Recommended Books
1. The Book: A History of the Bible, Christopher de Hamel
In this sumptuous feast for the eyes and mind, de Hamel, former manager of the Western Manuscripts department at Sotheby's, London, and author of A History of Illuminated Manuscripts, deals not with theological content but with the Bible as an artifact. Presented here in exquisite, full-color reproductions are the many forms in which the Bible has appeared over the centuries. Rather than opening with a discussion of the Hebrew and Greek texts (which he saves for Chapter 2), de Hamel relates a history of the texts and manuscripts of Latin Bibles. This organization makes sense, as Saint Jerome's seminal Latin translation, the Vulgate, became the blueprint for the modern Bible. The rest of the book covers the giant Bibles of the Middle Ages, commentaries on the Bible, portable Bibles of the 13th century, Bible picture books, English Wycliffite Bibles, the Gutenberg Bible, Bibles of the Protestant Reformation, the English and American Bible industry, and missionary Bibles. The final chapter, "The Modern Search for Origins," details modern discoveries such as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Even the bibliography, though not arranged alphabetically but by chapter with the author's running commentary on the sources, is a treasure. De Hamel's wonderful presentation is highly recommended.
In the "unadulterated wow" category is the dazzling offering The Book: A History of the Bible by paleographist Christopher de Hamel, who served for a quarter century as the head of the Western Manuscripts department at Sotheby's in London. Packed with full-color representations of illuminated manuscripts, ancient scrolls, stained glass windows and early published editions of the Bible, the art takes center stage here. (Even the back cover should win an award for the most imaginative, startling religion book jacket design in recent memory.) The narrative history of the Bible's many translations and editions is also captivating, particularly the closing chapter on 20th-century biblical discoveries such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi Library.
2. The New Concise History of the Crusades, Thomas F. Madden
How have the crusades contributed to Islamist rage and terrorism today? Were the crusades the Christian equivalent of modern jihad? In this sweeping yet crisp history, Thomas F. Madden offers a brilliant and compelling narrative of the crusades and their contemporary relevance.
With a cry of "God wills it!" medieval knights ushered in a new era in European history. Across Europe a wave of pious enthusiasm led many thousands to leave their homes, family, and friends to march to distant lands in a great struggle for Christ. Yet the crusades were more than simply a holy war. They represent a synthesis of attitudes and values that were uniquely medieval--so medieval, in fact, that the crusading movement is rarely understood today.
Placing all the major crusades within the medieval social, economic, religious, and intellectual environments that gave birth to the movement and nurtured it for centuries, Madden brings the distant medieval world vividly to life. From Palestine and Europe's farthest reaches, each crusade is recounted in a clear, concise narrative. The author gives special attention as well to the crusades' effects on the Islamic world and the Christian Byzantine East.
With a cry of "God wills it!" medieval knights ushered in a new era in European history. Across Europe a wave of pious enthusiasm led many thousands to leave their homes, family, and friends to march to distant lands in a great struggle for Christ. Yet the crusades were more than simply a holy war. They represent a synthesis of attitudes and values that were uniquely medieval--so medieval, in fact, that the crusading movement is rarely understood today.
Placing all the major crusades within the medieval social, economic, religious, and intellectual environments that gave birth to the movement and nurtured it for centuries, Madden brings the distant medieval world vividly to life. From Palestine and Europe's farthest reaches, each crusade is recounted in a clear, concise narrative. The author gives special attention as well to the crusades' effects on the Islamic world and the Christian Byzantine East.
This book is great for beginners. The writing is smooth and lively, and the author doesn't overwhelm you with too much useless information. Once you're done with this book, if you're interested, you should move on to the books by Jonathan Riley-Smith (we're using them at school). His books contain more information but they are more difficult; I would not recommend them for beginners. You should start with this.
Both Thomas Madden and Jonathan Riley-Smith take a refreshingly balanced approach. They do not paint the Crusades and Imperialism with the same brush, as if the crusaders were just a bunch of greedy European Christians out to plunder innocent Muslim lands. This is currently the popular view; but it confuses the greed of secular imperialists with the piety of devout crusaders. Furthermore, it assumes that Islam spread throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Southern Spain 'innocently.'
Instead, the Crusades were armed pilgrimages to the holy land with three main objectives: a) to come to the aid of Eastern Christians who were under threat by Muslim forces, b) to recapture some of the territory which was recently conquered by Muslim forces, and c) to improve relations with the Eastern Church. Unfortunately, the Crusades eventually failed in all three of these areas.
Once a crusade was launched it was difficult to control, and too many atrocities took place along the way. Two common examples of such atrocities are the massacring of Jews in Germany during the First Crusade, and the sacking of the city of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. Nevertheless, these atrocities were never the initial intentions of the Crusades. Thomas Madden explains all of this in a very fair way. He neither shies away from the ugliness of these atrocities nor uses them to justify an anti-Catholic/pro-secular rant.
A breath of fresh air.
Both Thomas Madden and Jonathan Riley-Smith take a refreshingly balanced approach. They do not paint the Crusades and Imperialism with the same brush, as if the crusaders were just a bunch of greedy European Christians out to plunder innocent Muslim lands. This is currently the popular view; but it confuses the greed of secular imperialists with the piety of devout crusaders. Furthermore, it assumes that Islam spread throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Southern Spain 'innocently.'
Instead, the Crusades were armed pilgrimages to the holy land with three main objectives: a) to come to the aid of Eastern Christians who were under threat by Muslim forces, b) to recapture some of the territory which was recently conquered by Muslim forces, and c) to improve relations with the Eastern Church. Unfortunately, the Crusades eventually failed in all three of these areas.
Once a crusade was launched it was difficult to control, and too many atrocities took place along the way. Two common examples of such atrocities are the massacring of Jews in Germany during the First Crusade, and the sacking of the city of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. Nevertheless, these atrocities were never the initial intentions of the Crusades. Thomas Madden explains all of this in a very fair way. He neither shies away from the ugliness of these atrocities nor uses them to justify an anti-Catholic/pro-secular rant.
A breath of fresh air.
3. Worlds of Wonders, Days of Judgment: Popular Religious Beliefs in Early New England, David D. Hall
This book tells an extraordinary story of the people of early New England and their spiritual lives. It is about ordinary people--farmers, housewives, artisans, merchants, sailors, aspiring scholars--struggling to make sense of their time and place on earth. David Hall describes a world of religious consensus and resistance: a variety of conflicting beliefs and believers ranging from the committed core to outright dissenters. He reveals for the first time the many-layered complexity of colonial religious life, and the importance within it of traditions derived from those of the Old World. We see a religion of the laity that was to merge with the tide of democratic nationalism in the nineteenth century, and that remains with us today as the essence of Protestant America.
Hall uses the popular religion of early New England to argue that for clergy and lay people alike religion was a part of everyday life, and although the clergy and lay people's religious interpretations of events could differ their choices of interpretation were limited by their shared culture. Hall argues that the vast majority of the early New Englanders shared a common middle class background and a common religious background influenced by the Reformation. Both the clergy and lay people agreed that it was especially important for each person to be able to read the Bible on his own. But, the power to read the Bible also gave lay people the confidence to have interpretations of the Bible that differed from those of their ministers. The belief in wonders, supernatural events or extraordinary events (earthquakes, meteors, etc.), was a remnant of their Elizabethan culture. Both clergy and lay people attributed religious meanings to wonders, with the clergy sometimes writing popular books detailing wonders. The popularity of these stories encouraged the printing of wonder books not written by clergy as well. By the later 1600's, the clergy were increasingly attributing wonders to explainable natural events, but with the self-confidence gained by their literacy lay people still often gave religious significance to natural events. Their shared culture made universal literacy extremely important, but literacy empowered lay people to disagree with clergy sanctioned interpretations of Scripture. This empowerment of the lay people went so far as to have them feel confident enough to disagree with their ministers over the issue of sacraments, particularly baptism and the rites of the Last Supper. This confidence also gave lay people the ability to break rituals, such as confession, weddings (dancing even though it was prohibited), and sickness (relying on doctors and folk medicine instead of only on prayer).
4. History in English Words, Owen Barfield
I read "History in English Words" because I expected it would provide me with some technical knowledge of language which would aid me in my explorations of poetry and other cultural and literary works. I believe it did add some worthwhile sense of the evolution of usage of many English words which are common to literature, such as: romantic, imagination, genius, original, fantasy and scores of others. Meanings of many common words have shifted, and in some cases, are understood in a completely different sense than say, what they meant to Shakespeare.
I soon discovered that the larger, and more meaningful purpose of the book is to analyze how the changes in the languages of European civilization reflect the evolution of the mental outlook, or consciousness, of that civilization. As a background, Barfield recaps what was then known(in 1953)about the ancient people known as Aryans, or today as Indo-Europeans, who through migrations later became Greeks, Romans, Slavs, Celts, Iranians,etc. But the real gist of the book's purpose becomes clear with the examination of the way in which Greek and Latin exemplify, through their usage of words, the difference in world-view of the two different cultures.
The ever-practical Romans borrowed heavily from the cultural heritage of the more metaphysical, inward-looking Greeks, but managed to put a more utilitarian spin on those borrowings. These two world-views, inward-looking or outward-looking, are like polarities which succeeding European cultures oscillated between while trying to evolve their concept of what a Christian culture should be. The scholastics of the Middle Ages, the Elizabethans, the romantics of the eighteenth century, the scientifically influenced materialists of the nineteenth century, all invented and modified words which reflect their attempts to define the world.
For the most part, Barfield presents this progression to us without favoring any particular outlook, but I think his sentiments are expressed both by the title and contents of the last chapter, "Imagination". In a sort of mystical way, he sees this long linguistic labor of European, and particularly English, culture, as being a gradual assimilation by the human consciousness of the objective, souless world of nature. This slow process of internalization has given man the creative leverage to re-animate nature with meaning derived from human perception, rather than being bound by the concept of man at the mercy of the gods.
There is the feeling that Barfield had many more thoughts on the matter, but in this book at any rate, he didn't impose them on the reader. But I can still warmly recommend this book, because I feel it made many worthwhile additions to my cultural storehouse.
I soon discovered that the larger, and more meaningful purpose of the book is to analyze how the changes in the languages of European civilization reflect the evolution of the mental outlook, or consciousness, of that civilization. As a background, Barfield recaps what was then known(in 1953)about the ancient people known as Aryans, or today as Indo-Europeans, who through migrations later became Greeks, Romans, Slavs, Celts, Iranians,etc. But the real gist of the book's purpose becomes clear with the examination of the way in which Greek and Latin exemplify, through their usage of words, the difference in world-view of the two different cultures.
The ever-practical Romans borrowed heavily from the cultural heritage of the more metaphysical, inward-looking Greeks, but managed to put a more utilitarian spin on those borrowings. These two world-views, inward-looking or outward-looking, are like polarities which succeeding European cultures oscillated between while trying to evolve their concept of what a Christian culture should be. The scholastics of the Middle Ages, the Elizabethans, the romantics of the eighteenth century, the scientifically influenced materialists of the nineteenth century, all invented and modified words which reflect their attempts to define the world.
For the most part, Barfield presents this progression to us without favoring any particular outlook, but I think his sentiments are expressed both by the title and contents of the last chapter, "Imagination". In a sort of mystical way, he sees this long linguistic labor of European, and particularly English, culture, as being a gradual assimilation by the human consciousness of the objective, souless world of nature. This slow process of internalization has given man the creative leverage to re-animate nature with meaning derived from human perception, rather than being bound by the concept of man at the mercy of the gods.
There is the feeling that Barfield had many more thoughts on the matter, but in this book at any rate, he didn't impose them on the reader. But I can still warmly recommend this book, because I feel it made many worthwhile additions to my cultural storehouse.
5. Credo, by Jaroslav Pelikan
This book is about the fascinating history behind the creed. Whole empires were torn apart in its development over "one iota" about who Christ is, lone theologians fought "contra mundi" for the truth, and political intrigue weighed heavy upon bishops and kings. After Nicea II, several other ecumenical councils were required to delineate the ground upon which theology could be built in reaction to the various challenges both philosophical and cultural that were presented to the faith's expression. Serving as a floor rather than a limiting ceiling, the creeds and the dogmas serve the Church as a sort of map by which we may travel in our faith without getting too lost in the byways of bizarre speculation or individualism.
Before I actually looked at the book, I thought that it would either be a slim volume of original work, owing to Pelikan's age and seemingly fast publishing schedule, or a large tome of primary sources with his insightful notes adding commentary. Oh how I was wrong on my first count! This book weighs in at a hefty 600+ pages and is chuck full of his elegant and scholarly prose. It is not so intellectually lofty that the novice would be intimidated, but perhaps works such as Kelly's "Early Christian Creeds" or Leo Davis' "The First Seven Ecumenical Councils" would serve as good companions. There is always that other fine work, "Beginning to Read the Creeds".
Pelikan is truly the master historian of doctrinal development, and the whole notion of creed is intimately bound to that development. He touches upon the perennial themes concerning the validity of the creeds both then and now, the meaning of an ecumenical council, the notion of tradition as the vivifying role of the Holy Spirit in the Church, and the interrelation between scripture and dogma. Orthodox, Roman Catholics and Protestants of all varieties would do well to sit at the feet of Pelikan and reconsider and reflect upon their own notions of the foundation of the faith- the natures and person of Christ and his Bride. We do not always follow the premises of our faith to their logical and historical conclusions.
If you are interested in creeds, you may also enjoy Pelikan's five volume set on the development of doctrine, along with his slim "The Vindication of Tradition". One author that I continually reference is Georges Florovsky. He had a firm grasp on the primary sources and spirit of early Christianity and served as one of Pelikan's mentors. His, "Bible, Church and Tradition" is very relevant to the whole notion of doctrinal development and creedal consensus. Of course there are tons of other great books, but those are quite useful in orienting your mind to the historical process involved in formulating eternal truths. Enjoy!
6. Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 years, by Philip Jenkins
Jenkins tells the history of the Christian Church before the first Council of Nicea (325 CE) when Antioch and Alexandria were the centres of the faith and takes us to the sixth century in a fascinating account of the time when the Christians were divided in their belief of the nature of Jesus Christ. Arius from Antioch led the culture of the two natures of Jesus - the divine and the human, with the latter being subordinate to the former. Athanasius the Bishop of Alexandria eventually won the early part of the "Jesus Wars" when his One Nature Christ doctrine became the orthodox view at the time. In 451 Council of Chalcedon decreed that Christ was of two natures, one fully human and the other fully divine, but the ideological battle did not end but continued for almost 200 years more before the roots of the modern doctrines became more firmly established. "The Jesus Wars" is an informative account, written in an accessible style in spite of the numerous events and names that had to be covered. That had to be done at the expense of the scholarly approach of a standard history book. Some of the inferences and comments as well as references (even Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code" was cited) might attract criticism from serious history enthusiasts, but the book as a historical account seemed accurate. It tells a single continuous story in one of the most important 300-year history of Christianity and compels the reader to realise that the doctrines and liturgies that Christians take for granted today weren't quite like that at first. The Antiochean and Alexandrian divide was manifest in Calvinistic and Lutheran thinking. The Christian faith might well be quite different had the Monophysite culture prevailed. What was it like then, and what it might have been today are questions the answers to which can be found in this book.
Are you hungry for a rip-roaring tale of theological intrigue filled with conspiracies, Byzantine plots, murder, and mayhem? Or are you longing for a solid, informative, and accurate history of the development of Christian orthodoxy? If your answer is yes to both, Philip Jenkins’s Jesus Wars...is your book.” (Christianity Today )
“Jenkins condenses centuries of church and imperial strife with admirable clarity...” (Booklist (starred review) )
“Jenkins manages to explain very clearly why people in the early Christian era were so passionately concerned with issues of high theology.” (The Economist )
“Jenkins...has done a remarkable job of documenting this little-understood slice of history. There’s lots of excitement and plenty of intrigue, and Jenkins does a fine job in his recitation of this strange story.” (Publishers Weekly )
Toxic Charity: How Churches and Charities Hurt those They Help (And How to Reverse It), Robert D. Lupton
Public service is a way of life for Americans; giving is a part of our national character. But compassionate instincts and generous spirits aren’t enough, says veteran urban activist Robert D. Lupton. In this groundbreaking guide, he reveals the disturbing truth about charity: all too much of it has become toxic, devastating to the very people it’s meant to help.
In his four decades of urban ministry, Lupton has experienced firsthand how our good intentions can have unintended, dire consequences. Our free food and clothing distribution encourages ever-growing handout lines, diminishing the dignity of the poor while increasing their dependency. We converge on inner-city neighborhoods to plant flowers and pick up trash, battering the pride of residents who have the capacity (and responsibility) to beautify their own environment. We fly off on mission trips to poverty-stricken villages, hearts full of pity and suitcases bulging with giveaways—trips that one Nicaraguan leader describes as effective only in “turning my people into beggars.”
In Toxic Charity, Lupton urges individuals, churches, and organizations to step away from these spontaneous, often destructive acts of compassion toward thoughtful paths to community development. He delivers proven strategies for moving from toxic charity to transformative charity.
Proposing a powerful “Oath for Compassionate Service” and spotlighting real-life examples of people serving not just with their hearts but with proven strategies and tested tactics, Lupton offers all the tools and inspiration we need to develop healthy, community-driven programs that produce deep, measurable, and lasting change.
The Melody of Theology, Jaroslav Pelikan
Reflecting on 82 theological/philosophical topics (e.g., atonement), movements (e.g., Enlightenment), and persons (e.g., Augustine), renowned Christian historian and theologian Pelikan deals with "major themes of scholarship in the history of the Christian theological tradition." The result is a personal work that does not fit the mold of such works as the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church in scope or approach. Coverage is selective, with continuity maintained (and occasionally imposed) by interweaving several of the themes within each entry. A thought-provoking glimpse into the mind of a mature scholar, this book should be read, not just referred to.
Upside: Surprising Good News About the State of Our World, Bradley Wright
Many Christians have an impending sense of doom about our country and the world. But are their fears based on reality or myth? In this book Wright examines issues of concern to Christians, including poverty, sickness, sexual morality, the environment, and the global church. Did you know that global poverty has been cut in half over the last several decades? That infant deaths have decreased dramatically in recent years? That Christianity is a growing and influential force in Asia and Africa? Maybe the world isn't in a downward spiral after all. In an age of pessimism, this book offers good news to Christian readers looking for glimpses of hope.
25 Books Every Christian Should Read: A Guide to the Essential Spiritual Classics, Julia Roller, ed.
For more than twenty years Renovare has pioneered the use of spiritual classics for deepening our lives of discipleship. Their highly praised compendiums Devotional Classics and Spiritual Classics have sold 500,000 copies. Now they have put together a prestigious editorial board and polled respected Christian leaders and thinkers from a variety of Christian traditions, including Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant, to present the twenty-five most spiritually influential and important books for Christians to read.
There are books that should be shaping the church, our faith, and our engagement in the world. From timeless classics like The Imitation of Christ to unexpected selections like Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov and the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins, 25 Books Every Christian Should Readprovides historical background for each work and explains its importance for modern Christians, while including selected readings from every book to get you started. In addition, each chapter ends with discussion questions to the work for use in small groups or for personal reflection. 25 Books Every Christian Should Read is a pivotal resource for the future of Christianity, an invitation into the fullness and richness of the Christian tradition.
Paradise Mislaid: How We Lost Heaven - And How We Can Regain It, Jeffrey Burton Russell
The Christian concept of heaven flourished for almost two millennia, but it has lost much of its power in the last hundred years. Indeed today even theologians tend to avoid the topic. But heaven has always been a central tenet of the Christian faith, writes Jeffrey Burton Russell. If there is no heaven, no resurrection of the dead, the entire Christian story makes no sense.
In this stimulating book, Russell sets out to rehabilitate heaven by forcefully attacking a series of ideas that have made belief in heaven, not to mention belief in God, increasingly difficult for modern people. Russell provides elegant and persuasive refutations of arguments ranging from the idea that science has disproved the existence of the supernatural, to the notion that biblical criticism has emptied the scripture of meaning. Along the way, as Russell looks at the ideas of Charles Darwin and Herbert Spencer, Mark Twain and Alfred Lord Tennyson, Marx and Freud, and a host of others, he sheds light not only on the history of Christian thought, but on the process of secularization in the West. One by one, Russell refutes these anti-religious ideologies, pinpointing the deficiencies of their reasoning.
Throughout the book, Russell invites the reader, whatever his or her beliefs, to take the concept of heaven seriously both as a worldview in itself and as one with enormous influence on the world. It is a book that will be welcomed by thinking Christians, who often feel beleaguered by the forces of modernity and sometimes find it hard to defend their own beliefs.
Whose Bible Is It? A History of the Scriptures Through the Ages, Jaroslav Pelikan
Pelikan, the late Sterling professor emeritus of history at Yale University and author of a number of respected books in the area of Christian belief and tradition (e.g., Jesus Through the Centuries), presents an outstanding introduction to the development, use and acceptance of the biblical canon over the centuries. As the title suggests, different groups have claimed ownership to the canonization process. Even today, Bibles vary in their content and in their philosophy of translation. Beginning with the long heritage of the oral tradition, then exploring the writing and editing of the biblical texts, Pelikan takes the reader through the process of scripture building with a fluency and ease that is both accessible and understandable to the nonscholar. His treatment of modern critical methods is particularly well done. Pelikan has a sure sense of history and context, surrounding the story with a wealth of detail, including some well-chosen anecdotes that add to the reader's enjoyment. He appreciates the ways in which tradition and commentary have influenced both the text itself and our understanding of the text, all the while expressing a love for the Bible and a perceptive grasp of the processes that brought it to its current state. This excellent work merits wide circulation and study.
As the sacred text of Jews and Christians alike, the Bible has never lacked for claimants. Beginning with the ancient oral traditions surrounding Abraham and Moses, Pelikan recounts how the early Israelites finally recorded their beliefs in a Hebrew text. Continuous addition of historical and prophetic texts, the growth of rabbinic commentaries, and the translation of the text into Greek made construing scripture a complex task even before adherents to a new scriptural faith reinterpreted the entire Hebrew Bible as an Old Testament important chiefly for prophecies fulfilled in a radical New Testament. The writing of this Christian New Testament itself sparked controversies among divergent branches of Christianity, but it is the endless battles between Jews and Christians that Pelikan takes as his primary focus. In the surprisingly parallel strategies of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Jewish and Christian leaders defending scripture against rationalism, Pelikan sees a tragically missed opportunity to heal the religious breach. Hoping the twenty-first century brings something better, Pelikan concludes with an appeal for an interfaith understanding of the Bible that will sweep away centuries of antipathy.
Canonical Theism: A Proposal for Theology and the Church, William J. Abraham
Canonical Theism is a vision for the renewal of both theology and church. The editors call for the retrieval and redeployment of the full range of materials, persons, and practices that make up the canonical heritage of the church, including scripture, doctrine, sacred image, saints, sacraments, and more. The central thesis of the work is that the good and life-giving Holy Spirit has equipped the church with not only a canon of scripture but also with a rich canonical heritage of materials, persons, and practices. However, much of the latter has been ignored or cast aside. This unplumbed resource of canonical heritage waits for the church to rediscover its wealth. With a bold set of thirty theses, the authors chart and defend that mine of opportunity. They then invite the entire church to explore the benefits of their discoveries. This ambitious book offers insights to be integrated into the church body, renewing the faith that nourished converts, created saints, and upheld martyrs across the years.
Remembering the Christian Past, Robert L. Wilken
As the pluralism of our culture develops and as the Christian memory seems to fade, the writings of Robert Wilken increase in significance. This book rather than the latest pop-Christian book is what Christians in the West need to read. This is a collection of previously published writings or transcripts by Wilken that find coherence around the theme of the significance of the Christian past.
Wilken masterfully displays his grasp of current trends in our culture side-by-side with his knowledge of the early church. All of the chapters exalt the relevance of the early church to contemporary Christians. He addresses the importance of Christian tradition, its history with pluralism, and its boldness in proclaiming one, triune God. He compares Christian hopes to Jewish hopes and exegesis. In two chapters he showcases the importance of modeling our lives after the saints and looking at the early church's views on passions and emotions. The book concludes with an essay on the importance of the Christian memory.
Readers will take away a renewed interest in the early church and a profound respect for Christian thinkers and writers through history. The bottom line is that this book will help contemporary Christians become better disciples of Jesus.
Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
After his martyrdom at the hands of the Gestapo in 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer continued his witness in the hearts of Christians around the world. His Letters and Papers from Prison became a prized testimony to Christian faith and courage, read by thousands. Now in Life Together we have Pastor Bonhoeffer's experience of Christian community. This story of a unique fellowship in an underground seminary during the Nazi years reads like one of Paul's letters. It gives practical advice on how life together in Christ can be sustained in families and groups. The role of personal prayer, worship in common, everyday work, and Christian service is treated in simple, almost biblical, words. Life Together is bread for all who are hungry for the real life of Christian fellowship.
Temptation, by Diogenes Allen.
The path to salvation begins with identifying the true roots of temptation. In Allen's account of the Christian life, temptation offers us a doorway into the mystery of God. Far from trying to avoid the temptations of our daily lives, we need to recognize them as an essential part of our journey into the kingdom of God. Here, our model is the three temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness: the temptations of material goods, security, and prestige. To face the reality of these temptations, even though we cannot overcome them, is to enter upon the spiritual life and move toward the foot of the cross and the promise of resurrection.
This short, readable, and profound book examines the preconditions of Christian spirituality. The jumping off point is a detailed analysis of the temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness: to live for material things, to seek personal security, and to clamor for social position. Once we overcome these temptations, the path is cleared for a spiritual pilgrimage; if we are lucky, the pilgrimage culminates in trust in Christ and faith in the Resurrection. "Temptation" doesn't present a comprehensive apologetic for Christianity. Instead, it profoundly reorients the reader and offers a view of the human world in which Christianity can make sense. It is really, really good.
The Christians as the Romans Saw Them, Robert Louis Wilken
Robert Wilken takes a somewhat slightly different tack with this book of Roman history. He examines Christianity in the Roman Empire by looking at it through the eyes of pagan critics. Wilken states in his introduction that his goal in this book is to bring Roman history into closer conjunction with early Christianity. He argues that by studying the context of pagan critics, one can understand how the early Church shaped its theology and doctrines.
Wilken examines five pagan critics, starting with Pliny the Younger's letters to the emperor Trajan circa 112 C.E. Galen, Celsus, Porphyry and the Roman emperor Julian round out the cast of characters. As the accounts unfold, the development of Christianity can be seen clearly: from a small, almost unknown sect in Pliny's day to the powerful apparatus it became by the time Julian launched his reactionary attacks in the late 4th century. The attacks on Christians become more theological as time progresses, showing an increasing sophistication as knowledge about Christianity became better known. Pliny mentioned the Christians in passing, one event among many in his role as a provincial governor. By the time of Celsus, Porphyry and Julian, whole books are being written to refute Christian ideas.
Wilken points out that Pliny's concerns with the Christians mirror his function as a politician. With Galen, a concern for philosophical schools is reflected in his attack on Christianity, namely the creation doctrine and how it compares with the Greek conception of creation as Plato defined it in his work, Timaeus. Celsus attacks Christianity on several fronts, most importantly that Christianity is an apostasy from Judaism and that Jesus was a magician. Porphyry, a philosopher and literary scholar, demolishes the Christian view of the Book of Daniel and criticizes the Christian worship of Jesus on an equal footing with God. Julian takes criticism of Christianity much further, first by banning Christians from traditional Greek and Latin schools and an attempt to rebuild the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. The idea of rebuilding the temple was an attempt to isolate Christians who believed that they were the legitimate successors to the Jewish traditions. By reconstructing the Temple, the Jews would be restored to their traditional role as defined in the Old Testament, relegating Christians to their rightful place: apostates of Judaism. The Temple project failed when Julian died on campaign in Persia and Christian emperors once again assumed power.
This is an excellent book that inspires the reader to pursue further reading on this fascinating topic. What is most relevant is that the same questions we ask about Christianity today have been around for almost two thousand years. This is recommended reading for Roman buffs and Christian scholars alike.
Knowing the Triune God: The Work of the Spirit in the Practices of the Church, James J. Buckley, David S. Yeago, eds.
This important book shows that a true and complete understanding of God's triune nature is inseparable from participation in the practices of the Christian community. Written by a diverse group of respected Catholic and evangelical scholars, these engaging chapters explore such Christian practices as the use of the Bible, the sacraments, prayer, and hospitality, showing how participation in these communal activities gives rise to knowledge of God. A perceptive work intended for readers from every Christian tradition, Knowing the Triune God has important implications for contemporary church unity.
The title is a good starting place, since all Christians worship "One God in Three Persons". The various writers would have us remember the sometimes forgotten or neglected Third Person of the Trinity, namely the Holy Spirit. This season of the Church Year (the long green liturgical season that we call "Ordinary Time) is when we are to pay particular attention to what the Spirit is doing in and among believers.
Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers, Christopher A. Hall
Many Christians today long to become reacquainted with their ancient ancestors in the faith. They see a deeper worship and devotion in the prayers and hymns of the early church. And they believe that the writings of the early church can shed new light on their understanding of Scripture. But where and how do we begin? Our first encounter with the writings of the church fathers may seem like visiting a far country where the language, assumptions, concerns and conclusions are completely unfamiliar to us.
In Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers Christopher Hall helps us through this cultural confusion, introducing us to the early church, its unique world, and the sights and sounds of Scripture that are highlighted for them. As Hall points out, the ancient fathers hear music in Scripture where we remain tone-deaf. Despite their occasional eccentricities, theirs is a hearing refined through long listening in song, worship, teaching, meditation and oral reading. And like true masters they challenge and correct our modern assumptions as they invite us to tune our ears to hear the divine melodies of the Bible. Reading Scriptue with the Church Fathers is an exceptional guide. Hall provides a warm, winsome, informative and indispensable introcution to who these leaders and scholars were, how they read and interpreted Scripture, and how we might read Scripture with them for all its worth.
The Story of Christianity: An Illustrated History of 2000 Years of the Christian Faith by David Bentley Hart.
This is a magnificent and beautiful book. Exquisitely illustrated, it's the history of Christianity in brief -- as complete as one volume can put it and in words easily read and understood by the reader. It's easily worth several times what it costs, as it leaves one with a new assurance of what he or she believes and knows about Christianity. In very few words, Hart displays his excellent knowledge of the sweep of Christianity from its beginning to the present. There is beauty in both the illustrations and the prose.
Professor Hart is an Eastern Orthodox Christian, but as in many of his works, he gives considerable (and fair) attention to the West. He doesn't cover any new ground in this book that one wouldn't also find in the standard church history book, but he does cover old ground from new angles. In discussing the different epochs of Church History, Hart asks the reader questions that only an Easterner would ask, causing the reader to pause for reflection and to come away with a richer understanding of his faith.
There is much more to the book. Hart debunks many mythical narratives told by the Enlightenment: Galileo actually had church protection and routinely failed to mathematically prove his conclusions. He gave the "correct" answers but his models could not allow for them. And Galileo could not allow for the fact that he was wrong. Hart notes that the Islamic empires didn't actually give scientific and cultural breakthroughs. Rather, they inherited the cultural legacy of three different civilizations. Those are other examples in the book. And of course, obviously, the book contains some of the most beautiful art work in Western Civilization.
God's Continent: Christianity, Islam, and Europe's Religious Crisis (The Future of Christianity) by Philip Jenkins
Jenkins loves to skewer headlines, to the point that each new book seems to present nothing less than a paradigm shift. The Next Christendom and The New Faces of Christianity announced that Christendom is moving south, its face now less European than African, South American and Asian. Here he looks back at the old Christendom, and finds there a story more complicated than fading Christianity and triumphant militant Islam. Sure enough, many great cathedrals and once-charming village churches are spackling over the cracks on the state’s nickel. But a host of grassroots-based Catholic religious organizations are flourishing. Ours, Jenkins asserts, is actually a golden age of religious pilgrimage. And it is not only Muslims pouring into Europe’s borders: African Pentecostals lead thriving congregations across their adopted continent. Poles pack England’s Catholic parishes, and priests from Zaire and Cote’Ivoire bring new life to age-old churches in French villages. Despite world-transfixing incidents of terror, Jenkins says that Islam’s dramatic growth in Europe is actually largely a success story of integration and growth in toleration. Conservative and liberal cultural commentators each have their reasons for trumpeting Christianity’s demise and militant Islam’s growth in Europe. They’re not wholly wrong—the story just needs nuancing. And who but Jenkins could enliven this storyline with an ocean of sociological data poured into a novel-like book that’s impossible to put down?
This is the third in Jenkins' fascinating series looking at global Christianity and it follows "The Next Christendom" and "The New Faces Of Christianity" but this time focusing on Christianity in Europe and the perceived threat of Islam. Reading this book was an enjoyable experience and a welcome antidote to the paranoia often seen in the media and in churches, at least with regard to the future of Christianity. Jenkins shows, using statistics and with a look through the history of Christianity in Europe, that despite the increase in secularisation and the reduction in numbers of believers, Christianity is still overwhelmingly the majority religion in Europe and likely to stay that way. He wonders whether the Islam of those who make their homes in Europe might also become more secular and tolerant and that the Islam that we fear, that of the fundamentalists, might not be as prevalent as we fear.
The second half of the book looks more closely at Islam, discussing terrorism and the French riots, showing how some people are radicalised and giving a history of many of the terrorism events of the last twenty years. He also describes some of the changes taking place in European Islam, particularly with regard to women's rights. The assumption that Islam is a monolithic faith in which there is no variation is patently false and it was encouraging to read of many of the Muslim men and women who are working as a force for good, at least as we would see it. However the overall tone of this part of the book was less positive and left the reader with the sense that Islam is very different from the liberality of most Europeans and not that willing to accommodate in most cases.
Jenkins is always a worthwhile writer to read, with an ability to see the big picture as well as to focus on the details, and he is at home in European history and culture. His writing style is excellent, always interesting, well-reasoned and clearly researched, although I was irritated by his insistence in calling the London Underground the London Subway. This book is an important study for anyone living in Europe who wonders about the future of Christianity and how we are to get along with our Muslim neighbours and who perhaps wants to learn a little more about the Islam that is becoming established in Europe.
The End of Secularism by, Hunter Baker
This, Baker's first book, is the culmination of ten years of law school, public policy advocacy, and doctoral work. It also constitutes a part of Richard John Neuhaus' legacy, as it answers his call to resist the stripping of religious values from public discourse.
After an ambitious but awkward attempt to sum up eighteen centuries of Western religious/political history, Baker finds his stride as he argues that nothing in American history or jurisprudence requires secularism of us. Then Baker goes "to the merits," asking, for example: has secularism worked as prophecy? Has recent history actually shown modernization to be tightly coupled to the privatization of religion?
Even if secularism doesn't hold sway, perhaps it should, for the sake of a healthy plurality. If people don't keep their religious views in check, what's to keep discussions from breaking down? On the contrary, citizens must draw on their underlying moral frameworks, if morally significant dialogue (e.g., democratic deliberations) is to take place. "The reason persons bring their comprehensive views to bear upon the political process," Baker writes, "is that they have integrity." How could the bracketing of citizens' religious commitments for the purpose of especially consequential deliberations not violate that integrity?
Lastly, Baker attacks the pretensions of secularism to neutrality and rationality. However, the more worthy secularists are frankly partisan and epistemically modest. Ultimately, it is impossible to refute them without making a positive argument on behalf of the Christian viewpoint, which Baker explicitly refrains from doing. He is content to tear down the idol of secularism, which is labor enough.
For all its weighty ambitions, however, The End of Secularism is light on its feet. For those who feel ill-at-ease with the secularist streams in American culture but aren't sure if their objections are well-founded, Baker lets them eavesdrop on pertinent scholarly debates and otherwise serves as a clever and helpful guide..
Baker's slim volume is an intelligent brief against the popular "modern" conception of secularism that seeks to keep the religious out of public life. Readable, and useful, for non-academics but interesting for those with a greater depth on the subject as well.
He uses straightforward arguments and language to lay out both the history and the debates surrounding the issue before making his own - in my opinion persuasive - case against what might be called hard line secularism. More academics should learn to write this clearly and succinctly.
As another reviewer noted, this book is packed with information. Though short, this isn't the kind of book you can read while multi-tasking. However, the argument put forth is a very strong one which is well-thought out and well researched.
Spiritual Theology: The Theology of Yesterday for Spiritual Help Today, Diogenes Allen
Often spirituality today is isolated from church teaching and doctrine, as in Joseph Campbell’s treatment of myth and the many forms of New Age theologies, but doctrine apart from the life of prayer is abstract and sterile. In Spiritual Theology Allen turns to the great teachers of the past—the church fathers, Augustine, Maximus the Confessor, Bonaventure, Hugh of St. Victor, Calvin and Luther, George Herbert—to recover a spirituality that is rich with the doctrines and disciplines of theology.
Allen covers the great questions of the spiritual life: what is the Christian goal? what leads us toward that goal, and what hinders us? what is conversion? how can we discern our progress in the spiritual life? what are the fruits of the Spirit?
A second purpose of the book is to introduce readers to the disciplines and texts of the threefold way, found in the eastern church from the fourth century on. Allen writes simply and clearly of the active life and the development of virtue, and the contemplative life, which includes coming to know God through the Book of Nature and the Book of Scripture as well as directly, face to face, which is the domain of mystical theology.
This book is a basic and accessible introduction to the classic writings and doctrines of the spiritual life.
A History of the Jews, Paul Johnson
Paul Johnson says that writing A History of the Jews was like writing a history of the world "seen from the viewpoint of a learned and intelligent victim." Johnson's history begins with the Bible and ends with the establishment of the State of Israel. Throughout, Johnson's history is driven by a philosophical interest: "The Jews," he writes, "stand right at the centre of the perennial attempt to give human life the dignity of a purpose. Does their own history suggest that such attempts are worth making? Or does it reveal their essential futility?" Johnson's history is lucid, thorough, and--as one would expect of almost any project with such a broad scope--a little wrong-headed. By the end of the book, readers will be grateful for Johnson's questioning of the Jews' confidence in their cosmic significance. However, readers may also be a little annoyed by his energetic inquiries as to whether this significance was man-made or providentially provided. Either way, it's a given: for a historian of Israel, this should adequately settle the question. Johnson's 600-page history is probably the best we've got by a living gentile--which is no small accomplishment at all.
Less a seminal contribution than a distillation of a wide range of sources, this history of the Jews focuses on their four-millennia interplay with, and adaption to, other, often hostile, civilizationsa "world history seen from the viewpoint of a learned and intelligent victim." Weaving biblical and archeological data, Johnson (Modern Times and A History of Christianity is particularly deft at placing the patriarchs and early Israelites (the Bronze Age through the destruction of the First Temple) in their historical context. His dense, somewhat arbitrary, capsule extols Judaic rational scholarshipwhich contributed to ethical monotheism and the 18th-century economic system, in turnand denigrates mystic kabbalah"heresy of the most pernicious kind." Although Johnson, who seeks to acknowledge "the magnitude of the debt Christianity owes to Judaism," traces "an inherent conflict" between the religion and the state of Israel through the various ages, the work is incontrovertibly sympathetic to Zionism.
Broken Lights and Mended Lives: Theology and Common Life in the Early Church, by Rowan Greer
Here is a refreshing and original introduction to the main currents of Patristic thought, informed by the best scholarship, yet maintaining a brisk narrative tone which makes it accessible to a wide audience. Greek approaches his task by reviewing the central themes of Irenaeus, Gregory of Nyssa, and Augustine, focusing particularly on what they have to say about human nature and how the Incarnation effected its salvation, and then in the second half of the book looking at certain aspects of early church history to see how those theological developments might have effected common life.
The Art of Reading Scripture, Richard B. Hays and Ellen Davis
The difficulty of interpreting the Bible is felt all over today. Is the Bible still authoritative for the faith and practice of the church? If so, in what way? What practices of reading offer the most appropriate approach to understanding Scripture? The church's lack of clarity about these issues has hindered its witness and mission, causing it to speak with an uncertain voice to the challenges of our time.
This important book is for a twenty-first-century church that seems to have lost the art of reading the Bible attentively and imaginatively. "The Art of Reading Scripture" is written by a group of eminent scholars and teachers seeking to recover the church's rich heritage of biblical interpretation in a dramatically changed cultural environment. Asking how best to read the Bible in a postmodern context, the contributors together affirm up front "Nine Theses" that provide substantial guidance for the church. The essays and sermons that follow both amplify and model the approach to Scripture outlined in the Nine Theses.
Lucidly conceived, carefully written, and shimmering with fresh insights, "The Art of Reading Scripture" proposes a far-reaching revolution in how the Bible is taught in theological seminaries and calls pastors and teachers in the church to rethink their practices of using the Bible.
The King James Bible after 400 Years: Literary, Linguistic, and Cultural Influences (Cambridge Univ. Press, 2010). Hannibal Hamlin and Norman W. Jones, eds.,
2011 marks the 400th anniversary of the King James version of the Bible. No other book has been as vital to the development of English writing or indeed to the English language itself. This major collection of essays is the most complete one-volume exploration of the King James Bible and its influence to date. The chapters are written by leading scholars from a range of disciplines, who examine the creation of the King James Bible as a work of translation and as a linguistic and literary accomplishment. They consider how it differed from the Bible versions which preceded it, and assess its broad cultural impact and precise literary influence over the centuries of writing which followed, in English and American literature, until today. The story will fascinate readers who approach the King James Bible from the perspectives of literary, linguistic, religious or cultural history.