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Reverend
Rita's Suggestions:
Title: Immigrants and Boomers
Author: Dowell Myers
On my rounds of visits to hospitals and nursing homes, I've often been struck by how many doctors, nurses, therapists and other staff people were born in another country. If you want to travel the world without leaving home, just visit your local hospital! But it never occurred to me that this curious phenomenon could be a solution to our nation's immigration situation.
I belong to a pastor's group that has been reading a book called "Immigrants and Boomers" by Dowell Myers. Perhaps you are like me, a bit sick of all the hype and hysteria over the whole immigrant "problem," but Myers' book looks at the issue from an angle I have not seen anyone else explore. He points out that as Baby Boomers retire and begin to need more medical care, there is simply not enough of the next generation (ahem, MY generation) to pay their social security benefits, nor to work in all the areas of senior care. Therefore we face a growing crisis of care and living for seniors.
But Myers says that immigrants can help meet both needs. The biggest concern of many people is that immigrants will be a drain on our resources, working low-paying jobs and unable to contribute much to society. But studies have shown that immigrants are hard workers, and are eager to receive training that places them in better jobs. If we offer job training, then these newcomers can enter fields that will care for our future seniors. And their increased income from these jobs will help pay those social security benefits.
Americans have not yet seen the potential good of the immigrant situation because we tend to divide ourselves along lines of race and age and class. But Myers argues persuasively that we really are all in this together. The elder generations depend on upon well-educated younger generations. Whites need Hispanics, and Blacks need Asians. This book is well worth reading, and could indeed hold the key to future benefit for all.
Title:
The Nightingales
Author: Gillian Gill
I
picked this book up because I wanted to learn more about Florence
Nightingale, and I got so much more as well! Despite the book's
length, I couldn't put it down. It gives a fascinating look at the
Great Reformers of the
Victorian age, especially the circle of Unitarian intellectuals
who labored to make society more just and equitable. (It's discouraging
to realize how we
have rolled back many of those reforms in the last 50 years.) In
addition to exploring how Florence Nightingale became interested
in nursing, it also shows the freedoms and restrictions she faced
as a single, upper-class Victorian woman. This was a riveting read.
Title:
Better Off Author: Eric Brende
I have
long been sympathetic with the Amish view that technology, far from
freeing us, often puts us in chains we don't even recognize. In
this book, a young MIT grad and his wife take a year off to live
technology-free in an Amish style community. Brende sometimes seems
a bit naïve in his praise of the primitive life, and I can't
help but wonder to what extent his primitive life is nevertheless
dependent on technology elsewhere, but he poses some worthwhile
questions about the role of technology in our lives. After reading
this book, I decided to switch off my TV for a month. It might have
a similar effect on you!
Title:
The Bookseller of Kabul
Author: Asne Seierstad
While
covering the war in Afghanistan, Seierstad met a bookseller who
was determined to keep his shop open even through successions of
repressive regimes. She asked to live for several months with his
family, where she expected to encounter a more enlightened view.
But she discovered that all members of the family were still imprisoned
by traditional social roles. We know about restrictions on women
(though it never ceases to shock me), but the book shows how men
are stunted by patriarchy as well. I continue to be
fascinated by Afghanistan, and this book was a great, if depressing,
read.
Title:Don't Think of an Elephant Author: George Lakoff
This book was discussed during one of the workshops I attended at
The Center for Progressive Christianity (TCPC) Conference. Lakoff
is a linguist, and his book looks at how the political right and
the political left use language to express their values. He argues
convincingly that the right has been much better at this than the
left, so that the left ends up using the right's own language. The
title is an example of how as soon as you use a word, you automatically
think of that word. Just consider how Bush kept referring to "weapons
of mass destruction" even when all those reports were coming
out saying that Iraq had no WMD's. Lakoff's book really helped me
make sense of our current political climate, and I believe it can
be used for our current religious climate as well. The book demonstrates
how progressives can think about how to better express our values,
instead of parroting conservative values. Everyone should read this
book!
Title:
The Heart of Christianity Author: Marcus Borg
This
book was also mentioned frequently at the TCPC Conference, and should
probably be viewed as a companion to Lakoff's book. Borg describes
two different understandings of Christianity: traditional, and what
he terms as "emerging." He manages to affirm the value
of each view, avoiding labels like "conservative" and
"progressive." He also puts all such labels in their proper
perspectives as adjectives modifying the common noun "Christian."
This book lays a solid foundation for reflection and dialogue on
how to articulate progressive Christian values without passing judgment
on other Christians who see things differently.
Title:
The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation Author:Barbara Rossing
I didn't
grow up with rapture theology. It's rather alien to me, so I was
hesitant to read this book as I thought it wouldn't really be relevant
to me. But on the contrary, this book made me aware of the extent
to which belief in the rapture - a doctrine that is only about 150
years old - has become widespread throughout Christianity, to the
extent that even non-Christians assume that it is part of our core
theology. In this book, Rossing shows how rapture believers distort
the Bible in order to make it fit their beliefs. She also shows
how rapture theology contradicts some of our core beliefs about
God: that God is good, and God loves this world. Sometimes I come
away from ultra-conservative Christians wanting to disassociate
from Christianity altogether, but this book makes me want to reclaim
Christianity, to take back the God of love that I believe in.
Excerpt:
"Fortunately the New Testament itself deals with that very
question of how to live if you know the world is going to end --
indeed, that is the central question in the book of Revelation and
in other New Testament writings. Early Christians definitely thought
they were living at the brink of the end times.... So how did they
live? Did they go out and buy things, to use them up? Did they clear-cut
the forests? Did they suspend the rules? Did they become an underground
high-tech Tribulation Force with a mission to conquer evil through
violence, stealth, and better fire power? [referencing the Left
Behind books]
"No,
they cared for one another and for their neighbors in a very public
and open way. Love of neighbor and hospitality to strangers was
Christians' surest response to life on the brink of the end times."
Title:
Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and
Good for America
Author: Jonathan Raush
I hardly
need to be convinced why marriage should be available to everyone,
but Raush comes up with a number of arguments I hadn't thought of
before. He does an excellent job of showing what exactly marriage
is, why it's important to society, and why everyone has a stake
in ensuring that marriage is available to all, rather than limited
only to a certain group of people. He also shows how the creation
of a second-class status, as in "civil unions," actually
harms the institution of marriage. He makes his argument with great
compassion and open-mindedness, and he ably exposes the fallacies
of the "marriage for straights only" argument. This book
should be read and debated by everyone as our nation wrestles with
this issue.
Excerpt:
"'To have and to hold from this day forward, for better for
worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love,
honor, and cherish, till death us do part'.... So go the ancient
vows.... There is no promise of children here, either to have them
or to raise them, no mention of sex, no mention of inheritance,
not a word about personal fulfillment.... If marriage has any meaning
at all, it is that when you collapse from a stroke, there will be
another person whose 'job' is to drop everything and come to your
aid. Or that when you come home after being fired, there will be
someone to talk you out of committing a massacre or killing yourself.
To be married is to know there is someone out there for whom you
are always first in line.... Because, in theory, there is no reason
why a male-male or female-female couple could not make and sustain
the promise of lifelong care giving, opponents of same-sex marriage
are reluctant to put the care giving commitment at the heart, rather
than the periphery of marriage."
Title:
Deceiving the Devil: Atonement, Abuse, and Ransom
Author: Darby Kathleen Ray
The
cross has always been central to Christian theology, but it can
be both a blessing and a curse. This author describes some of the
major theologies of the cross that have developed through Christian
history. She then critiques those models using insights gained from
contemporary liberation theology and feminist theology, to show
how the cross can sometimes liberate people, but can also oppress
them. She then offers a fresh interpretation of a 3rd century theology
of the cross to show how this ancient doctrine can continue to challenge
and guide us today. Ray's book is an excellent summary of the many
issues surrounding the doctrine of the cross, and I used it as the
basis of my 2004 Lent study group.
Title:
Reading Lolita in Tehran Author: Azar Nafisi
We
have always been avid readers in my family, but this book made me
realize why reading is so important. Azar Nafisi began teaching
English literature at the University of Tehran just before the revolution.
She continued to live and occasionally teach in Tehran until the
mid-90's, when she emigrated to the United States. This book gives
a harrowing, first-person account of what it was like to live in
Iran during that oppressive regime. Nafisi paints a portrait of
a society where any idea out of step with the Islamic Revolution
is seen as heresy and treason. But she and a dozen other women gathered
periodically to ready the works of Henry James, Jane Austen, Vladimir
Nabokov and others. Even though the worlds described in the books
differed significantly from Islamic Iran, the women found a connection
to the larger world that kept them going even through oppression
and the long war with Iraq. This book is a vivid testimony of the
power of reading to free our minds.
Title:
Les Miserables
Author: Victor Hugo
A novel, but one which embodies the Christian spirit, albeit in
a rather old-fashioned way. Jean Val Jean's lifelong struggle with
what it means to live as a sinner who has been forgiven is for me
the heart of what it means to be Christian.
Title:
Autobiography of Malcolm X Authors: Malcolm
X & Alex Haley
A profound story of a man of faith who is open to being changed
by God. It’s a hard read for white people and for women, but it
remains a powerful portrait of faith, humility, and courage in the
struggle for justice and peace.
Title:
The
Desert Fathers Author:
Helen Waddell
Can
you tell that I’m inspired more by stories than treatises? I am
captivated by the story of these spiritual “athletes” and the tales
of compassion, humility, and forgiveness.
Tom
F.'s Suggestions:
Title:
The Last Week
Authors: Marcus J. Borg and John D. Crossan
Any book by such respected scholars would be expected to be very
well done, and this book does not disappoint.
The Last Week is about the week of the crucifixion and
resurrection of Jesus. On this Passover week, two kingdoms were
present in Jerusalem. The representative of the kingdom of God,
Jesus, rides into Jerusalem on a donkey from the east on what is
now called Palm Sunday, with his rag-tag group of followers from
Galilee. On the other side of town, Pilate, the representative of
Roman imperial authority over Judea, rides in with all the fanfare
and pageantry of royalty, as he relocates from Caesarea, on the
coast, to Jerusalem for Passover week. Passover was a time of trouble,
a time when nationalistic passions ran high, and there had been
problems in previous years. This week, two kingdoms will be in conflict,
and on the following Sunday, God will demonstrate which one wins.
The authors follow Mark, the earliest of the gospel writers, to
recount the events of the week on a day by day basis. The way Mark
organizes his gospel makes this easy. Much of the language of the
book is the same language heard on the video by Crossan which is
being viewed and discussed in the current Saturday morning study
group. It is the radical justice of God versus what is called normalcy
for mankind. The Roman rulers, with collaborators in the Temple
and the Sanhedrin, ran things pretty much as would be expected by
any imperial power then or now, maintaining the status quo and the
existing class privileges. Jesus stood opposed, and offered a radical
alternative to business as usual.
Some things about the book I did not like. I could not accept some
of their conclusions, such as their take on the cleansing of the
Temple. I tried, but I think their position is a stretch. I thought
they spent too much effort and time trying to absolve Jews from
any responsibility for Jesus' death. After all, what difference
does it make what agent God uses to accomplish his purposes? Besides,
Scripture makes clear that both Rome and local leaders had ample
reasons to want Jesus out of the way. And I wish they had spelled
out their understanding of inspiration. In discussing how later
Biblical writers differ from earlier ones in key areas, the stress
is on the conception of the Christian community at the time. Throughout
time, as early believers tried to find meaning in the events of
this week, their understandings did not stay fixed, and the writers
reflect the understandings of the time at which they wrote. The
authors do not address the implications of these writers being moved
by the Spirit and how that fact should impact our reading and interpretation
of these writings. I wish they had stated head-on their view of
New Testament inspiration.
You will probably not agree with all their conclusions, like me,
but you will also probably really like the book. I found it hard
to put down. I feel that I gained a lot of new understanding and
insights, and I am very happy I read it.
There are many parts of the book which give the reader new understanding
of what occurred, and are very interesting. My favorite part, however,
was their long and well supported section concerning this question:
why did Jesus have to die? Today, Christians fairly uniformly see
this as a substitutionary death for the sins of mankind....a sacrifice.
It may surprise you, as it did me, to learn that that was not the
initial understanding of the purpose of his death. At first, and
continuing among some eastern churches, is an understanding that
Jesus' death was for an entirely different purpose. It involves
a few, cryptic sections of the Bible which I have always found mysterious,
and tended to just skip over. I thought this whole section was fascinating,
so I will not spoil the book by telling you more on this subject...only
to say that it all has to do with what happened on Saturday of the
last week.
Sarah
G.'s Suggestions:
Title:
Christian Doctrine Author: Shirley C. Guthrie, Jr.
This book was developed for adult study groups, and ended up being
used in some seminaries. It is the most comprehensive, yet readable,
book I've read on reform theology. It took me 6 months to read it.
Although each chapter is easy to read, it was a lot of material
for me to absorb.
My favorite chapters are:
Who Says So? The Problem of Authority
How Can We Find God? The Doctrine of General Revelation
How Can God Find Us? The Doctrine of Special Revelation
Why Doesn't God Do Something about It? The Doctrine of Providence
and the Problem of Evil
Is God against Us? The Doctrine of Atonement
The titles of her chapters give a hint that she is addressing scholarly
material in a manner that lay people can relate to.
Cylia's
Suggestions:
Title:
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
Author: Michael Pollan
I have
maintained a strong interest in dietary choices, vegetarianism,
factory farming and attending ethical questions ever since studying
and preparing for our church-sponsored “VegeGathering 2005”
(studygroups.html).
So when I came across Michael Pollan’s latest book, The
Omnivore’s Dilemma, I knew I would have to read it.
I couldn’t
have been happier with my choice. Mr. Pollan, an avid gardener and
cook, science reporter and award-winning journalism instructor at
UC-Berkeley, is such a fine wordsmith that he makes even the sex
life of corn plants into great reading! The book is divided into
4 sections each of which features one type of food production and
ends with a meal prepared from the subsequently harvested food stuffs.
The first meal, which he shares with his wife and son, is picked
up from McDonald’s on the fly and gobbled down at 55 mph on
a California highway. You guessed it, the ingredients for this fast-food
meal came from that great American agricultural megalith, the factory
farm and its attendant distribution systems. Secondly, Mr. Pollan
investigates what he terms “industrial organic agriculture,”
specifically those farms which supply Whole Foods and other giant
organic food distributors. After sharing an absolutely delicious-sounding
Whole Foods meal with family and friends, Mr. Pollan researches
the “family farm” method of food production. He spends
time with Virginia farmer Joel Salatin, a major force pushing for
renewal of old-fashioned animal- and land-friendly farming techniques
and subsequent environmentally intelligent “local only”
methods of food distribution. I could just taste the delectable
feast concocted from all that locally produced food and wine! Finally,
for the fourth meal, Mr. Pollan hunts and gathers his own ingredients
from the San Francisco Bay area. Acknowledging that most of us will
never have the time, inclination or live in an area conducive to
hunting and gathering, he, nonetheless, includes this ancient method
of procuring food as it is logical to compare it to our more modern
agricultural practices. I'll not spoil the description of this last
meal with fellow hunters and gatherers by retelling it here, but
the reading of it is well-worth every penny and minute of the reader's
time.
It
goes without saying that I highly recommend this star of a book.
Not only was I enticed by mouth-watering dishes and tickled by funny
anecdotes, but some of my most deeply held beliefs were challenged
by findings such as the inevitable slaughter of field mice and other
creatures during the harvesting of any cultivated area or the obviously
happy lives of Joel Salatin's chicks who, rather than stumbling
de-beaked and bewildered into thousands of other chicks closely
packed into a chicken coop, wander daily about fresh fields eating
and contributing wastes to the excellent earth-renewing compost
of the farm. What are we vegetarians to do? By the time I finished
the book, I almost began to believe that, as a concerned environmentalist,
it is my duty to eat the meat of earth-renewing livestock similarly
raised on a Salatin-style family farm in Texas. Mr. Pollan, not
a vegetarian himself but also not normally a hunter, discusses Peter
Singer’s theories on animal rights, his own shame at having
enjoyed hunting the wild boar, the general issues of animal cruelty
on factory farms, and the pros and cons of vegetarianism.
I could
go on and on elaborating the reasons to read The Omnivore's
Dilemma, but this doesn't really do justice to the book or
the author. All I can say is, "Try it, you'll like it."
Title:
What Nietzsche Really Said
Authors:
Robert C. Solomon & Kathleen M. Higgins
Drs.
Solomon and Higgins, professors of philosophy at UT-Austin, present
a clear, quite positive description of the works of a much misunderstood
and often maligned philosopher. Nietzsche was deeply spiritual but
not in a traditionally Christian way. His spirituality is best understood
by "looking to music, the art form Nietzsche considered the
most uplifting, the most in tune with the inner truth of things."
When we experience a sense of the spiritual while listening to music,
we reach beyond ourselves; we are "enlarged." This type
of spirituality is not otherworldly or only available through organized
religion; it is part of the here and now. Nietzsche relished life
with all of its pains and joys; he loved life for the sake of life
not because he was "on a tightrope" that leads to an afterlife.
I found myself identifying with this aspect of his thinking. It
felt both peaceful and rewarding. Solomon's and Higgins' book also
includes descriptions of Nietzsche's less positive ideas--his concept
of the "ubermensch" and his presumed anti-Semitism, among
others. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thinking
about different approaches to spirituality, religion and philosophy.
Even if you don't agree with most of what Nietzsche said, you will
be grateful for the clear way his philosophy is presented.
Title:
The House of the Scorpion Author: Nancy Farmer
I've
recently returned to reading "young adult/teen" fiction.
Why, you may ask. For starters, I found, when my sons were younger,
that I thoroughly enjoyed reading, along with them, the Newberry
and other award winning books that their teachers assigned. The
authors often explored ethical, philosophical, religious and other
mature themes that I find lacking in so much "adult" fiction.
Secondly, publishers don't charge as much for children's literature
as they do for adult books. I guess they can't get away with it!
What a deal, right? Two good books for the price of one often mediocre
novel.
Last
night I finished The House of the Scorpion, a National
Book Award winner, by Nancy Farmer, a three time Newberry Honor
author, who grew up along the Mexican-Arizona border. In
her tale, replete with on-target descriptions of the people and
land of the desert Southwest, Matt, a young clone of the drug czar
of Opium, a country of the future which lies between the US and
what is now called Mexico, uncovers the horrific plans for his future.
As the story unfolds we find him confronting "eejits,"
"crots," the Farm Patrol, and Felicia. Along the way he
is also befriended by a strange cast of characters from Celia to
Ton-Ton. If you enjoy symbolic fiction like Animal Farm or
The Giver, you will find this tale exciting and definitely
thought provoking.
John
K.'s Suggestions:
Title:Skeptic
in the House of God Author:
James Kelley
Can a person be both an agnostic and a Christian? This author thinks
so, and in this book he describes the type of church that is open
and affirming toward skeptics.
Title:
The War Over Iraq Authors: Kaplan & Kristol
Discussion of the rationale behind the new Bush doctrine of preemption
brought on by 9/11. Read the argument about how to protect us from
rogue nations with weapons of mass destruction. Does the Iraqi war
prove the book true?
Title:When
God Says War Is Right Author:
Darrell Cole
Great summary of Just War theory no matter what your position. Devotes
a section to nuclear weapons and terrorism. Also is critical of
U.S. in past wars. However, the callousness of killing others with
eagerness in a “Just War” took my breath away.
Pete's
Suggestions:
Title:
Christian Beginnings (Parts I and II) Author:
M.S. Enslin
A
wonderful book which details all the political intrigues and wars
occurring during the time between the end of the Old Testament and
the beginning of the New Testament. This really helps explain for
me the big unknown in my understanding of the Bible. Although the
print is small, it's loaded with lots of important facts and interpretations.
Title: The
Apocrypha: Bridge of the Testaments
Author: R.C. Dentan
This
book is a great compliment to the one above, giving the reader a
wonderful summary and interpretation of all the books of the Apocrypha.
I recommend this book as well as the one above for a full understanding
of the times leading up to the Christian era.
Title: The Cost of Moral Leadership:
The Spirituality of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Authors: G.B. Kelly & F.B. Nelson
As
a student of Bonhoeffer, I find this book amazingly clear and easy
to understand. Not all books by or about Bonhoeffer are as easy
to follow and comprehend as this book is. I find this is a "must"
book for people serious about Bonhoeffer and learning more about
his mind and works. This book is no doubt a result of many years
of learning and insight about one of the noted theologians in the
20th century.
Please
feel free to add your spiritual reading list to this one at any
time. Just send your summaries to semmering@aol.com,
and I will incorporate them into this master list. Also, if you
want to submit more or less than three book summaries, please send
them along as well.