Monday, November 16, 2015
Friday, November 13, 2015
Beginning ~ in the center of a labyrinth
"I am sitting in the center of a labyrinth at Mount Calvary, a monastery in Santa Barbara, California."Synopsis of the book
Religion is on the decline in America as many people leave behind traditional religious practices. Bass argues that what appears to be a decline actually signals a major transformation in how people understand and experience God. The distant God of conventional religion has given way to a more intimate sense of the sacred that is with us in the world. This shift, from a vertical understanding of God to a God found on the horizons of nature and human community, is at the heart of a spiritual revolution that surrounds us — and that is challenging not only religious institutions but political and social ones as well. People are finding new spiritual ground by discovering and embracing God everywhere in the world around us — in the soil, the water, the sky, in our homes and neighborhoods, and in the global commons. Faith is no longer a matter of mountaintop experience or institutional practice; instead, people are connecting with God through the environment in which we live. There's a radical change in the way many people understand God and how they practice faith. Bass invites readers to join this emerging spiritual revolution, find a revitalized expression of faith, and change the world.
Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. Click here for today's Mister Linky.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
TWO books, TWO formats, one day
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.
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.
TWOsday ~ TWO novels about clergy
Although his years at Barnard's Crossing have never been dull, Rabbi Small is bored with clerical duties and wants to teach. But Police Chief Hugh Lanigan enlists the rabbi to set his scholar's mind to a drunk driving accident that looks like murder.
At the advent of the new millennium, the residents of High Balsam are in desperate need of hope. Economic and social unrest has led to tragedy. For Margaret Bonner, the young pastor of High Balsam's Episcopal church, care of the community is her constant challenge and devotion. But now, into Margaret's well-ordered life, come three strangers — a firebrand female evangelist with a haunted past; an elderly, itinerant man whose visit to this quiet hamlet may be no accident; and a troubled boy who Margaret's husband, headmaster of a progressive, local school, is determined to save.
Friday, November 6, 2015
Beginning ~ with suicide bombers
"Long before the stench of charred rubber and twisted metal had evaporated into the crisp London air on that dreadful morning of July 7, 2005, when four British Muslims obliterated themselves and fifty-two bus and tube passengers during the height of rush hour, it was clear that a new front had been opened in the ongoing battle against Islamic terrorism, also known as jihadism."I've read Reza Aslan's Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (2013) and heard him speak here in St. Louis last year, so I grabbed this book when I saw it on the shelf at a used book store. Whoever had it before either read very carefully or didn't read the book at all. It's in excellent condition, and I look forward to learning more about Islam, Muslims, and jihadism.
Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. Click here for today's Mister Linky.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Library Loot ~ white privilege
Knowingly and unknowingly we all grapple with race every day. This book delves into the complex interplay between race, power, and privilege in both organizations and private life. It offers an unflinching look at how ignorance can perpetuate privilege, and offers practical and thoughtful insights into how people of all races can work to break this cycle. Based on thirty years of work in diversity and colleges, universities, and corporations, Frances Kendall candidly invites readers to think personally about how race ― theirs and others' ― frames experiences and relationships, focusing squarely on white privilege and its implications for building authentic relationships across race. Not only does this book provide readers with a more meaningful understanding of white privilege, it also equips them with strategies for making personal and organizational changes.
Monday, November 2, 2015
Chronic health = long-lasting, habitual health
I studied this book for a short course, and some of us decided afterwards to continue meeting once a month. Our little group — a half dozen of us — decided to continue meeting to encourage one another to keep doing what we learned. The book had us work on eating goals and planning appropriate exercises. We met in the Circle@Crown Café a few times just to talk, until this week when almost nobody came. I decided it would be better if we have some topic planned for each meeting, so each of us could bring specific information or questions. So I volunteered to send out a subject before we meet next Monday.
We also needed a name. It's awkward to write on my calendar "meet in Circle@Crown Café with Betty, Donna, Eunice, Mark, and Mary Ann." Looking at the book's title, it occurred to me that our aim is "chronic health." Chronic means "long-lasting or habitual," and that's exactly what we want, even if it is an unusual combination of words. Maybe that would remind us of health (a positive thing) rather than disease (a negative thing). Those who have responded like our new name.
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