The End of Christianity: Finding a Good God in an Evil WorldWilliam A. DembskiB&H Academic, $22.95 (256p) ISBN 978-0-8054-2743-1
A high-profile proponent of intelligent design, Dembski (Darwin’s Nemesis), a professor at Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary, turns his attention to the classic theological problem of theodicy. He believes that “God gave humanity two primary sources of revelation about himself: the world he created and the Scripture he inspired.” Dembski develops his thesis to conclude that God created a perfect world until humans sinned. He skillfully traces evil before and after the Garden of Eden to salvation by belief in Christ. He defends his faith not only against atheists (Richard Dawkins in particular), but Jews and other Christians such as C.S. Lewis, John Polkinghorne and Jürgen Moltmann, who don’t view the dark side of human nature as he does. Dembski argues that humans possess free will, but only obedience to an all-powerful God can offer true freedom from evil. In a dense work that draws widely from information theory, scripture and poetry, Dembski’s belief in God as a Creator-Redeemer who saves humankind from evil after the fall is the very personal message of this book. (Nov. 1)
A Very Brief History of EternityCarlos Eire. Princeton Univ., $24.95 (250p) ISBN 978-0-691-13357-7
Readers of Eire’s award-winning memoir, Waiting for Snow in Havana, won’t be surprised by the tongue-in-cheek title of the Yale history professor’s latest book. Despite its heady topic, Eire’s engaging style and sense of humor keep things light enough to carry readers through a history of “how conceptions of forever, or eternity, have evolved in Western culture, and what role these conceptions have played in shaping our own self-understanding, personally and collectively.” Beginning in the ancient cradle of civilization and ending with the postmodern present, the author addresses both religious and secular notions of eternity in the context of how people throughout time have treated such mysteries and conundrums as what happens after death and the relationship of time to space. Diagrams, photos and artistic representations accompanied by Eire’s commentary illustrate difficult concepts or provide visual representation of how people have conceived of eternity in reincarnation, mystical experience, heaven and enduring truth. Eire gives readers so much to think about and in such an entertaining manner that he can be excused for occasionally overreaching. (Nov.)
Gods and Guitars: Seeking the Sacred in Post-1960s Popular MusicMichael J. Gilmour. Baylor Univ., $19.95 paper (216p) ISBN 978-1-60258-139-5
What do Salman Rushdie and literary criticism have to do with rock music? For Gilmour (Call Me the Seeker: Listening to Religion in Popular Music), these things are very much related. The author believes that song lyrics can sometimes stand on their own apart from music, and moreover, they can reveal something about an artist’s religious and spiritual views. This may not appear at first to be an enlightened perspective, but the author’s artful use of Rushdie’s fiction clearly shows how it is possible. The usual suspects in the religion and rock conversation (U2, Springsteen) are not as prominent, leaving room for more obscure but equally vital musicians like Daniel Lanois and Burton Cummings. Especially constructive is the chapter “Outrageous Religion,” about the influence of sexuality and the occult on some styles of rock music, such as heavy metal. The author also ventures into Hindu and Muslim influences on rock music, a foray that few scholars have attempted. His treatment enriches the dialogue between religion and rock well beyond the usual Judeo-Christian interpretations. Tune in, read on and enjoy. (Nov.)
After Lives: A Guide to Heaven, Hell, and PurgatoryJohn Casey. Oxford Univ., $35 (480p) ISBN 978-0-19-509295-0
As Virgil to Dante, Cambridge University scholar and author Casey (Pagan Virtue) is a reader’s guide to views of the afterlife across centuries, cultures and religions. Happily for the scope of his inquiry, the author is immensely well-read and readily shows how powerfully and frequently notions of heaven and hell have inspired and haunted Western writers; the book opens and closes with James Joyce’s artist character Stephen Daedalus, who exemplifies the potent influence of the Catholic Christian view of hell. The book’s most valuable contribution is its attention to the overarching context of non-Christian Western and Middle Eastern cultures. Egyptian, Mesopotamian, ancient Judaic, Greek and Roman conceptions anchor and shape the evolving Christian view. Muslim views of the afterlife are included, though scantily, a commendable attempt at redressing ignorance of a tradition in which the afterlife plays a significant theological role. This is a smart and comprehensive survey, though a general educated reader will need patience with citations in the original languages (which are translated immediately after). (Nov.)
