cover image A Keeper of the Word: Selected Writings of William Stringfellow

A Keeper of the Word: Selected Writings of William Stringfellow

William Stringfellow. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, $35 (452pp) ISBN 978-0-8028-0726-7

Until his death in 1985, William Stringfellow was a Christian social activist in the mold of Daniel Berrigan, Thomas Merton and William Sloan Coffin. As a lawyer in East Harlem, he saw the social injustice; and, in his writings as well as his activism, he tried to indicate the ways Christianity could respond to those injustices. Stringfellow's writings are deeply scriptural, and this collection, drawn from his 16 books and numerous articles, nicely demonstrates the wide range of his thoughts and passions. The first section focuses on his autobiographical writings; the second collects his words on the vocation of the church; and a third is devoted to his central theological concern, the conflict of principalities and powers. The final section collects writings devoted to the art of living humanely. We can be in Kellerman's debt, for this long overdue collection reacquaints us with a man who was indeed a keeper and doer of the Word. (Sept.)