HHave a Little Faith: A True Story
Mitch Albom. Hyperion, $23.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-7868-6872-8
“It is... the most important thing I’ve ever written,” opens Albom’s (Tuesdays with Morrie) latest nonfiction book. It isn’t difficult to understand why. Using his characteristically succinct style, Albom’s prose offers readers an elegantly simple perspective on faith, tolerance, service and love while maintaining the complex reality of his characters’ true life stories. The book follows the spiritual journeys of three men—a suburban rabbi, an inner-city pastor and the author himself—which Albom gradually assembles over the eight years he spends getting to know a man—the rabbi—whose eulogy he will one day deliver; over the course of this developing relationship, Albom also meets an inner-city pastor, another relationship that grows in importance for Albom. Weaving these narratives together could, with a less talented writer, muddle into incoherence. Albom’s expertise in piecing together a web of snapshot stories, however, reveals levels of meaning that could not be adequately told in any other way. He avoids repetitious overemphasis—the bane of much inspirational literature—and allows meaning, whether his own or the reader’s, to emerge with a quiet, confident grace. Albom’s latest is a masterpiece of hope and a moving testament of interfaith understanding. (Sept.)
Compassion and Meditation: The Spiritual Dynamic Between Buddhism and Christianity
Jean-Yves Leloup. Inner Traditions, $14.95 paper (176p) ISBN 978-1-59477-277-1
Leloup, a French Orthodox priest, has translated and written about a number of noncanonical gospels (The Gospel of Mary Magdalene). Here he applies his knowledge and particular experience of Orthodox Christianity to a discussion of the comparatively little known Christian meditative practice known as hesychasm to key Buddhist teachings. Leloup ascribes value to the Buddhist tradition of transmission of teachings and notes that his knowledge of hesychast meditation came through transmission in a valuable, pleasantly chatty, section of the book. His perspective on Buddhism is unique; little is available in English about Buddhism from the viewpoint of Eastern Christianity, although others have mined Christian mysticism of the West for relationships to Buddhism. The book can be confusing; it is drawn from lecture transcriptions that can be informal but leave out information. Buddhism’s six paramitas (perfections) are referred to, for example, but only some of them are elaborated. This book is definitely not for beginners, but meditation practitioners interested in comparative religions may gain something from Leloup’s perspective. (Sept.)
Who Made God? Searching for a Theory of Everything
Edgar Andrews. Evangelical Press, $17.95 paper (256p) ISBN 978-0-85234-707-2
Andrews, a physicist and engineer, sets out to prove his “hypothesis of God” in the world while dissing atheists (especially Richard Dawkins and Dawkins’s The God Delusion), skeptics and Christians who believe in evolution. Using his knowledge of modern science and the Bible (Andrews wrote two commentaries), he promotes his belief in the creation story as told in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. He weaves a tale of an omnipotent God and progressive revelation— “a gradual unveiling of [the] nature and purposes of God.” The author believes that creation appears out of eternity and he uses algebraic equations, quantum physics, the Bible and laws of nature to prove the existence of God. In history, Andrews asserts that miracles do occur, and they can explain what happens in the world that is beyond human belief. This is a simple book (using, for example, bicycle pumps and rubber bands to explain things) and a very complicated book (using the theory of relativity to explain things), sometimes in the same chapter. It is a difficult read and not for the amateur theologian or seeker looking for a personal God. (Sept.)
You Were Born for This: Seven Keys to a Life of Predictable Miracles
Bruce Wilkinson. Multnomah, $22.99 (240p) ISBN 978-1-60142-182-1
With 10 million copies of The Prayer of Jabez under his belt, Christian author Wilkinson emerges with a book designed to help people become “delivery agents” for miracles from God. He offers seven “miracle keys”: actions that “release the miraculous in our lives.” Peppered with stories of miracles in which he has participated or that he has observed, the book focuses on ways that people can intuit the leading of God to respond to the needs of others. The place to begin, Wilkinson recommends, is by believing that “everyone you encounter has an unmet need that God strongly desires to meet supernaturally through you.” Critics of The Prayer of Jabez will find similar problems with this book—the suggestion that God responds to prayer with instant results and more than a whiff of a packaged program. In this volume, however, Wilkinson responds to previous criticisms of a self-serving theology by concentrating on helping readers make miracles happen for other people rather than for themselves. (Sept.)
Sneak Peek: Religion Book Reviews coming in PW September 14
American Prophet: Moses and the American Story
Bruce Feiler. Morrow, $26.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-06-057488-8
A bestselling author for his popular explorations of the lands of the Bible, Feiler turns his attention to the biblical figure of Moses in U.S. history. He argues that the story of the life of Moses as told in the book of Exodus has been the dominant metanarrative employed by political and social leaders in shaping America’s identity, from the Pilgrims escaping religious persecution to the civil rights movement with its vision of a Promised Land. A journalist rather than a historian, Feiler approaches his subject using the same formula he has employed in previous books: physical walks through historic sites and interviews with experts. Although the book offers snippets of interesting anecdotes, the approach is uncontroversial and the book lacks forward momentum. Feiler is a popularizer, and readers interested in a light and cursory treatment of a theme in U.S. history will enjoy it. Readers looking for a more in-depth and critical understanding of the subject may want to look elsewhere. (Oct.)
Conquering Fear: Living Boldly in an Uncertain World
Harold Kushner. Knopf, $22.95 (192p) ISBN 978-0-307-26664-4
Soon after his international bestseller When Bad Things Happen to Good People appeared in 1981, Kushner stopped being a congregational rabbi in order to devote full-time to writing and lecturing. Conquering Fear, his 12th book, is the latest result of this concentration. It is a popular theology primer designed to help readers grapple with common problems of suffering, significance, disappointments, guilt, forgiveness and conscience. Although traditional Jews object to Kushner’s view of suffering as reflecting God’s limited capacity to control the hazards of life, his books have won general acclaim. The fears that Kushner tackles include terrorism, natural disasters, rejection, growing old and death, among others. His recommendations for coping require trust, religion, hope, courage, faith; he also urges living with purpose and differentiating between God and nature. Some readers may find Kushner’s prescriptions to be inspiring; others will see them as banal platitudes. A useful idea he offers about fear of terrorism is “be alert but not frightened, vigilant but not paranoid.” Perhaps his least helpful advice is about the fear of death: “The most important thing to remember is not to be afraid.” (Oct.)
A First Look at the Stars: Starred Reviews Coming in PW Sept. 14
HAccompany Them with Singing: The Christian Funeral
Thomas G. Long. Westminster John Knox, $24.95 (230p) ISBN 978-0-664-23319-8
Long, a homiletics professor and well-regarded preacher, argues that funerals have become spiritually “impoverished” and need revitalization. Providing a comprehensive review of the history, traditions and theology of Christian funerals, Long notes that recent decades have seen both growing comfort with cremation and an increased preference for disembodied memorial services offering “closure.” In defiance of this trend, Long argues that just as bodies are present for baptism and weddings, they should be present for funerals. Long laments that eulogies celebrating individual lives often replace gospel preaching and advocates instead that liturgies emphasize a community’s conveyance of a beloved’s body to its final resting place, “worshipping as they go.” Delineating the purposes of a good funeral, Long urges clergy and congregations to embrace funerals as opportunities to “act out one more time the great and hopeful drama of how the Christian life moves from death to life” and from baptism to resurrection. This book promises to be a welcome theological resource and practical guide for pastors and others who care for the dying and officiate at Christian funerals. (Oct.)
HMuslims in America: A Short History
Edward E. Curtis. Oxford Univ., $12.95 paper (176p) ISBN 978-0-19-536756-0
Curtis, a religious studies professor and authority on Islam in America, has authored a fine and succinct history that spans centuries. He hits all the major chronological points and historical details of Muslims living in North America, including notable tales of African slaves who maintained their religion despite great hardship. Curtis has literally combed through every record imaginable, including, for example, a 1939 Works Progress Administration—funded interview of Mrs. Mary Juma, a Syrian homesteader in North Dakota, in assembling this very readable history. Unmatched for its breadth of sources, this is also one of the few books in the field to cover both immigrant and indigenous (African-American) American Muslims. One of the strongest sections chronicles American Muslim condemnation of terrorism after 9/11, a condemnation largely unnoticed by the greater American community. Although geared toward non-Muslims, American Muslims would also learn a great deal from reading about their own history. Photographs, chronology, edited selections from chosen narratives, and a Further Reading Section provide useful jumping-off points for the reader, who will undoubtedly be intrigued by Curtis’s compelling little read. (Oct.)
