Library Highlights

Practicing our faith, a way of life for a searching people, edited by Dorothy C. Bass.  “Millions of Americans claim to be interested in deepening their spirituality, but many are swimming contentedly in shallow waters.  The essays in this highly readable volume challenge us to practice our faith with greater dedication and imagination.  Drawing inspiration from biblical tradition and from contemporary literature as well as their own experience, the authors show how such practices as hospitality, keeping Sabbath, forgiving and singing, among others, can forge more deliberate and rewarding connections with the sacred.”  “This book emphasizes not just the theory but the practice of our Christian life, and it does so in fresh and lively ways.”

Advent Library Update: July 2010

No greater jewel; thinking about Baptism with Luther, by Kirsi Stjerna.  The author “begins with a concise and helpful history of the practice and theology of baptism.  In this context she explores Luther’s focus on the sacrament as the epitome of God’s free grace and the foundation of Christian discipleship.  She is a discerning theologian, who brings to her work the passion of a pastor and a teacher who knows from experience just how resplendent the jewel of baptism can be. The author “explores the central teaching of baptism in Martin Luther’s Catechisms in terms of the rich history of Christian practice, the deep theology of Christian teaching, and the implications for spirituality inherent in Luther’s emphasis on Christian life as a living out of one’s baptism.”

The Bible’s importance for the church today, by Ritva H. Williams.  The author “carefully and creatively guides the reader through centuries of biblical interpretation to retrieve ancient wisdom, which enhances our reading of the Bible today.  Luther’s theological insight about the centrality of the gospel of Jesus Christ in Scripture can help to move us beyond literalism and liberalism to ‘a faithful middle way’.  How does our interpretation of the Bible build up the love of God and neighbor?  The author challenges us to draw deeply from the well of God’s living Word and discover our faith transformed.  Her love for the Bible is evident in her writing.  If Scripture is indeed the first language of faith, she is intent on helping all of us with our fluency.”

The living spirit of the crone, turning aging inside out, by Sally Palmer Thomason.  The author “rescues the sacred status and wisdom of aging from a culture that fears, avoids, denies, degrades, and demeans people as they age.  In this passionate and insightful look at aging especially of women, she traces our culture’s cult of youth and its distorted views of aging to modern science, modern medicine, and modern merchandising, which largely treat aging as a pathology rather than as a natural progression and opportunity for deeper, fuller living.  Using personal experiences and stories from dozens of women she interviewed, she proposes ‘aging from the inside out’, creatively embracing aging’s spiritual, relational, and physical renewal and the living spirit of the crone.

By Judy Neve