, such as the desire to fix parishioners’ problems, the compulsion to work long hours in compensation for being “invisible six days a week,” and an emotional malaise he terms the “badlands.” By sharing disciplines that enabled him to enjoy a long, healthy pastorate, such as Sabbath Mondays, Emmaus walks, the company of other pastors, and extensive reading, Peterson offers concrete guidance to those engaged in or considering a pastoral vocation. Introspective, thought-provoking, and entertaining reflections from one of America’s spiritual leaders. (Mar.)
Lost and Found: Unexpected Revelations about Food and Money
Geneen Roth. Viking, $25.95 (204p) ISBN 978-0-670-02271-7
Roth (Women Food and God) builds on her life’s work of demystifying her food obsession in offering a provocative and penetrating examination of personal relationships to money. Losing her entire life’s savings in the Madoff collapse catalyzes a painful but priceless insight: unconscious relationships with money are akin to relationships with food. As someone who “makes a career out of suffering,” as her brother chides, Roth turns within to make sense of this wake-up call, exposing subterranean beliefs and the hidden conditioning that has framed her “financial haze.” In doing so, Roth teaches by example the transformative power of awareness. With compassion and humor she dismantles unconscious compulsions that bespeak an inner poverty, dissipating what she calls the “trance of deficiency” that hijacks financial relationships and self-worth. Fans familiar with the heart and wisdom that infuses Roth’s candid writing style and makes her books memorable won’t be disappointed. (Mar.)
Getting to Heaven: Departing Instructions for Your Life Now
Don Piper and Cecil Murphey. Berkley, $25.95 (320p) ISBN 978-0-425-24028-1
Piper (Heaven is Real) returns after a four-year hiatus in this hotly anticipated book about Christian faith, forgiveness, and the afterlife. The book begins with a clever re-imagining of Piper’s groundbreaking title 90 Minutes in Heaven to ask readers now how they would prepare for death if they only had 90 minutes left to live. From there, he interweaves both his anecdotal knowledge and his succinct interpretation of New Testament scripture to lay out his step-by-step guide for living righteously to prepare for life after death. While Piper’s thesis may seem overworked at this point in his writing career, he and his co-author Murphey still manage to outline a well-constructed manual for Christian life and action. While some readers may find his teachings didactic and staid, others will surely be inspired and compelled to remain “teachable” in a “troubled world” that “needs peace.” (Mar.)
The Invisible World: Understanding Angels, Demons, and the Spiritual Realities that Surround Us
Anthony DeStefano. Doubleday, $19.99 (208p) ISBN 978-0-385-52223-6
DeStefano (A Travel Guide to Heaven) presents a quick introduction to not just unseen beings, but to the entire Christian worldview. The first half of the book explores the various types of invisible, spiritual beings (God, angels, demons, souls). The remainder deals with other, related issues in Christian theology such as spiritual warfare, grace, the purpose of suffering, and final judgment. Although the work offers little new on these matters, the personal experiences, pop culture references and amiable style make it highly readable and accessible. DeStefano connects some notions to Biblical texts or well-known Christian thinkers such as Augustine, Aquinas and C.S. Lewis, but the vast majority are left unsourced. Such an approach might leave some readers wondering about how supported such views are, especially when they are treated as being self-evident. The work will appeal to those searching for a basic understanding of the invisible world, but those looking for more nuanced, comprehensive, or fresh approaches to theology will want to look elsewhere. (Mar.)
Why Stay Catholic? Unexpected Answers to a Life-Changing Question
Michael Leach. Loyola, $14.95 trade paper (224p) ISBN 978-0-8294-3537-5
Catholic publishing eminence Leach asks, and answers, a good question that the nation’s second largest non-congregation – the church of ex-Catholics -- has also asked, but answered differently. Leach offers a how-do-I-love-thee list of reasons for his staying within the 68 million strong tent of American Catholic believers, even while remaining aware that the tent is less than perfect. His book focuses on, in short and digestible chapters, ideas, people, and places that exemplify Catholicism’s best. He ranges from theological-institutional (Catholics have powerful sacramental imaginations that allow them to glimpse God unexpectedly) to just plain fun (Catholics like to party; Jesus did, too). His “places” highlight the infrastructure of institutions that Catholics have built within society: charities, hospitals, schools, relief agencies – all an integral part of America’s social backbone. Leach also includes a portion of an essay he wrote imagining what he would do if he were pope. Would that he had been (it’s theoretically possible): this is a generous, loving, charming book – Catholicism at its best. (Mar.)
Original RBL Reviews: Fiction
The Corruptible
Mark Mynheir. Multnomah, $14.99 trade paper (352p) ISBN 978-1-60142-074-9
A violent crimes investigator and author of the Christy-nominated The Night Watchman offers up the second Ray Quinn mystery. When an alcoholic private detective investigates the theft of a high profile company’s sensitive documents, things get complicated when the perpetrator is found dead. Quinn has a burly -- but green -- sidekick Crevis, who learns things the hard way. Mynheir cooks up a number of satisfying subplots and backstories: Crevis gets into police academy despite family and personal adversity; Quinn has a personal life, and loves, and even success in luring and nabbing an e-mail con by posing as a rich elderly woman. Funny exchanges between partners ( “I said look ‘angry and crazy,’ not deranged.”), impeccable action writing, and smooth pacing propel the narrative. The author knows the cop-and-investigation gig, but offers more, managing to be witty, insightful, and introspective. Throw away the cane, Mr. Quinn: you’ve got more cases to solve and a new audience that will knock you over to get to the next one. (Apr.)
Sneak Peek: Religion Book Reviews Coming in PW March 14
The Mind and the Machine: What It Means To Be Human and Why It Matters
Matthew Dickerson. Brazos, $19.99 trade paper (256p) ISBN 978-1-58743-272-9
What defines human? In the age of the computer, the author (From Homer to Harry Potter) looks at the futuristic works of authors such as Ray Kurzweil concerned with mind, body, and spirit in the present day and compares them to the supernatural world of the Bible. In between he examines the human quest in science and reason. During the journey, Dickerson takes the reader through thinkers of the Enlightenment; the creative voice of J. R. R. Tolkien; biologist Richard Dawkins; and behavioral psychologist B. F. Skinner. “The debate directly relates to the question of whether humans are just complex computers,” the author writes. There is much here to reconcile reason with faith in the Bible. The author finds reason plays a great part within the sacred scriptures. This complex, thoughtful book will be of interest to those who want to know where computers are taking modern society. (May)
The Synagogue in America: A Short History
Marc Lee Raphael. New York Univ., $30 (225p) ISBN 978-0-8147-7582-0
A leading American Jewish historian as well as an ordained rabbi, Raphael, chair in Judaic Studies at the College of William and Mary, has written or edited many books and articles. His latest contribution is this brief overview of synagogues in America, beginning with the six that existed in 1789, when George Washington became president, and continuing to the present, when some estimate the number to be between 3,500 and 4,000. In a two-page appendix, “Counting Synagogues,” Raphael argues cogently that these numbers are fallacious. He arranges his presentation chronologically and denominationally, touching lightly on synagogue history among Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and Reconstructionist Jews. A Reform rabbi himself, he pays somewhat more attention to that branch of Judaism. He discusses synagogue architecture, but the few pictures he offers hardly do justice to this subject, which has been treated extensively in other books. Similarly, the entire topic of American synagogues is dealt with far more thoroughly by such writers as Kerry M. Olitzky, Samuel C. Heilman and Jack Wertheimer. Despite his far-ranging research, Raphael makes only a minimally useful contribution to the existing literature on the American synagogue. (Apr.)
A First Look at the Stars: Starred Religion Book Review Coming in PW March 14
Half the Church: Recapturing God’s Global Vision for Women
Carolyn Custis James. Zondervan, $18.99 (224p) ISBN 978-0-310-32556-7
Author (When Life and Beliefs Collide) and conference speaker James takes on the church’s historical stance on women who enthusiastically embrace their God-given role as “ezer-warriors” (ezer is the Hebrew word for “helper”). James’ previous works form the foundation for this important study, which could appropriately be thought of as the Christian companion to the groundbreaking Half the Sky, with its clarion call to activism. James challenges all women to step up and get busy doing the hard work of righting wrongs, influencing their communities, and laboring right alongside their male counterparts to effect powerful and positive change worldwide. James draws liberally from the Bible to underscore that God’s plan is for men and women to work with each other as essential components of a “Blessed Alliance.” The author’s compelling message and passionate voice are amplified by the skill with which she presents this information in volatile, dangerous times. (Apr.)
On the Virtual Shelves: Web Exclusive Religion Book Reviews
The Crossing
Gilbert Morris (Barbour, Feb.)
http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-60260-907-5
Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet
Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, foreword by Congressman Keith Ellison (Berrett-Koehler, Dec.)
