Talking to Strangers
2002; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 84; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2163-6214
Autores Tópico(s)Biblical Studies and Interpretation
ResumoBooks Discussed Visions: The Soul's Path to the Sacred. By Eddie Ensley, Chicago: Loyola Press, 2000. xvi+ 285 pp. $17.95 (cloth) Spiritual But Not Religious: Understanding Unchurched America. By Robert C. Fuller. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2001. 203 pp. $25.00 (cloth). Dematerializing: Taming the Power of Possessions. By Jane Hammerslough. Cambridge, Mass.: Perseus Publishing, 2001. x + 278 pp. $25.00 (cloth). The Truth About God: The Ten Commandments in Christian Life. By Stanley M. Hauerwas and William H. Willimon. Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1999. 144 pp. $11.00 (paper). Preaching to Skeptics and Seekers. By Frank G. Honeycutt and William H. Willimon. Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 2001. 183 pp. $15.00 (paper). The Loss of Happiness in Market Derocracies. By Robert E. Lane. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2000. x + 465 pp. $37.00 (cloth); $19.00 (paper). Raising Faith-Filled Kids: Ordinary Opportunities to Nurture Spirituality at Home. By Tom McGrath. Chicago: Loyola Press, 2001. xii + 274 pp. $12.95 (paper). Broken Tablets: Restoring the Ten Commandments and Ourselves. Edited by Rachel S. Mikva. Woodstock, Vt.: Jewish Lights Publishing, 1999. xx + 148 pp. $21.95 (cloth). Quantum Change: When Epiphanies and Sudden Insights Transform Ordinary Lives. By William R. Miller and Janet C'de Baca. New York and London: The Guilford Press, 2001. xii + 211 pp. $15.95 (paper). Spiritual Marketplace: Baby Boomers and the Remaking of American Religion. By Wade Clark Roof Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 1999. 367 pp. $50.00 (cloth); $16.95 (paper). The Zen Commandments: Ten Suggestions for a Life of Inner Freedom. By Dean Sluyter. New York: Putnam, 2001. 188 pp. $14.95 (paper). Circle of Grace: Praying With--and for-Your Children. By Gregory and Suzanne M. Wolfe. New York: Ballantine Books, 2000. xiv + 370 pp. $25.00 (cloth). The Doonesbury cartoon for October 6, 2001, recounts a conversation between Boopsie, the erstwhile actress, and the Reverend concerning Jerry Falwell's interpretation of the September 11th attacks. (You can see the whole thing at doonesbury.com by searching their archive.) hates suffering so much, Scott explains, he allowed his only son to suffer and die, to show how much more powerful love is than evil. know, Scott, she replies. know that to get through this I'll eventually have to invite him back into my life . Him, and Oprah, and lots of Mint Milanos. think He'd be okay with that, Scott concludes. He knows what a dimwit Boopsie is, and so do Doonesbury readers. Gary Trudeau uses Scott's gentle response to point out that God's love is also more powerful than the easy narcissism of a prosperous society. If Boopsie does invite God back into her life, cookies will have to give way to Communion, and the ersatz chumminess of talk shows give way to real communities. Boopsie may be speaking Trudeau's mind when she confesses a need not simply for God but also for solid theology at times like these. It has been decades since the Doonesbury strip has spoken so astutely about contemporary life. As we all know, church attendance surged after September 11th and, as of this point in mid-October, that trend has continued. If Gary Trudeau is rethinking religion in some personal way, who knows what's going on generally? So I have scanned my shelves looking for books useful in the effort to minister graciously to all the people who may be giving God another look in these times. More than once I have chuckled grimly that my part in a national emergency has been to sit drinking tea and reading books, but that does seem to be the case. And yet, as I read my way through these books, I realized what bounty I had found, ripe for harvest. It's an eclectic mix, but surely there is grace in that as well. …
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