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cornerstone
issue 123 Index of books reviewed
Does the thought ever occur to you that our society is drunk on technology and consumer glut, careening out of control, and that no one in particular is at the wheel?Do you suppose that the effects of our actions to the earth are irreversible and are contributing steadily to its demise?If so, you are not alone. Ecological responsibility is of great concern to many Evangelicals, and Steven Bouma-Prediger has written a powerful treatise on Earth stewardship. Bouma-Prediger makes one overarching claim in his introduction: “Authentic Christian faith requires ecological obedience. To care for the earth is integral to Christian faith. ” The purpose of the book is to hammer that simple truth home. The first half of the book deals with knowing our earth, what has become of it, and what the Scriptures reveal concerning our place in it and our responsibility as its stewards. The second half seeks to enter our theology into dialogue with ecological ethics, with the final chapter offering inspiration and wisdom for the journey ahead. If you only ever read one book on the environment, let this be it. —Chris Rice Gothard
’s Tilted Planet The powerful effect of Bill Gothard and his Institute in Basic Life Principles upon white American Evangelicalism has been treated before, but not with this level of biblical penetration. A new book by Don Veinot, Joy Veinot, and Ron Henzel, A Matter of Basic Principle, bends over backward trying to be fair to Gothard, including various encounters between Gothard and the authors, and other concerned individuals (Norm Geisler, for instance). These three researchers from Midwest Christian Outreach, a ministry reaching out primarily to members of New Religious Movements, have done a powerful job both in accuracy and fairness, with only one or two apparent lapses into pettiness (e.g., a comparison between Gothard writings and The Communist Manifesto ). Their history of the Gothard movement is fascinating, and the views Gothard holds on esoteric issues such as dating, dress, authority, family, and sexuality are fully explored. Gothard ’s teaching that uncircumcised males are in rebellion to God, for example, proves one of the clearer indictments of Gothard ’s inability or unwillingness to face Scripture, as the authors ably show. Over and over again, the real issue is how Gothard ’s world virtually negates the biblical idea and Protestant flagship doctrine:the priesthood of the believer. Gothard ’s “umbrella of authority ” melts away like sugar in a hard rain when exposed to the authors ’ and other Evangelicals ’ critiques. The authors not only quote Gothard extensively (and with telling effect)but also, impressively, quote widely from others, including J. I. Packer, the movie Citizen Kane, and various other popular and literary sources. But the meat of the book to me comes with chapter 6, a chapter on grace that reaches a nearly devotional tone as it celebrates our freedom in Christ. That chapter is a reminder that no matter who we are, or what we have done, grace —that wonderfully unmerited favor only a Perfect God can bestow —is available to us through Jesus Christ. The gospel, unlike Gothardism, is truly Good News. Reading this book reminded me just how good. —Jon Trott
This is the age of 1-800-DIVORCE. Unhappy couples today disdain the archaic concept of staying together for the children ’s sake. But while divorce is at times a necessity, the authors of The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce ask us to consider whether it really improves the lives of those involved. Uneasy about the effects of divorce on children, we ’ve developed a comforting “trickle-down ” theory:Unhappy marriages mean unhappy parents;unhappy parents mean unhappy children. Divorce appears to be a neat solution. But Judith Wallerstein is here to tell us what we ’ve really known all along:Divorce is terrible for children, and it ’s not so great for adults either. Mothers who divorce often find themselves thrown into a struggle for day-to-day survival that leaves little time for nurturing. Children of divorce invariably suffer terrible losses:they lose the security found in the unit they ’ve always known as their parents;they often lose their home, their neighborhood, their school and friends. And, perhaps most importantly, they lose their hope and faith in committed relationships between adults. According to Wallerstein ’s findings, such losses make it very difficult for them to negotiate relationships in their adult lives. In fact, she claims, the “divorce culture ” of the last thirty years is creating a generation of young adults who are unable or afraid to form lasting relationships. Wallerstein ’s methodology has been criticized (mostly because her study group was small and predominantly white middle-class), but her study was conducted over a period of twenty-five years and followed the same group of children from the time of their parents ’ divorce until they reached their twenties and thirties. Researchers spent a great deal of time with these children and their family members and were able to give a vivid picture of the effects divorce had on their lives. For many couples, staying together for the sake of the children is indeed what Judith Wallerstein recommends, and she makes a compelling case for it. —Jennifer Ingerson
We all know we ’re too busy. We ’re all tired of juggling our jobs, families, and extracurricular activities, never able to devote enough time to any of them. We ’ve all heard (and agree)we should take more time for the “important things. ” But following this advice just seems to mean adding more to our stuffed schedules. That ’s because most of the people who urge us to make time for the good things in life want us to do so in addition to maintaining our commitment to the consumer culture we live in. We ’re supposed to work sixty hours a week;sit on two boards and three church committees;enroll our kids in soccer, ballet, violin, and (eventually, we hope) Mensa; maintain our big houses, big yards, and big cars; and then, when we’ve finished all that, look for ways to spend quality time with God and our families. It can ’t be done; go figure. So I came to this book wondering if the Sines’ advice would be any different. And it is. In Living on Purpose, they challenge us to stop blindly obeying our culture ’s dictates on how to live and, instead, listen to God ’s voice and let faith shape the rhythms of our lives. They lead us through a process of examining our attitudes and activities and give us a chance to consider whether we ’re living out God ’s true calling for us. The advice in this book is radical, but not too radical for a “normal ” Christian family to follow. If you find yourself wondering whether a hectic lifestyle is really what God has for you, it may be worthwhile to carve out some time in your schedule to read this book. —J. I.
Talk about a wealth of information! This book examines Lewis's thoughts on a number of types of literature, as you can see by scanning the chapter titles: “Classical Literature,” “Shakespeare,” “Fantasy,” just to name a few. Each chapter is written by a different person, most of them professors, presenting a serious, scholarly look at each topic. Make sure you have your dictionary at hand. Yes, the reading can be challenging, and in the case of a few chapters, I am not sure that I retrieved the treasure out of them. But overall I think the information presented in this book makes it very worthwhile. I particularly enjoyed “Science Fiction,” “Children’s Literature,” and “In the Library: Composition and Context. ” It’s not just the authors’ analyses; the notes and works cited at the end of each chapter are part of the wealth of information that could keep you researching C. S. Lewis’s life and thoughts on literature for years. Start digging! —Sally Watkins
What makes a truly great devotional? In my humble opinion, the work should possess the power to encapsulate your faith, but also propel it forward into action. It would take what you ’ve felt you always believed and reveal it to you again, as if for the first time, and then say to your spirit, “Christ is larger than you know and this faith can change the world. ” This happened to me when I discovered Cost of Discipleship (CD)by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. With CD I felt I was learning what it meant to be a Christian for the first time, though I had been raised in the faith. Fortress Press has released CD anew as Discipleship, along with Life Together and other Bonhoeffer titles, in new translations from the German done via an entire board of Bonhoeffer scholars. The difference in this new translation is in the careful attention to the text itself. Bonhoeffer ’s original intent was for the book to have two parts, the first on the meaning of discipleship and the second on how that call is extended to us today through the Church and the sacraments. The new work uncovers the original and places it in its intended format. Another important difference is the footnotes that allow the reader direct access into the sources Bonhoeffer was loosely or directly referring to as he was writing. If that weren’t enough, the bibliography provides an exhaustive list of all the literature consulted by Bonhoeffer for this book. —C. R.
How do you begin to tell the story of a movement, a unique art form, and an industry to someone who barely recognizes its presence?That is what John J. Thompson sets out to do in his 2000 book release, Raised by Wolves . The strength of this work lies in John ’s ability to compile a list of the most important bands in Christian rock history. It ’s a veritable who ’s who or encyclopedia of Christian rock, an accomplishment that must not be overlooked. John ’s background as a booster of Christian rock for sixteen years, along with his love for the music, gives the book its energy. If you want the big picture of Christian rock, include this title in your library. —C. R.
Just out from Chalice Press is a handbook devoted to that little band of English writers and thinkers who have always been heavyweights in poetry and fiction—the Inklings. Here in one concise volume is all the pertinent information a beginner like myself or an old enthusiast could need for quick reference. The Inklings Handbook has two parts, the first featuring a time line of important moments and events (which in itself makes the book worthy)in the lives of the Inklings. Also included are brief chapters holding background information on the works of Lewis, Tolkien, and Williams. The second part functions as a sort of encyclopedia cataloguing many names and notions pertinent to the works of this little band of critics and mythmakers. —C. R. See www.cornerstonemag.com/books for more book reviews, some of which appear only online!
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On
Christian Ecology
Worse
Than We Thought?
Faith-Shaped
Lives
In
Lewis ’s Library
Classic
Christian Faith
The
Story of Christian Rock
C.
S. Lewis and Friends