Abstract
Baby Boomers and Beyond: Tapping the Ministry Talents and Passions of Adults over 50
by Amy Hanson
Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2010. 230 pp. $24.95. ISBN 978-0-470-50079-8.
With the explosion of the older adult population, this book explores the opportunities and challenges that this presents for the Christian community. It challenges us to let go of many old stereotypes regarding aging and embrace a new paradigm that sees older adults as active, healthy, and capable of making significant contributions. The book shows church leaders how they can unleash the power of the baby boomer population to strengthen their congregations.
Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life
by Richard Rohr
Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2011. 240 pp. $19.95. ISBN 978-0-8308-3948-3.
Fr. Richard Rohr seeks to help readers understand the tasks of the two halves of life and to show that those who have fallen, failed, or “gone down” are the only ones who understand “up.” Most of us tend to think of the second half of life as largely about getting old, dealing with health issues, and letting go of life, but the thesis of this book is exactly the opposite. What looks like falling down can largely be experienced as “falling upward,” not a loss but somehow actually a gain, as we have all seen with elders who have come to their fullness. This book explores the counterintuitive message that we grow spiritually much more by doing wrong than by doing right.
No Act of Love Is Ever Wasted: The Spirituality of Caring for Persons with Dementia
by Jane Marie Thibault and Richard L. Morgan
Upper Room, Nashville, 2009. 176 pp. $16.00. ISBN 978-0-8358-9995-6.
Thibault and Morgan provide a fresh, hopeful model of dealing with life and death in the realm of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. This volume is an excellent resource for individuals caring for loved ones as well as for counselors, support group leaders, pastors, and other professionals. Caregivers have two basic needs: affirmation that caregiving is not in vain and reassurance that the lives of those for whom they care are not being lived in vain. Care receivers need more than medical attention; they need tender care, involvement in the community, and a sense of connection with a loving God. When patient and caregiver regard this shared experience as a “mutual spiritual path,” each plays a role in deepening the spiritual life of the other. In addition to offering practical ways to help, this book serves as a reminder that every act of love brings positive transformation to the recipient, to the giver, and to the world.
The Theology of Suffering and Death: An Introduction for Caregivers
by Natalie Kertes Weaver
Routledge, Oxford, 2013. 128 pp. $24.95. ISBN 978-0-415-78108-4.
Designed particularly for practical theology students and trainee caregivers, this book offers a theological foundation for engaging with the realities of suffering and dying. It introduces the spiritual and theological issues raised by suffering and dying. The chapters consider how Christian theology and the Bible address the problem of suffering; post-biblical interpretations of Jesus’ suffering and the cross; modern experiences of suffering and death occasioned by ecology, poverty, discrimination, and war; comparative religious approaches; and the depiction of suffering and death in popular culture. Weaver relates theology to practical issues of caregiving and provides a “toolbox” for thinking about suffering and death in a creative and supportive way.
Prophets Male and Female: Gender and Prophecy in the Hebrew Bible, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Ancient Near East
edited by Jonathan Stökl and Corrine L. Carvalho
Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, 2013. 347 pp. $41.95. ISBN 978-1-5898-3776-8.
Because gender is an essential component of societies of all times and places, it is no surprise that every prophetic expression in the ancient social world was a gendered one. In this volume, scholars of the biblical literature and of the ancient Mediterranean consider a wide array of prophetic phenomena. In addition to prophetic texts of the Hebrew Bible, the essays look at prophecy in ancient Mesopotamia and early Christianity. Using the most current theoretical categories, this collection demonstrates how essential a broad definition of gender is for understanding its connection to both the delivery and the content of ancient prophecy. Attention to gender dynamics will continue to reveal the fluidity of prophetic gender performance and to open up the ancient contexts of prophetic texts.
Biblical Interpretation and Method: Essays in Honour of John Barton
edited by Katherine J. Dell and Paul Joyce
Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2013. 352 pp. $125.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-1996-4553-4.
Since the rise of critical biblical study in the 19th century, there has been a revolution in the way that we interpret the Bible and in the methods we employ to facilitate our reading. Professor John Barton has been a major recent influence upon such developments and the essays in this volume reflect upon his contribution. The book divides into two parts. The first, “Revisiting Older Approaches,” reviews older methods in biblical studies such as source criticism and textual criticism, both as methods and in relation to worked examples. The second part, entitled “Breaking the Mould,” explores newer types of criticism, such as sociological, feminist and post-colonial readings, again in relation to particular texts and examples. The book asks questions about the benefits and shortcomings of the methodological tools in our biblical critical tool-box and about the way texts are themselves brought to life in ever fresh interpretative and often interdisciplinary contexts.
Biblical Criticism: A Guide for the Perplexed
by Eryl W. Davies
Guides for the Perplexed. Bloomsbury T & T Clark, New York, 2013. 176 pp. $24.95. ISBN 978-0-5671-4594-9.
This “guide” explains to the uninitiated in a readable and accessible form how strategies originally derived from secular literary criticism have been adopted by biblical scholars in order to understand the text of Scripture and to appreciate its relevance. Whereas the historical-critical approach was concerned with the moment of a text’s production (authorship, date, place of writing, etc.), the literary approach is concerned with the moment of the text’s reception. The book shows how and why approaches such as “reader-response criticism,” “feminist criticism,” “ideological criticism,” “canonical criticism” and “post-colonial criticism” are now becoming more popular in many quarters.
The Rhetoric of the Gospel: Theological Artistry in the Gospels and Acts, Second Edition
by C. Clifton Black
Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2013. 250 pp. $35.00. ISBN 978-0-664-23822-3.
While most books on biblical rhetoric focus primarily on the Epistles, this volume considers the variety of rhetorical critical approaches now being applied to the Gospels (including Luke-Acts). This updated edition takes into account recent research since the first volume was published in 2001 and features two brand new chapters. It provides an overview of the different forms of rhetorical criticism, with examples from the Gospel of John; studies of characterization in Matthew and Luke; an analysis of classical rhetorical criteria found in Mark and Luke-Acts; and an analysis of the rhetoric of the parables with implications for contemporary preaching.
Can Only One Religion be True? Paul Knitter and Harold Netland in Dialogue
by Robert Stewart
Fortress, Minneapolis, 2013. 272 pp. $24.00. ISBN 978-0-8006-9928-4.
This volume highlights points of agreement and disagreement on the subject of religious pluralism. The dialogue partners in the discussion are Paul F. Knitter, Paul Tillich Professor of Theology, World Religions, and Culture at Union Theological Seminary (New York), and Harold A. Netland, Professor of Mission and Evangelism and Director of Intercultural Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. A transcript of the March 2009 Point-Counterpoint event between Knitter and Netland allows the reader to see how each presents his position in light of the other’s, as well as their responses to selected audience questions. The balance of the volume is comprised of substantive essays on various facets of the question of religious pluralism from a diverse set of scholars.
An American Scholar Recalls Karl Barth’s Golden Years as a Teacher (1958–1964): The Mature Theologian
by Raymond Kemp Anderson
Edwin Mellen, Lewiston, NY, 2013. 476 pp. $159.95 (cloth). ISBN 978-0-7734-4467-6.
This retrospective work brings readers into direct and personal contact with one of the 20th century’s most discussed and influential thinkers. It sheds new light on the later years of Karl Barth, the Reformed theologian, his focal church teachings, and his celebrated life as the “Lion of European Theology.”
The Elephant in the Church: What You Don’t See Can Kill Your Ministry
by Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner and Mary Lynn Dell
Abingdon, Nashville, 2013. 144 pp. $16.99. ISBN 978-1-4267-5321-3.
A church can be a dangerous place. The perils may be so obvious that they become “elephants” standing in the fellowship hall, lurking in the sanctuary, ready to spring into the pastor’s study, and tromp out of the choir room. The word “elephant” stands for an obvious truth or issue ignored or unnamed—a blind spot. Yet, we allow elephants to occupy a large amount of space in the minds and hearts of those who tiptoe around them. Discussing common blind spots of congregations and church leaders, the authors provide examples and illustrations for how to stop these “elephants” from ruining a ministry.