Category: Miscellaneous

Book Review: Rice, Anne. Christ the Lord out of Egypt. Seal Books, 2005.

Call no.: F R495co

Reviewed by Susan Walma

 With this novel Anne Rice has written a story illustrating a year in the early childhood of Jesus. The story begins when Jesus is seven years old at the time that Jesus’ family prepares to leave Egypt. The author uses in-depth research into the lives of ordinary people of the era and New Testament scholarship to flesh out the story of Jesus, as the bible does not provide very much detail in that regard.  The result is a story that provides insights into what Jesus’ early life might have been like and the sorts of questions he might have posed to himself in order to start to understand his Mission on earth. The novel is at once a fascinating and personally engaging, though fictional, look into the early life of Jesus.

 The author has provided an ‘Author’s Note’ where she describes her personal and professional journey towards writing this novel and where she also provides notes on the sources used for the research for the novel. As well, she includes a ‘Note to the Paperback Edition’ where she elaborates on her personal journey and her return to faith

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Book Review: Raza, Raheel. Their Jihad, Not My Jihad! Basileia Books, 2005.

Call no.: 297.72.R278

Reviewed by Susan Walma

 As preparation for the review of this book, I decided to search for the word “jihad” on the Internet and found the following on Wikipedia:

“Jihad … is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jih?d is a noun meaning “struggle.” Jihad appears frequently in the Qur’an and common usage as the idiomatic expression “striving in the way of Allah (al-jihad fi sabil Allah)“. A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid, the plural is mujahideen…”

Raheel Raza in her book writes:

“Interpreting the term jihad to mean ”holy war” is misleading and usually inaccurate. The Qur’anic usage of the term jihad is much broader than the political use of term might imply. The basic meaning of jihad is “struggle” and this struggle is not necessarily an armed struggle. It can mean the struggle for truth and justice or good over evil.

When we understand the word Islam to mean “submission” or “surrender”, then in a certain manner, jihad complements Islam. …” (p. 18)

Both Wikipedia and the book have much more to say about the meaning of the word jihad. I think you will find that the book does so in a more accessible manner clarifying the distinction between the lesser jihad (of the sword) and the greater jihad (of the inner struggle of faith). She discusses much more that we should know and understand of Islam and Muslims in general and their interrelationships in the wider world.

 The writings are organized under the following headings: Political Jihad – A Struggle for the Soul of Islam, Gender Jihad – A Struggle for Women’s Rights and Spiritual Jihad – A Struggle to Know Each Other. She includes commentary about current events, culture, politics, education, the rights of women and just about anything else that engenders controversy between faiths, the politics and current tensions between the east and the west, the Islamic world and the Christian West… Read this book; you will find it enlightening, humourous, educational, and at times heart-rending

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Book Review: Pogue, Carolyn. A World of Faith: Introducing Spiritual Traditions to Teens. CopperHouse, 2007.

Call no: 200.835 P746

Reviewed by Diane Aitken. 

 This book introduces the spiritual traditions of nine world religions to teens: The Goddess Tradition, Aboriginal Spirituality, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and the Bahai Faith are all briefly introduced by the author. Information about each faith tradition includes: A Green Rule, the Golden Rule, Overview, Thumbnail sketch, Glossary of Terms, Interviews with Youth, Prayer, Rituals and Ceremonies and Rites of Passage. Carol Pogue writes in her usual accessible style.

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Book Review: Phipps, Bill. Cause for Hope: Humanity at the Crossroads. Copper House, 2007.

Call no.: 304.2 P573

Reviewed by Susan Walma

 Bill Phipps, past moderator of the United Church of Canada, was one of the keynote speakers at the Epiphany Explorations of 2009. In this book, he explores the ecological, environmental, economic and social issues and the religious, or rather, the spiritual faith contexts that face modern society and addresses the sacred balance of nature that we have done so much to ignore in our past.

These issues, he feels, are rooted in stories, what he calls the old story that gave rise to excesses of consumerism, disparity between rich and poor and the war machine that upheld it. In contrast, new understandings and the groundwork for new attitudes and solutions are necessary and need to be expressed in the new story, a story that, based on a new understanding of our spirituality, our faith, will give rise to an equitable, fair and holistic approach to these issues and uphold the sacred balance once again.

 Using examples of his own life and that of others, the discussion includes, and I quote chapter headings here because they are more descriptive that anything I could come up with: Change the story, Change the future; Crossroads; the Importance of Story; The Old Story; The New Story; The New Story as Integrating Narrative; Spirituality, Theology, Faith and Disestablishment; Water; The Arts; Humility. Included also are appendices that are expositions of some of the things discussed.

 Read this book. It is timely and a necessary wake up call and a prescription for new beginnings towards a new future for our children, and their children…

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Book Review: Moon, Sharon. Returning to the Healing Oasis: Guided Meditations for Mind, Body, and Spirit. [Book & CD] United Church Pub. House, 2006.

Call no.: 242.M818r and CD 242.M818r

Reviewed by: Susan Walma

 Written by a United Church minister who wrote the ‘Healing Oasis’, the author provides guidance for those leading meditations in the introductory chapters and also provides a series of meditations that can be used by individuals and groups. Each meditation is fully explained with an introduction, preparation, the scriptural basis and reflection as well as the meditation and closure is provided for each. The CD contains seven meditations that are also available in the book. The book includes meditations for all seasons, slowing down, experiencing the healing God through scripture, for spiritual and personal growth and for pastoral care including compassion for those who suffer, preparation for or facing surgery and undergoing chemotherapy.

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Book Review: Manning, Brennan. A Glimpse of Jesus, the Stranger to Self-hatred. Harper SanFrancisco, 2003.

Call no.: 248.4 M283

Reviewed by Susan Walma

 Brennan Manning is a Franciscan priest, an author and lecturer. He wrote this book to address the problem of self-hatred that he feels is ‘the predominant spiritual problem’ he has grappled with and that  can put us, both individuals and the church, into spiritual bondage.

 The book is an intensely personal exploration of faith and thereby serves as an enhancement to the reader’s faith-life. In the book’s chapters we are provided with analyses and descriptions of self-hatred and the prescriptions towards the path of faith that leads to healing and compassion. The chapter headings are suggestive: 1) The script for self-hatred, 2) Jesus: the stranger to self-hatred, 3) Healing through meal-sharing, 4) Deliverance through story telling, 5) Liberation through prayer, 6) Integrity and self-acceptance, and, 7) Compassion and the cross.

 The book is easy to read and digest because the author refrains from writing the kind of ‘dense theological tome’ that would have discouraged this reader from thoroughly enjoying and finishing the book.

 

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Book Review: Funk, Robert W., editor. The Five Gospels: the Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus. Harper Collins, 1997.

Call no.: 226.0633 F982

Reviewed by Susan Walma.

 On the cover of the book appears the question that is the subject and also the subtitle of the book, “What did Jesus really say?” and it is this question that is addressed by the scholars of the Jesus Seminar.  Simply, and perhaps even simplistically stated, the scholars inventoried and classified the sayings attributed to Jesus using all surviving gospels thus not confining themselves only to the canonical ones. The scholars, each using their particular expertise, voted as to whether or not a particular saying could have been made by Jesus using red, pink, gray and black balls that were dropped into a box The balls were counted and the results were then calculated into weighted averages into a colour coded interpretation. The unofficial and more colourful one explained as follows:

Weight

assigned

Colour

Interpretation

3

Red

That’s Jesus

2

Pink

Sure sounds like Jesus,

1

Gray

Well, maybe

0

Black

There is some mistake

 The introduction explains the methodology used in great detail in order to illuminate the historical and other analyses used to arrive at the methodology to answer the question: “What did Jesus really say?”. The scholars of the Jesus Seminar studied and analyzed the gospels using the ‘seven pillars of scholarly wisdom’ as set out in the introduction to the monograph and also the historical scholarship and context for the quest for the historical Jesus.

 The main part of the book is the Scholars Version translation, i.e., a translation using the aforementioned surviving gospels to translate the five gospels, Mark, Matthew, Luke [the synoptic gospels] and John as well as the gospel of Thomas using as much as possible the original or the oldest extant language in which that particular gospel is available. For instance, the gospel of Thomas was likely written in Greek, the lingua franca of the time of its writing; however the surviving gospel is available in the Coptic. Each gospel in turn is translated in sections according to the classifications of the sayings as expounded in the introduction. The colour coding is applied to the saying(s) of Jesus of that particular translation and explanatory commentary is provided to show the reasoning and often the historical and cultural context of this particular classification of the saying.

 This new translation and the accompanying commentary of the five gospels would be of interest to anyone who wants to study the gospels in the words of the editors: “…free of ecclesiastical and religious control.” At 553 pages in length and with a wealth of information contained herein, you may upon first reading of the library edition, find you wish to buy the book to have as a permanent item in your collection for biblical study.

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Book Review: Ehrman, Bart D. Lost Scriptures: Books that Did Not Make It into the New Testament. Oxford University Press, 2003.

Call no.:  220.920 5209 E33 

Reviewed by: Susan Walma

 Ever wondered how the New Testament came into being or whether or not there were other sacred writings known to early Christians? Then this book is for you. Here, Ehrman presents writings that were once considered sacred but were later excluded from the canon by orthodox Christianity. Some of these are translations from fragments, some are presented as quoted by early church fathers in their treatises since the originals are lost; others are excerpts from lengthy documents. Included are texts that were found at Nag Hammadi; which are known today as belonging to the “Nag Hammadi Library”.

 The categories comprise non-canonical gospels, non-canonical Acts of the Apostles, non-canonical epistles and related writings, non-canonical apocalypses, and non-canonical revelatory treatises as well as canonical lists. Each of the categories and texts are prefaced by an introduction briefly explaining its place in the history of Christianity.  A companion volume to the book: Bart D. Ehrman’s ‘Lost Christianities: The Battles for Scriptures and the Faiths We Never Knew’ discusses in detail the history and theology as to why these texts were not included in the present canon. When that book becomes available in our church library a book review will be done at that time.

 

 

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Book Review: Collins, Francis. The Language of God. Free Press, 2007 and Sanguin, Bruce. Darwin, Divinity and the Dance of the Cosmos. CopperHouse, 2007

Collins, Francis. The Language of God.  Free Press, 2007. Call no. 215 C712

 Sanguin, Bruce. Darwin, Divinity and the  Dance of the Cosmos.  CopperHouse, 2007. Call no.:  215 S326

 Reviewed by: Laura Butler

 Let me draw your attention to two new books that have recently been added to our church library:  The Language of God by Dr. Francis Collins, geneticist and head of the Human Genome Project and Darwin, Divinity and the Dance of the Cosmos by Bruce Sanguin, minister and writer from Canadian Memorial United Church. Both men speak of evolution as a divine unfolding of the Spirit of God moving in and through the very dynamics of this expanding universe and share their own faith journey with the reader. The evolutionary universe is a sacred text revealing God’s purpose, intentions and very being. Christians have a second text. The Bible- a library revealing the witness of God’s people to their relationship with God throughout history, written over a period of 1000 years. We revere both texts FOR WE ARE MADE OF STARDUST FROM THE DANCE OF THE COSMOS SOME 14 BILLION YEARS AGO, yet, today, we are witnessing to our relationship to God in our own experience. Dr. Collins describes in his book the painstaking research that went into the discovery and understanding of DNA. The human genome consists of all the DNA of our species, the hereditary code of life. This DNA is implanted in us all from our very beginning- the language of God is written in our innermost DNA and the future opens up vast possibilities of self-understanding and usefulness. DNA has been with us always – the unspoken language of God until recently. Challenged to apply his scientific investigation to the Christian faith this man who thought of himself as an atheist sought out a Methodist minister who introduced him to ‘mere Christianity’ by C.S. Lewis, which became a guiding light for his research and eventual commitment to the Christian faith.

 Collins explains how he as a scientist is able to reconcile his Christian faith and current scientific thought. He does so in a respectful tone while explaining scientific and theological concepts in a way that anyone could understand. There is good discussion on atheism, agnosticism, creationism, intelligent design and his term– biologos– where science and faith are in harmony– theistic evolution– THE LANGUAGE OF GOD! You really need to read the next book. DARWIN, DIVINITYand THE DANCE OF THE COSMOS by Bruce Sanguin because I cannot do it justice in a few words. His description of order emerging from chaos in the great flaring forth (big bang) some 14 billion years ago as the Holy One begins the journey of manifestation in time and space- the external body of Divine Being- is sheer poetry and one is filled with a sense of awe as we realize that we are part of that stardust that survived (only 1 billionth    of matter survived).The writings of Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry transformed Sanguin’s life and ministry as they spoke of evolution as a Divine Unfolding and made a presentation of a new  scientific worldview that combines technical understanding with spiritual meaning. The aim of the universe is beauty, and diversity is the primary expression of beauty; the loss of diversity is a loss of divine radiance from the earth. The evolutionary direction of the universe is toward increased consciousness. The human race is the latecomer on the planet, a conscious self made in the image of God. When God commissioned Moses in the wilderness, Moses faltered claiming he didn’t even know God’s name and God said, ” Tell them I Am has sent you.” The God of Being has sent you.

 I AM , and I am aware that I AM — a conscious self made in the image of God! Weaving together the latest scientific understandings of the universe with biblical narratives Sanguin creates an ecological and truly revolutionary Christian theology. It gives us as readers a rich opportunity to become reacquainted with the Spirit of God moving in and through the very dynamics of the unfolding universe. Sanguin says: “Today there is nothing more crucial than a compassionate response to the plight of our planet. The church must be at the forefront of shifting human consciousness away from an ethic of domination for economic gain and toward a spirituality of love.” AN EVOLUTIONARY COVENANT I will be your God, if you will be my people. I have come to you in many forms, and will continue to be present to you in radiant diversity and beauty. My people will never stop growing, because I manifest anew each moment. If you remain open to my presence in new discoveries, and continue to evolve– loving diversity, growing in mind, heart, and body, and loving wisdom – I will be your God. Learn from other creatures the sacred intelligence of the universe. These creatures are your kin. I will be with you in the tumult of change, giving you the courage, the power, and the wisdom to endure and to celebrate transformation.

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Book Review: Borg, Marcus J. Jesus: Uncovering the Life, Teachings and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary. HarperCollins San Francisco, 2006

Call no.: 232 B732ju

Reviewed by: Susan Walma

 According to the author this book started life as a revision of his earlier work Jesus: A New Vision; however, as the author notes: “Only a few paragraphs here and there are more or less the same as what I wrote twenty years ago.” (preface p.1) So if you have read Jesus: A New Vision please be aware of that and do consider reading this book especially if you liked it and found it deepened your understanding of your faith and/or spiritual journey.

Jesus Uncovering the Life, Teachings and Relevance of a Religious Revolutionary is well-written and accessible to laypersons and worth reading for anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of Christianity in general and of the life and teachings of Jesus and the historical context in which He did so, in particular. At its root the book is an analysis of the pre-Easter Jesus, His life and teachings, and of the post-Easter Jesus, that is to say, how Christians, and others, have interpreted His life and teachings. An author and a scripture index, referring the reader to the page and where applicable the note number, is included; but not, for some reason, a general index. If you do decide to read this book, try to keep track of what is written in the footnotes; they are helpful and explanatory as well as suggestive of additional reading.

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