In this illuminating account, memoirist Osgood (How to Disappear Completely) interweaves her own story with those of six other women who found religion in a rapidly secularizing society. All millennials currently in their 30s, Osgood’s subjects converted to faiths ranging from Mormonism to Islam. Their motivations are wide-ranging and complex: Angela found in Quakerism an emphasis on innate human worth in a sometimes unfeeling world; Sara sought respite from her struggles with PTSD, binge-eating, and binge-drinking in Evangelicalism’s promise of renewal. Threaded throughout the narrative is the author’s account of her own path from a nonreligious upbringing to Orthodox Judaism following a long struggle with anorexia. Religion, for Osgood, provided an opportunity to defer to “something larger” and seek a second chance precluded by a medical system that often assumes “if you had an eating disorder, you would always be grappling with it.” More broadly, Osgood sees the move toward religion among a small but significant percentage of young people as stemming in part from a foundational quarrel with today’s knowledge-obsessed culture—a recognition “that we aren’t in total control, and that the act of submitting the self to something else is a talent we’ve forfeited.” It’s an intimate and often moving look at faith’s enduring appeal. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/03/2025 | Details & Permalink

Christian mysticism can help readers forge a closer connection to God, according to this fervent guide. Bestseller Eldredge (Wild at Heart) contends that today’s mass “discipleship to the Internet” has created a society obsessed with pragmatism and reliant on instant answers. Mysticism, on the other hand, centers “a rich sense of God’s presence and daily experiences with Jesus” that can help readers recover their sense of wonder. Drawing on the teachings of Francis of Assisi and Carmelite friar Brother Lawrence (who spoke of carrying on a “continual conversation with God”), Eldredge fleshes out mysticism as a concept—“the daily experience of God and his Kingdom” in which Christians routinely commune with Jesus and seek out his miracles—and how readers can harness it by making silent daily declarations of faith, forgiving others, and other actions. While he makes solid points about the value of cultivating a personal relationship with God, Eldredge’s assertions that Christians must abandon all else to do so feel overblown. “The World is a shipwreck from which every man, woman, and child must swim for their life,” he writes, warning readers of potential sacrifices they might have to make without clarifying why doing so would be necessary: “Jesus might ask you not to attend the annual family reunion... [or] pass up the PhD.” Only Eldredge’s most devoted fans will find this worth their time. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/03/2025 | Details & Permalink

Pastor Packiam (The Resilient Pastor) argues in this wide-ranging analysis that the Nicene Creed, a confession of faith that was codified by the Council of Nicaea in fourth century Constantinople, can serve as a reminder of core Christian principles at a time of declining trust in the Western church. Unpacking the creed stanza by stanza, he contends that the mention of “one holy catholic and apostolic Church” suggests that Christianity is spiritually and globally “bigger than what we see” (67% of Christians currently live in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania, he notes, a number that’s likely to rise to 77% by 2050). Elsewhere, he discusses how the creed’s framing of “God as the Maker” and source of ultimate meaning counters the modern notion that individuals should “create... their own” purpose, which he contends fosters unfulfilling forms of self-obsession. He then invites churchgoers to find their “way home” by adopting key Christian values like fostering community, hospitality, and love. Throughout, Packiam creatively interweaves detailed scriptural analysis with anecdotes from popular culture and his own life (he recalls how growing up in a Pentecostal church with “tambourines... and tongue-talkers” helped him understand the embodied nature of the Holy Spirit, which is often understood as a nebulous force but is characterized in the creed as a literal “giver of life”). It’s an impassioned call to rejuvenate Christianity by returning to its roots. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/03/2025 | Details & Permalink

Rabbi Stutman, who cohosts the Chutzpod podcast, debuts with a friendly guide to how Jewish values can assist one in leading a more meaningful life. Contextualizing well-known and arcane scriptural rules pertaining to love, sex, and other subjects, she explains why self-esteem is foundational to loving one’s neighbor, and how ancient practices like niddah—which bars partners from having sex when one is menstruating—can inspire modern-day couples to create “structure and clear expectations” for intimacy. Discussing acts of chesed (“lovingkindness”), she unpacks why even imperfect motivations are acceptable when it comes to helping others (letting someone cut the airport security line “because you feel shamed into it... still gets the person to their gate on time,” she notes). Such practical examples effectively highlight the values of individual agency and community at the heart of Jewish tradition, and Stutman buttresses them with personal anecdotes and detailed instructions (including a step-by-step guide to help readers allocate and then increase the amount of money they give to charity). It’s a valuable primer for those seeking practical ways to apply Jewish principles to their lives. (Mar.)

Reviewed on 01/03/2025 | Details & Permalink

In this stimulating meditation, Pierce (Hell Without Fires), dean of the Vanderbilt Divinity School, draws on “the subversive nature of the gospel” to examine the “historical wounds” of Black people in America. Exploring how shame is wielded by the powerful against the vulnerable, she links the story of how the prophetess Miriam was shunned for having leprosy to a viral 2015 video of an encounter in which a Black girl in a bathing suit was forcibly restrained by the police. In Pierce’s telling, the Bible story and the video both evoke how humiliation is internalized by Black women and girls who have historically been denied agency over their bodies. Elsewhere, she looks at how Black women in the rural South used knowledge passed down through generations to heal others with plants and roots for salves and painkillers, caring for the sick despite being wounded and endangered themselves. According to Pierce, the contemporary scientific validation of those ancestral healing methods disproves another “dominant story: that the traditions of rural southern folk were ignorant, unscientific, and based on superstition.” Such insights are thought-provoking, though the author’s tendency to rove rapidly between biblical, personal, and historical anecdotes can prevent them from cohering into a unified argument. Still, this is a resonant, richly detailed study of the complex relationship between race and faith in America. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 01/06/2025 | Details & Permalink

The recent decline of Christianity poses a crisis for the religion and for American democracy, according to this stimulating if uneven treatise. Rauch (The Constitution of Knowledge), a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, contends that a mass “dechurching” over the past 25 years has left a “God-shaped hole” in American society that secularism has been unable to fill. At the same time, the remaining segment of Christianity has sharpened into “a divisive, fearful, partisan” movement that prizes “un-Christian” values like aggression and strength. (That shift has been driven in part by society’s increased secularization, Rauch suggests, as Christians are influenced by politicians and evangelical media personalities, resulting in a faith that’s radicalized and less spiritually fulfilling.) Rauch calls for a “positive realignment” between faith and liberalism, proposing that pastors preach an attitude “of care and stewardship for civic institutions” and that secular activists take more seriously concerns about religious freedoms. Unfortunately, there are gaps in Rauch’s argument for a supportive relationship between faith and liberalism—most notably, how other religions, especially non–Judeo-Christian ones, might fit into this supposedly pluralistic system. The result is an intriguing if incomplete analysis of faith’s complicated role in an increasingly secular society. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 01/06/2025 | Details & Permalink

With this upbeat guide, McReynolds (Make Room), a Grammy-winning gospel singer, invites burned-out believers to seek comfort in their “true, core identity as a son or daughter of God.” After a hectic year touring the country and producing an album left him feeling like he was “choking alone in the high altitude,” he realized the professional success he’d achieved had come at the expense of relationships with friends, family, and God. He contrasts this achievement-obsessed “mountain mindset” with a “less glamorous but sustaining” valley mindset, in which one finds the “restoration” and “perspective-keeping” needed to live a full life. Tips for accessing the valley mindset include cultivating gratitude, serving others, and connecting with God via prayer, Bible study, or fasting. Despite hammering home his central metaphor a bit too hard in somewhat stilted prose (“Don’t do the climb without doing the time!”), McReynolds’s model of how to balance faith and professional aspirations gains credibility thanks to his candid personal anecdotes and refreshing sense of self-awareness. Christians who want to chase their dreams without forsaking their faith should take note. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 12/13/2024 | Details & Permalink

Journalist Shenon (The Commission) delivers a dense history of the modern Catholic church. Covering the past 75 years, he depicts an institution caught between the competing ideals of authority versus tolerance, or what Pope John XXIII referred to as the “medicine of mercy.” During WWII, Shenon notes, Pope Pius XII promulgated “dire warnings about sinful practices” and ignored “irrefutable intelligence” about the deaths of millions of Jews at the hands of the Nazis. Later, he centralized power in the Vatican with a 1949 decree that reinforced strict divisions between Catholics and Protestants. In the 1960s, John XXIII permitted worship in Latin to be replaced with vernacular language and pursued reconciliation efforts with the Jewish people. Subsequent popes were drawn into debates over birth control, sexuality, and relations with the world’s religions. Shenon digs most deeply into the church’s child sexual abuse scandals, arguing that John Paul III and Benedict XVI helped to cover them up by sitting on reams of evidence and failing to investigate accused clergy members. Drawing on prodigious research, the author paints a richly detailed portrait of a complex, hierarchical, and secretive institution as it grappled with a modernizing world. Unfortunately, the profusion of detail sometimes precludes broader meditations on the long-term implications of the crises described. Still, devoted Catholics and scholars of Catholicism will want this on their bookshelves. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 12/06/2024 | Details & Permalink

Foster care advocate Petersen (Fostered) aims in this compassionate guide to help Christians dismantle the false beliefs that undergird their destructive thought patterns. Arguing that feelings of “brokenness” can nurture a closeness to God, she assures readers struggling with self-hatred that loving themselves isn’t conceited (embracing “who God created you to be” is a holy act); with restlessness that “chasing unpromised potential” instead of appreciating what one has precludes satisfaction (“God may be trying to bring you healing with what you have, right where you are”); and with a lack of purposele that one’s “calling” lies not in professional aspirations but in serving as a “witness to God’s love” by loving others. Petersen makes clear throughout that the emotional healing process is often nonlinear and should facilitate self-acceptance rather than the prevention of pain, which can be an impetus for connecting with others and trying to understand Christ’s suffering. Blending Petersen’s vulnerable disclosures from a volatile childhood spent in and out of the foster care system with her concrete tips for healing (including daily mantras to reinforce one’s faith), this is a valuable starting point for believers looking to turn over a new leaf. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 12/06/2024 | Details & Permalink

Wagner (Godwired), a professor of religious studies at Ithaca College, explores in this scrupulous study the uniquely American myth of the self-­proclaimed “vigilante messiah” who “performs radical salvation with a gun.” Drawing from Christian apocalypticism and the American frontier myth, the narrative of the vigilante messiah took shape in the country’s earliest days, according to Wagner, and transformed “flesh-and-blood” cowboys who violently subdued Indigenous peoples into “strapping heroes” carrying out the “symbolically important” feat of conquering the West. In prevailing over a dehumanized enemy, the hero ushers in a “purified” society “where faith in God is replaced with faith in oneself,” rejecting communal systems and the modern anxieties they bring, like immigration and resource depletion. Wagner explores how the myth evolved in popular culture and art, from John Wayne westerns to such apocalyptic films as Armageddon, and draws intriguing and disturbing links to American mass shootings and the January 6 Capitol insurrection (whose gun-toting participants, Wagner argues, envisioned themselves as “pious judges trying to bring about a new world”). Ambitious and wide-ranging, this is a thought-provoking dissection of one of America’s founding stories and its lingering effects. (Feb.)

Reviewed on 11/29/2024 | Details & Permalink