Summer
Books Bookshelf
By WILLIAM C. GRAHAM
I asked college freshmen, in their midterm exam, to explain the
preferential option for the poor.
Well, wrote one, the poor would prefer to be
rich.
Perhaps they might. But perhaps all of us would prefer to read
more books. Consider some of these:
In Calling God Father: Essays on the Bible,
Fatherhood & Culture (Paulist, 195 pages, $16.95 paperback), John W.
Miller asks if the biblical preoccupation with fathers and fathering is really
as prejudicial against women as is now assumed. His collected essays, some
previously published in scholarly journals, examine issues he deems relevant
but neglected or overlooked in the discussion.
Millers points out in Chapter Five that, in biblical tradition,
God is never spoken of as she or her, or regarded as genderless. Neither is God
portrayed simply as male, but as a father whose tenderness and compassion are
often mother-like. God has not become, however, a mother figure to worshipers.
Miller sees the uniformity of the canonical representation of God as father as
one of its most notable features.
Miller is sure to provoke continued dialogue with those who seek
better to understand the sacred texts and to pose scholarly questions to those
he thinks seem to regard the Bible as a collection of fundamentally flawed
texts that require a virtual rewrite of its God-language.
Roots of Violence in the U.S. Culture: A Diagnosis Towards
Healing, by Franciscan Fr. Alain J. Richard (Blue Dolphin Publishing, P.O.
Box 8, Nevada City CA 95959, 156 pages, $14.95 paperback), seeks to bring some
clarity both to the roots of violence and the principles of a nonviolent
culture. Richard sees the market culture as suffocating the center of our
being. Seeing the immense potentialities of the North American
people, Richard writes as an outsider, one who came to this country as a
worker-priest in 1973.
Current mission sensibility suggests proclaiming the gospel and
inviting people to criticize their own culture. Perhaps Richard operates out of
an older model, but those who see society in need of healing and who wish to
pursue that goal may profit by reading and pondering this text.
I have a student who identifies himself as both Muslim and
Catholic. I am not sure how this would be possible, but it caused me to pick up
John H. Berthrongs The Divine Deli: Religious Identity in the North
American Cultural Mosaic (Orbis, Faith Meets Faith series, 163 pages, $16
paperback), which considers treating religion like a delicatessen menu, asking
if one can be a Zen Catholic or Confucian Methodist.
Berthrong, associate dean of the Boston University School of
Theology, faces these problems head on. Those contemplating interfaith
marriages, for example, do well to read his chapter Baking the Bread of
Marriage.
He concludes that the pluralistic world is sure to remain so, and
that Christians must take joy in meeting others and hearing their stories.
Those seeking a solution or a road map will get neither here, but, rather, a
realistic appraisal of the current problems about identity in a pluralistic
society, highlighting the problems and offering historical perspective, hope
and freedom from fear.
The New York Times recently reported that almost half of
the American population favors teaching creationism as well as the theory of
evolution in public schools. How can this be? Perhaps everyone polled should be
required to read John Polkinghornes Belief in God in an Age of
Science (Yale University Press, 133 pages, $9.95 paperback). The author, an
Anglican priest and fellow of Queens College, Cambridge, sees theology
and science as intellectual cousins as both deal with experience and the quest
for truth about the nature of reality. Those who wish better to understand the
continuing debate about the compatibility of science and religion should begin
here.
Fans of the late Benedictine Fr. John Main and his Christian
Meditation Centre will want to read Benedictine Fr. Laurence Freemans
Common Ground: Letters to a World Community of Meditators (Continuum,
159 pages, $12.95 paperback). Freeman, a disciple of Mains, is the
director of the World Community for Christian Meditation. This collection, his
second, details the pilgrimage of 200 Christian meditators and their Buddhist
friends to India where they shared three days with the Dalai Lama and his
community.
Voices From Genesis: Guiding Us Through the Stages of Life,
by Norman J. Cohen (Jewish Lights Publishing, 179 pages, $21.95 hardbound),
speaks about the human journey from birth to death as reflected in the
characters of the Book of Genesis. Cohens journey was shaped by his
Jewish family, and in sharing this journey, he offers a prism through
which to view your own life. His process invites interaction between
reader and text and may be helpful to those who want another look at the
Bibles first book.
God Matters: Conversations in Theology, by Graeme Garrett
(Liturgical Press, 218 pages, $19.95 paperback), suggests that God-talk belongs
in the public domain. His belief in publishing his essays and continuing the
conversation is that a Christian perspective does not imply that Christian
truth is truth just for Christians, but ultimately truth for everyone.
The author is an Anglican priest and lecturer in Australia who
discusses the classic themes of faith -- God, Christ, sin, salvation and hope
-- in a scholarly, readable manner.
Stepping Stones: Meditations and Prayers for Spiritual
Renewal, by Cecile Bauer (Paulist, 121 pages, $8.95, paperback), is unusual
in looking both to the Old and New Testaments for references to stones, using
them as symbols for basic truths in a life of faith. Jacobs stone pillow,
the tablets of the Ten Commandments, the stone over the entrance to the tomb
all provide impetus for contemporary reflections.
With the prayers that follow each meditation, the book may provide
a fresh and welcome approach to prayer.
The Power of Prayer, edited by Dale Salwak (New World
Library, 14 Pamaron Way, Novato CA 94949, 218 pages, $14 paperback), includes
responses from 29 people to whom the editor went with a request for words of
wisdom and advice. They include Jimmy Carter, Billy Graham, Brooke Medicine
Eagle, Henri J.M. Nouwen, Mother Teresa, Avery Dulles and Marianne
Williamson.
Interesting collection. Ive sent my copy off to Trappist Fr.
James Stephen Behrens to add to the collection in the guest room at the
Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Georgia awaiting my as-yet-unscheduled
visit.
I gave two books to Charlene Holden, a recent Caldwell honors
graduate who now teaches at St. Agnes School in Clark, N.J. She writes:
Enjoying God & Teaching Creatively, by Greg Dues
(Twenty-Third Publications, 183 pages, $12.95 paperback) is written for
catechists at any grade level. Dues offers uniquely relevant stories,
reflections, questions, and catechetical activities for the classroom to help
catechists walk with their students as they learn not only to know God but to
enjoy God, too. He astutely points out to the reader that the God
we look for is not always the God we find because God tends to be a
surprise. He instructs the teacher of religion to be open to a
variety of human experiences [in order] to discover this mystery God.
In an inviting style, Dues writes, Who we are rubs off on
whom we teach. It is important that [catechists] have a functioning religious
identity that reflects [the] contemporary church. Those who are called to
teach the mystery of God must recognize that change is a sign of life in
a church that is never finished until the end of time.
As a new teacher, I am always searching for creative ways in which
to teach. I found Dues book to be an extremely useful tool in getting my
message across.
Holden also writes that in Gods Library (Twenty-Third
Publications, 128 pages, $9.95 paperback), Joe Paprocki offers biblical
insights for catechists and pastoral ministers, and all nonspecialists who seek
a better understanding of the Word of God. Paprocki points out that the Bible
should not be considered as a single book but must be viewed as a library with
a collection of 73 books. In Gods library, as in any library, it is
important to learn how to properly navigate the card catalog
(contents and index), the various halls (Old and New Testament) and
stock rooms (Torah, history, Wisdom, Prophets, Gospels, Acts,
Letters and Revelation).
Gods Library, she writes, is a useful navigating
instrument to help Catholics overcome bibliaphobia (fear of the
Bible). Paprocki also gives a step-by-step guide to developing a Bible study
group within a parish and how to conduct a Bible workshop for middle school and
teens.
Fr. William C. Graham is an associate professor at New
Jerseys Caldwell College where he directs the Caldwell Pastoral
Ministry Institute. He receives e-mail at NCRBkshelf@aol.com
National Catholic Reporter, May 5,
2000
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