Fast Food for Thought:
Short Book Reviews while on Internship July-August 2010

We welcome this first installment of one seminarian's reviews from his internship site

Reviewed by Joshua K. Warfield              

1. The Queer God  by Marcella Althaus-Reid. Very good book, she reveals the sexual side of God that is too often ignored in Christianity, and speaks of the God that is at the gate of Sodom-Gomorrah as opposed to the God who is destroying it, the kenosis of the heterosexual God on behalf of the queer.
   
   
2. Reclaiming the "C" Word: Daring to be Church Again by Kelly A. Fryer. Another excellent book. This is part of the Lutheran Voices series by Augsburg Fortress, and is designed to be easy-to-read, down to earth, theology and devotions for laity. This book reminds us what the church of the Apostles looked like, and what it would look like if we tried to reclaim that for here and now, having a more lay-lead, spirit-driven, and evangelically minded church.
   
   
3. Models of God: Theology Ecological, Nuclear Age by Sallie McFague. Yet another excellent book. This book was written by McFague as an attempt to make models of God that are not just accessible for people in the ecological, nuclear age, but also models of God that challenge the complacency in the midst of what was then near nuclear Holocaust, and, especially for now, an ecological crisis. The book presents God as Mother, Lover, and Friend, and shows how these images can help us to take better care of the earth and each other, as we see the earth and all of creation in the incarnation sense of God's body. It really helped me to see God in new ways, and to experience God in ways other than the traditional, exclusive, and (at least) two-parts male trinity.
   
   
4. The Pentateuch (Torah) from the Lutheran Study Bible. Decided to read the Bible (what a novel concept!) and figured I should try to read The Lutheran Study Bible notes so I know what's in there. The study notes are incredible for Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus, and BEYOND incredible for Numbers, especially since Dr. Gafney (the writer of the study notes for Numbers and a professor at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia) did not avoid issues of race and sexism and patriarch in the book of Numbers, but confronted them head on and really helped me to think through a lot of the issues presented here. Deuteronomy was the most disappointing out of the text notes, but still pretty solid. The Pentateuch in and of itself is a good read, although a lot of the laws and genealogies and stuff can get a little boring from time to time. A lot of the stories that make the Sunday School or Vacation Bible School rounds are from here. And to be honest, the Levitical laws and stuff isn't as troublesome as I anticipated them to be, but there are still issues such as gynophobia, homophobia, patriarchy, genocide, and other things that must be wrestled with. My one wish is that all of the text note authors dealt with the issues as well as Dr. Gafney did!
   
   
5. Gravity and Grace: Reflections and Provocations by Joseph Sittler. I read the (unfortunately) slightly abridged Lutheran Voices reprint. This takes on a much more devotional route than a lot of the other Sittler stuff I read. He confronts interesting and important things such as age, death, the role of the church in the nuclear era, and much more. It's definitely a great book, and I recommend it to anyone who wants an introduction to Sittler's theology. It wasn't as much about ecology as a lot of his other works, but still excellent none-the-less. I must admit, though, that I found the discussion questions added for the Lutheran Voices version a bit distracting, but some might find them meaningful.
   
   
6. Opening the Book of Faith: Lutheran Insights For Bible Study by Diane L. Jacobson, Stanley N. Olson, and Mark Allen Powell. This book is a good resource for people who want an introduction to reading the Bible, especially from a Lutheran perspective. I do not agree with all of the points made in here (Mark Allen Powell's portion, surprisingly, was particularly troublesome for me), but it nonetheless represents a great sampling of contemporary Lutheran thought on how the Bible should be read, why the Bible should be considered relevant today, and how Lutheran understandings can help us open up the Bible. I would definitely recommend this for anyone starting a Bible study or someone wanting to pick up the Bible for themselves, or simply someone who wants to refresh their understanding of Lutheranism and the Bible. Very helpful "beginner" tool for Biblical exploration and study.
   
   
7. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard.  This books is simply incredible. The first book I read of Dillard's was Holy the Firm, which I highly recommend for anyone to read. This book, in the vein of Walden Pond, is described as a “nature narrative,” in which Dillard reflects on the beauty and horrors of the natural world around her in very ecological, poetic, and theological language. The book brought tears of sorrow and joy, and to me is more scriptural, more sacred in many ways, then any other book I've ever read. Perhaps one of the reviews from the back of the book can describe it better; here are words from Robert Macfarlane of The Guardian: “Spirited and gale-force... The best thing is her glee, a pied-piperish glee at being in the world, which she invokes better than anyone else.... Cymbal-clashing, peppery, straightforward.” This book is truly one of the best, most powerful, moving, and meaningful books I've ever read.
   
   
8. Called By God to Serve: Reflections for Church Leaders by Robert F. Holley and Paul E. Walters. This book is meant for church council devotions. It is to be read over three years, with ten devotions for each year. I'm not sure how feasible that is or ideal, but hey, whatever works. The book looks at different scenarios that a council can go through and calls the members to reflect on how they would react and what would be the most faithful response. Some scenarios and devotions are more relevant to some churches than others, which is why there is such a wide variety (and the leaders of the devotions are invited to pick which chapters might be the most relevant to their particular context). I found the book to be kind of bland, but that's just my taste. It certainly serves its purpose, but can feel preachy and a little forced at times. However, I do think the book would serve its purpose well in the form of council devotions, and encourage people on councils or in charge of council devotions to consider it as a resource. Like I said, depending on one's context, the book could be very valuable.