A Brief Review of Against the Tide: Love in a Time of Petty Dreams and Persisting Enmities By Miroslav Volf. Paperback: Eerdmans, 2010. Buy now: [ ChristianBook.com ] Reviewed by Stephen Lawson.

Since the publication of Exclusion and Embrace in 1996, Miroslav Volf has been one of the most influential theologians in America. Originally from Croatia, Volf is now professor of theology at Yale. His influence can be seen in both the academy (where After Our Likeness: The Church as the Image of the Trinity was hailed as one of the most rigorous theological defenses of “free church ecclesiology” to date) and the church (where his more accessible books such as The End of Memory and Free of Charge have received a wide readership). Despite the undeniable distinction between his work for the academy and his work for the wider church, there is a remarkable consistency in the themes he explores. He is committed to a theology that both speaks the truth and calls for total reconciliation between enemies.

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A Brief Review of Putting Away Childish Things: A Tale of Modern Faith. By Marcus J. Borg. Hardback: HarperOne, 2010. Buy now: [ ChristianBook.com ] Reviewed By William Mills.

If you are interested in progressive Christianity and a how to live a life of faith in Jesus that is authentic and modern then look no farther than Putting Away Childish Things by Marcus Borg. Borg is professor emeritus in the department of philosophy at Oregon State University where he held the Hundere Chair in Religion and Culture. In addition to his teaching career, Borg is a prolific author and has published seventeen books, most recently Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, The Heart of Christianity, and The Last Week of Jesus.  While Borg is most known for his academic and scholarly work on the historical Jesus and early Christian studies, Putting Away Childish Things is his first book of fiction. As Borg says in the preface, Putting Away Childish Things is the result of a life-long search for an authentic faith in Jesus that is free from false piety and religion and is the culmination of his thirty years teaching, preaching and writing.

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A Brief Review of Introducing Catholic Social Thought. J. Milburn Thompson. Paperback: Orbis Books, 2010. Buy now: [ Amazon ] Reviewed by Bill van Loon.

Though many in the evangelical world are newly discovering the importance of social engagement, our Catholic brothers and sisters have a long history worth exploring. In the new book Introducing Catholic Social Thought, part of a series directed toward both college students and general readers, J. Millburn Thompson guides us through this rich history.

The content of the book is presented in a way that is intended to make the topic of Catholic social thought approachable and easy to digest. Thompson begins by distinguishing between teaching and thought. Teaching focuses on the explanation of the major documents of the Roman Catholic Church that were written by popes and bishops. Thought takes into consideration the teaching and applies it to the social context.

Thompson says the Catholic social tradition brings the Christian faith to bear on relevant social issues. He says the book focuses on the spirit of Catholic social teaching rather than the letter. Thompson gives a lot of attention to the “social question” and response of the faith with the history and  content of Catholic social teaching used as foundational elements to the discussion. The primary way he does this is by including the stories of people and organizations who he believes incarnated Catholic social teaching.

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A Brief Review of Battling to the End: Conversations with Benoît Chantre. René Girard. Paperback: Michigan State Univ. Press, 2009. Buy now:  [ Amazon ] Reviewed by Chris Smith.

For several years now, I have been intrigued by René Girard’s mimetic theory and the way in which it portrays our human proclivities to violence.  Thus, I was excited to hear about his newest book Battling to the End: Conversations with Benoît Chantre, which captures a conversation about a little-known military text of the nineteenth century, Carl von Clausevitz’s On War, and its relevance for understanding the world today.  Although this book does require that the reader have some background understanding of Girard’s mimetic theory, Battling to the End is, in its conversational format, perhaps the most readable of Girard’s books.  This new volume is also a divergence from Girard’s previous work in that it examines mimetic theory in the context of recent historical events, whereas Girard’s previous works have focused on developing mimesis within literary or biblical texts.  Girard’s keen exposition of recent history, makes this book essential reading for those of us who seek to understand the place of Christianity in a world of escalating violence.  Consider, for instance, the following passage:

In a French newspaper I said concerning September 11 that Muslims and Westerners were twins.  That was nothing new.  In fact, we can wonder to what extent the excesses of the Crusades in the thirteenth century were not mimetic responses to the Jihad, of which we are now suffering the consequences in Europe and the Middle East. … We need to undertake historical studies, both longitudinal and at different levels, of the conditions for the trend to the extremes.  This would show that it is against that baleful tendency that the institution of war (as we know it today) was gradually established in an attempt to control what was less and less controllable.  The rise in violence happens behind the actors’ backs (41 – parenthesis added for clarification).

Girard emphasizes throughout his work that Christianity is distinct among the faiths in the way that understands violence.  In our age of ever-escalating violence, the time has come for the Church to reflect on Girard’s work.  When read in conjunction with one of his earlier works in which he more clearly defines mimetic theory (e.g., Violence and the Sacred), Battling to the End would serve as an excellent guide to lead us into conversation about the meaning of our faith in a violent world.  Maybe, just maybe, Girard’s work will serve – to use the words with which he concludes this volume – to “wake up our sleeping consciences”!

A Brief Review of A Covenant of Creatures: Levinas’s Philosophy of Judaism. Michael Fagenblat. Paperback: Stanford University Press, 2010. Buy now: [ Amazon ] Reviewed By Shaun C. Brown.

Emmanuel Levinas (1906–1995) was a Lithuanian born, French educated philosopher and Talmudic commentator.  Levinas also studied for a short time at Freiburg University in Germany under phenomenologist Edmund Husserl.  While there, Levinas also attended a seminar with Martin Heidegger.  Levinas published some of the first works in French pertaining to the work of Husserl and Heidegger (due to Heidegger’s later support of the Nazis, Levinas grew increasingly critical of Heidegger).

Despite his Jewish upbringing and education and his confessional writings, Levinas argued, “I am not a particularly Jewish thinker, I am just a thinker.”  To distance his philosophical work from his confessional writings, Levinas published both with different presses and denied “in several published interviews and discussions, that his philosophy was in any way based on faith” (xiv).  Fagenblat argues, “Denying the Jewish element of his thought was quite simply the price of its admission into the arena of French philosophy” (xiv).  Fagenblat also argues that Levinas’s Judaism cannot be separated from his philosophy, even in his two major philosophical writings for largely non-Jewish audiences, Totality and Infinity and Otherwise than Being.  Fagenblat acknowledges that his perspective is not unique.  Gabriel Marcel and Paul Ricoeur both “suggested that Levinas secretes his Judaism amid his philosophy” (2).

Throughout A Covenant of Creatures, Fagenblat discusses Levinas’s philosophy of Judaism in dialogue with two figures, Maimonides, a twelfth century Jewish philosopher, and despite their differences, Heidegger.

Levinas focused upon ethics as “first philosophy.”  Levinas’s ethics were in a sense based upon Kant’s concept of the categorical imperative, but rather than centering the imperative upon Reason as Kant did, Levinas developed a phenomenology of the moral imperative focusing upon “the face of the Other” (xix).  In the earlier Levinas (which Fagenblat calls Levinas 1), the face of the Other is “the widow, the orphan, and the stranger,” while “Levinas 2 abandons the attempt to base ethics on a descriptive account of the character of the other” (99).  Levinas believed that theology should not justify evil, but instead respond to evil with covenantal faithfulness to the Other.

Fagenblat argues that Levinas, like Heidegger, viewed philosophy as hermeneutics, “situated within a tradition that determines the very horizons of thought,” rather than in a search for an “atemporal field of knowledge” (15).  This led Levinas to critique metaphysics and develop an ethical negative theology which binds a person to the other.

Fagenblat argues that Levinas privileged religion and orthopraxy over theology and orthodoxy.  Using the Hebrew word emunah, the Greek pistis, and the Latin fides, which can be translated “faith,” “belief,” or “trust,” Levinas and Fagenblat argue that a person of faith should “trust and be trustworthy” (147).  While they are correct that faith involves more than intellectual assent to propositions, Levinas and Fagenblat neglect the ways in which beliefs impact the way people live.  Fagenblat even says, “Nothing that I have said suggests that the ethics of faith implies belief in God” (169).

Throughout Covenant of Creatures, Fagenblat notes the ways in which Levinas’s philosophy was not independent of his faith as a Jew, which is a helpful concept in this post-secular world.  At the same time, however, Fagenblat largely focuses on the ways in which Levinas universalized or secularized his Judaism.  Many Christians would reject a move to secularize Christianity, and thus would not follow Fagenblat to his conclusions.  At the same time, Christians have much to learn from A Covenant of Creatures.

A Covenant of Creatures is not written for a general audience.  A background in continental philosophy and Judaism would be helpful for interested readers.

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Shaun C. Brown is Associate Minister of Youth at Central Holston Christian Church in Bristol, TN, where he lives with his wife Cassandra and cat Tonks.

A Review of The Complete Psalms: The Book of Prayer Songs in a New Translation Translated by Pamela Greenberg. Hardback: Bloomsbury, 2010. Buy now: [ ChristianBook.com ] Reviewed by Chris Smith.

For thousands of years, the Psalms have been the heartbeat that pulsed life and kept rhythm for the people of God, but sometimes their familiarity can subtly breed mindlessness; we mouth the familiar words and yet miss the power of their words to engage with the oft-brutal realities of living in a fallen world and to transform our hearts and minds.  Out of this familiar milieu emerges Pamela Greenberg’s delightful new translation, The Complete Psalms, which breathes the crisp air of new life into these liturgical songs.  Indeed, Greenberg identifies the compelling force behind her translation as “the impulse of shiru l’Adonai shir chadash, the imperative to sing to God a new song” (xvii).  Her translation process flowed from the tension between the poetic, an attempt “to replicate the emotional passion of the psalms,” and the literal, which in the end resulted in a [dialogical] “middle ground between strict literality and poetic engagement, with the hopes of awakening for the reader new possibilities for speaking with God.”

Consider her verdant translation of the familiar Psalm 100:

Shout out with joy, all who live on earth.

Serve the Holy One with rejoicing.

Come before the Upholder with a ringing cry.

Know that God is a source of wonder.

You created us, and it is to our Creator we belong.

We are shepherded by heavenly guidance.

Come into the divine gates with thankfulness,

the holy courtyards shining with praise.

Be thankful, awed by the Holy Name.

For God is good;

your kindness is toward the world.

From generation to generation, you remain faithful.

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We are giving away three copies of
Shane Claiborne’s book IRAQ JOURNAL 2003
(Doulos Christou Press 2006).

[ Click here for more details
and to enter to win! ]

The contest will end at 12PM ET on Wednesday August 18th.

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We  have recently made a slight change to our format and the reviews, excerpts, poems, etc. of our Midweek update will be posted to “pages” on the ERB website, and announced via social media.  If you’re a “first-to-know” sort of person, you can get these updates when they first come out in one of two ways:

• Our Facebook Page.
• Our Twitter Feed.

Midweek postings from this past week:

• [Multimedia Tuesday] “Old Radicals” or RIP, Art Gish.
• [Multimedia Tuesday] Brett McCracken Talks about his book HIPSTER CHRISTIANITY (Video)
• Book Excerpt: Pilgrimage of a Soul by Phileena Heuertz
• Poem: “Hyla Brook” By Robert Frost

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In our continuing effort to fund the publication and free distribution of The Englewood Review, we are going to be collaborating more intentionally with Christian Book Distributors. Primarily, we will be offering you the opportunity to buy bargain books from CBD that we think of are interest. Buying books this way is a win / win / win proposition. You get great books for a great price, CBD gets the sale and we get an excellent referral fee from CBD.

This week’s Bargains:

	More Than Chains and Toil: A Christian Work Ethic of Enslaved WomenBy Joan M. Martin / Westminster John Knox Press $2.99 – Save 90%!!! Martin explores the experiences of enslaved women and the realities of their social world to uncover the inter-relationships, in the context of that environment , among moral agency, work, and human meaning. She then reflects ethically on the implications such a distinct perspective on labor might have for women in contemporary African-American communities and for broader discussions about the meaning of work in American society.
	Religion and Empire: People, Power, and the Life of the SpiritBy Richard A. Horsley / Augsburg Fortress $1.29 – Save 87%!!! How has the interaction between religion, rhetoric, and politics shaped people’s lives over the centuries? Examining the relationship between religious discourse and empire-building, Horsley describes how religion is constructed by the power elite; the role it plays in resistance movements among subjugated people; and how it is used to legitimize empire. 151 pages, softcover from Fortress.
	Anxious About Empire: Theological Essays on the New Global RealitiesBy Edited by Wes Avram / Baker $1.99 – Save 90%!!! In response to the 2002 foreign policy directive that changed America’s national security strategy, a denominationally diverse group (Mennonite, Catholic, Congregational, Catholic) of theologians, theorists, scholars, and pastors addresses the transnational nature of the church, loving neighbors in a globalized world, the use of Scripture in imperial rhetoric, and more. 218 pages, softcover from Brazos.
	The Gospel According to America: A Meditation on a God-blessed, Christ-haunted IdeaBy David Dark / Westminster John Knox Press $3.99 – Save 73%!!! Under a broad pop-culture umbrella, using icons from music, literature, film, the media, and politics, David Dark hopes to provide fodder for lively conversation about what it means to be Christian and American in this “weird moment” in which we live. It is a moment when we are increasingly polarized along political and religious lines, a moment when we are too busy forming our response to listen to the one who is speaking. And yet we claim more than ever to be one nation, under God. What does this mean? The end result, he hopes, will be a better understanding that “there is a reality more important, more lasting, and more infinite than the cultures to which we belong,” the reality of the kingdom of God.”This well-read interpreter of popular culture probes the spiritual resonances of American culture from Hawthorne and Melville to Bob Dylan and David Lynch. Nearly every page has something to make readers pause, laugh, think, or pray,”—Publishers Weekly
	Red-Letter Christians: A Citizen’s Guide to Faith & PoliticsBy Tony Campolo / Regal Books $4.99 – Save 75%!!! A new kind of politically concerned evangelical is emerging, somewhere between hard-right Republicans and far-left Democrats. “Red-Letter Christians” seek to live out Jesus’ words—the ones printed in red in many New Testaments. Examining the hot-button issues facing believers today, Campolo calls us to transcend partisan squabbles—and bring Christ’s radical message to our civic commitments. 224 pages, hardcover from Regal.

A Brief Review of Stuff Christians Like By Jonathan Acuff Paperback Zondervan, 2010. Buy now: [ ChristianBook.com ] Reviewed by Mark Traphagen.

Stuff Christians Like is a book I was determined not to like. For one thing, it is the very thing it sets out to parody: yet another Christian knockoff of something the world has already done. (The StuffChristiansLike.net website from which the book originates is a Christian version of the popular StuffWhitePeopleLike.com site.) But author Jonathan Acuff is so awww shucks self-effacing that you can’t help but warm up to him. Besides, in his very first post on his web site he makes fun of the fact that he’s ripping off that other site. A humble Christian with a sense of irony about himself. What’s not to like?

Most attempts at Christian humor leave me flat, but Acuff is actually funny most of the time. The humor here depends upon familiarity. Acuff points out the foibles common to at least white, suburban Christians (the book and site could have been called “Stuff White Christians Like”). Most of his subjects are pretty obvious (“Saying ‘I’ll Pray for You’…and Then Not,” “Disguising Gossip as Prayer,” “Feeling Guilty for Not Converting Enough People”), but Acuff teases out the little subtleties that make these things (uncomfortably) funny for those who know them well. Part of what makes the book readable is the author’s willingness to openly join with his readers as they think, “Ouch! I do that….”

The one weakness of some of the essays could have been the subject of an essay: the annoying compulsion felt by Christian humorists that they have to bring out a “lesson” or preach a little sermonette after they’ve told their joke. Usually these lessons are obvious, and probably would have been more powerful left unsaid. Acuff sometimes seems strained as he let’s us know “what the Lord would want us to know” about whatever he’s just lampooned.

Stuff Christians Like is, on the whole, both funny and useful. It helps middle class evangelicals realize that they exist in a culture, and that culture is both endearing and sometimes counterproductive. Awareness is the first step to recovery, and a little humor helps the awareness go down more smoothly.

A Brief Review of Green Mama: The Guilt-Free Guide to Helping You and Your Kids Save the Planet By Tracey Bianchi Paperback: Zondervan, 2010. Buy now: [ ChristianBook.com ] Reviewed by Jeni Newswanger-Smith.

It’s hardly a secret that evangelical Christians have arrived late to eco-awareness and environmental protection.   Thankfully, more and more of us have embraced care of creation as part of our God-given responsibility; a way to work, quite literally, for the Kingdom of God.  In her book Green Mama, Tracey Bianchi offers multiple ways to incorporate better care of the environment into our everyday lives.  She supports her information with solid research and softens the fear with compassion and understanding for those who might not be ready to make big steps, yet.

Bianchi, herself a mother of 3 young children, understands some of these facts and some of the research she writes about can become overwhelming.  She encourages the reader to avoid compassion fatigue, both in oneself and in thrusting it upon our children.

Bianchi addresses a wide range of topics, from teaching one’s children to simply love the earth by learning about local animals and habitats to ways in which less chemical-laden products can be used to clean our homes.  She isn’t naïve, she knows all these things may be super overwhelming for the newly convicted, and she repeated advises the reader to pick just one or two things to change at a time, in order to avoid giving up. At the end of each chapter, Bianchi suggests some ways to evaluate your current choices and then make minor changes (e.g., shorter showers, reusable water bottles, reading labels thoroughly, buying more organic produce).

Bianchi offers many way to further your own research, through other books as well as online resources.  Each chapter includes multiple additional resources (websites and books).  Her “Green Mama Guide” at the back of the book is an additional easy way to find out more information.

Overall, Green Mama is an invaluable resource for people beginning to explore how to take seriously God’s command to care for creation.  It would also work well as a check point for people who may have gotten bogged down on the journey.

A Brief Review of The Franciscan Tradition By Regis J. Armstrong, Ingrid J. Peterson & Phyllis Zagano. Paperback: Liturgical Press, 2010. Buy now: [ ChristianBook.com ] Reviewed by William Mills.

I always loved St. Francis. His strong determination to live a life of strict poverty amazes me. Francis set out to live the life of the gospel in a radical way; he never meant to start an entire religious order. Yet that is what happened, over time followers were attracted to Francis’ way of life, walking around the villages and towns of his native Umbria, begging for food and clothing while at the same time praying and preaching. The well-worn phrase “always preach the gospel, use words if you have to” has been attributed to Francis and offers us a concise depiction of his way of life.

This new volume published by Liturgical Press is a collection of seventeen short biographical sketches from famous Franciscans, both men and women. We need to remember that St. Claire was the female spiritual companion of Francis, and she was the one who started the women’s order that came to be known as the Poor Claires.  Each chapter in this book includes a short biographical sketch of the person followed by a short excerpt from their writings; a short series of journal entries, a few sermons, or excerpts from their theological writings. The book also includes a short bibliography as well as the Rule of the Franciscan Order.

As the sub-title states this book is one volume in a larger series on Spirituality in History. Other volumes consider the various religious orders in the Catholic Tradition. However, while reading I wondered “who is the main audience for this book?” Each chapter is very short with only a small sampling of material that did not promote diving too deeply into the life and writings of any person featured here, which was distracting. for me and would likely be so for other readers.  On the one hand it was interesting to read about the life of St. Anthony of Padua, for example, but at the same time I felt like I learned very little about him since the excerpt from his writings was so short. In a series like this, where one includes such a large volume of personalities, it would have been better to focus on fewer persons or include more writing samples and have a larger book. I could see this book being used in a college level course on Christian Spirituality, but the instructor would have to supplement the material for the course.

Overall I would recommend this book to readers interested specifically in the rich history of the Franciscan Tradition, but to those who want a book to sink your teeth into, a book that has both depth and breadth, this book is not for you.