TWO books, TWO formats, one day

 

Rewilding the Way: Break Free to Follow an Untamed God ~ by Todd Wynward, 2015

 When did we become so tame? How has "the good life" come to mean addiction to screens and status, fossil fuels and financial fitness? Can we break free to become the joyful and prophetic people God calls us to be? Trek along with wilderness guide Todd Wynward as he "rewilds" the Jesus Way. Seek the feral foundations of Scripture and the lessons that the prophets and disciples gleaned from wilderness testing.  Packed with inspiring stories of how contemporary people and groups are caring for the land and each other, Rewilding the Way issues a call to action. Read about how reskilling and local food covenants are transforming churches, and how place-based activism and creative housing are nurturing communities. Learn from those who are recovering from affluenza, replacing visions of personal wealth with the commonwealth of the earth and restoring their humble place in the community of creation. Do you despair about life on our changing planet? Join the hopeful band of seekers of God and makers of change who are rewilding the Way.

Genesis: The Movie ~ by Robert Farrar Capon, 2003, theology

The creation story stands as one of the most famous and familiar in Scripture. But, says best-selling author Robert Farrar Capon, most of us misconstrue it. The reason? We have fallen into the habit of reading Genesis the way we read all of Scripture - as a manual of religious instructions. To break this (bad) habit, Capon here offers a whimsical yet wonderfully fruitful approach - watching the Bible as a historical movie whose director is God. Though Capon does have fun with this concept, he's very serious about its liberating effects. "When you watch a movie," he says, "you never ask questions about whether the events depicted actually happened. Instead, you accept the history the director shows you on the screen." And, as Capon points out, we typically suspend judgment of a film until we've seen all of it, letting later scenes inform and enrich earlier ones. That, he says, is exactly how we need to see Genesis - as just the beginning of the whole movie of Scripture. Using this novel approach in "Genesis, the Movie," Capon develops a commentary of theological scope and depth on the first three chapters of Genesis. He gives every verse as it appears in the Hebrew, the Septuagint, and the Vulgate, as well as in the KJV, RSV, and NRSV versions of the Bible. Making extensive use of Augustine's commentary on Genesis in his "Confessions" and "De Genesi ad Litteram," Capon also shows the interpretive freedom with which the church's fathers and mothers approached Scripture. This book is as much Capon the charming writer-teacher as it is Capon the scholar, characterized as it is by the conversational, entertaining style for which Capon is so well known. Enriched by Capon's signature wit, imaginative wisdom, and broad-ranging engagement of saints, poets, and religious thinkers across the centuries, "Genesis, the Movie" presents a remarkable new look at Scripture that will delight and challenge its many readers.

Before I went out the door this morning to meet my best friend for lunch and a run to the library, I hit One-Click and glanced at my Kindle to see Rewilding the Way appear on the screen.  Donna picked up her book that was on hold at the library and we went to Miss Sherry's to eat, mostly because it's on the way to our favorite used book store just down the street.  Yes, of course I bought another book there!  Capon's Genesis: The Movie was the first to catch my eye, and the beautiful hardback copy practically jumped off the shelf into my hands.  All because of the joyful party thrown by God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost at the beginning of The Third Peacock: The Problem of God and Evil (1986), one of Capon's books I read in seminary, back when it was new.  Capon, who died in 2013, had a contagious sense of humor and outrageousness and I smiled when I saw one of his books I've never read.

By the way, this is my second (my TWO-th?) TWOsday post today.