MysteriousFaith

July 2005 Bookshelf

Nothing’s Sacred by Lewis Black (unabridged book on CD)

This book is, to put it mildly, not for everyone. Come to think about it, I am not sure I am one of the people it is intended for! Shocking, vulgar, insightful, painful and let me see, oh yes, angry. All are fit descriptions to Black’s autobiography-cum-stand up routine in written form.

The Sins of Scripture by John Shelby Spong

This is not Bishop Spong’s best work simply because it repeats much of his past material; at times tedious, it can be hard to separate the ideas in this book from his much better past books such as Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism or Why Christianity Must Change or Die. In general, Bishop Spong’s arguments are a good introduction for conservative or even Emerging Christians on why some people reject theological explanations for the various problematic passages in Scripture. Spong’s evaluation of Scripture is more symmetrical with modernity than is (as just one example) Brian McLaren’s. In addition, I find Spong’s positions more logical where McLaren’s leave me feeling like we left an argument unfinished, just before we would have to hold to a position we are afraid of. By implication, his arguments make the positions held by the liberal church the only viable option if one forces oneself to find symmetry above mystery.

A Sociable God: Towards a New Understanding of Religion by Ken Wilber

This book is Wilber’s attempt to present eight views of what we mean when we use the word “religion.” This is an important definition for us all, as what each of us means when we use the word is different. As a part of defining religion, he introduces three concepts critical to this book, as well as his future work. A more complete review of this book can be found HERE at MysteriousFaith.

Kremlin Rising: Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the End of the Revolution by Peter Baker and Susan Glasser

Ancient Rome had its share of generals – Sulla and Caesar to name two – that felt they had to take, by their own force, control of a bureaucracy and a republic gone amuck. For Romans, Sulla’s reprisals, violence and militarism were terrifying, but proved to actually pull the republic back from its excesses and restore it in its original form. Sulla’s intentions were impossible for his contemporaries to test objectively, and only the historian has the luxury of now seeing Sulla’s intentions were sincere even if his techniques were heavy-handed. In a similar vein, Vladimir Putin may be to modern Russia what Sulla was to ancient Rome; a militaristic leader unafraid of using force to clean up a country in shambles. The analogy is tenuous at best, but is one the authors of this book would be sensitive to. Putin has embraced reforms that have set back privatization and have taken back previously owned state assets: will Putin prove to be a modern Sulla, recognizing that Russia too quickly embraced free-market capitalism with public wealth disappearing into the hands of a violent and criminal oligarchy. Putin is right to see this type of privatization as bad and needing to be reformed; however, is Putin acting with this realization in mind, or is he looking to move the old Russian bear back into a dance with communism? Now, we have no way of knowing. The question of how a leader can come to manage the relationship with someone like Putin facing the challenges of Putin are incredibly important; the analysis of Putin in this book is first-rate and worth thinking about.

Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion by David Hume

This classic from the British Enlightenment poses questions about the existence of God in a way that is cautious, gracious and always insightful. Unlike some of the naked dogmatism of certain people who disagree with basic propositions of theism, Hume is careful to present both sides of the debate in a dialogue format between a believer and a skeptic. The book could do with some linguistic updating (I do not enjoy reading the King’s English in Hume any more than I ever did the King James Version of the Bible) but presents important foundational questions and arguments still relevant to the intelligent design argument as evidence of God, as just one example.

Conversations With God: an Uncommon Dialogue – Book 1 by Neale Donald Walsch

The old joke that “it’s OK to talk to God, it’s when He talks back that you have a problem” is strikingly less funny when reading Walsch’s books. Why? The simple reason is that Walsch says God is talking directly to him, and that they are having a two-way conversation. The book itself is limited in its value given that the most shocking thing Walsch has to share with us is that he is talking to God. Outside of this breathtaking statement, the balance of the book has the form of our best spiritually insightful writers from various faith traditions.

The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions by Marcus Borg and N. T. Wright

Books such as this appeal to me: two critically acclaimed theologians – both experts in the historical claims of the early church and Christology – and both great friends with one-another, but each disagrees fundamentally with the other on the interpretation of said claims and beliefs. Wright captures the orthodox evangelical argument for Christianity and the Resurrection of Jesus where Borg is the more liberal and allegorical presenter. Both write in formats more readable although I did find Wright’s writing a bit more dense and unhelpful. His brief comment about Constantine’s unimpactful involvement in the Council of Nicea left me dumbfounded at its unwarranted trust, indicative I think of the general Achilles’ heel of his scholarship: an insufficiently developed understanding of social cascades and an almost naïve acceptance that politics and personalities never impact theology.

Disney War by James B. Stewart (unabridged book on CD)

I was transfixed by this book: part soap opera, part strategy manual, part Fortune 500 business insight, the combination is intoxicating. Stewart’s analysis manages to capture a balanced picture of about 15 years of Michael Eisner’s management of the Walt Disney Company. No great kindness is done to Eisner in this book who is portrayed as vindictive, having a habit of being less than truthful, not being sufficiently appreciative of the creative side of the business, and being unable to have talented executives or a strong board stand up to him.

Thomas Jefferson: Author of America by Christopher Hitchens

As much as I continue to be taken up by the life of Thomas Jefferson, this book was my second exposure to Hitchens’ writing which I find to be eloquent in a form rare in general, but especially to works of historical biography. Coming in at under 200 pages, this biography necessarily limits its analysis of Jefferson’s times to those moments Hitchens believes illustrate the most important parts of his life. These include three activities of Jefferson as President (the Lewis and Clark expedition, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Barbary Wars (the much forgotten negotiation when Jefferson refused to follow the pattern of European powers of the day and engage in blackmail with the Muslim Barbary pirates who took hostages for the slave trade or ransom). Of those parts of Jefferson’s person that Hitchens covers, he returns consistently to three that are worthy of such an eloquent, if brief, treatise: the inner demon that was Jefferson’s position on slavery, the emphasis he put on personal and communal education, and Jefferson’s secularism.

It would do us all well to remember the actual words of our Founding Fathers whose beliefs are attempting to be maligned by the Religious community in America today. Among those words committed to writing that leave little brook for compromise as to Jefferson’s beliefs is a passage from his The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, Extracted Textually from the Gospels (also known as “the Jefferson Bible”):

“While this syllabus is meant to place the character of Jesus in its true and high light, as no imposter himself, but a great reformer of the Hebrew code of religion, it is not to be understood that I am with Him in all His doctrines. I am a Materialist; He takes the side of Spiritualism. He preaches the efficacy of repentance towards forgiveness of sin; I require a counterpoise of good words to redeem it … Among the sayings and discourses imputed to Him by His biographers, I find many passages of fine imagination, correct morality and of the most lovely benevolence; and others, again, of so much ignorance, so much absurdity, so much untruth, charlatanism, and imposture as to pronounce it impossible that such contradictions should proceed from the same Being. I separate, therefore, the gold from the dross; restore to Him the former, and leave the latter to the stupidity of some, and roguery of others of His disciples.” (pages 181-182)

As Hitchens says, we would do well to remember that public figures many times adopt language not entirely reflective of their personal beliefs out of political expediency and public respect for the beliefs of others, particularly those for whom you hold the responsibility of governing.

Chronicles: Volume 1 by Bob Dylan (unabridged book on CD)

This book is at times garbled, disjointed, is not always particularly insightful, and can be best called adolescently self-centered. Dylan seems to have never outgrown his teenage rebellion phase where you do something anti-social just because it “ain’t cool to conform.” A great example of this is early in the book when he talks about an interview with a record company executive who asked how Dylan got into town. Dylan tells him he made the trip on a railcar when he actually came via normal travel; Dylan feels this is something throwing the establishment off and he never seems to outgrow this juvenile anti-“the man” approach! Dylan is terribly conflicted throughout the book: he wants to “fracture the music landscape like Picasso fractured the art world” in an attempt to be absolutely original (which he undoubtedly was and still is), but he seems to be quite comfortable producing records because he needs money or to work out his name to make sure marketing his records would be successful. Instead of accepting that he is talented and capable of doing original work while also managing his brand, he seems to feel being successful in business means compromising artistically. In the same breadth I would voice this caution, the book is nostalgic and poetic in its own way, much like Dylan’s music.

Conspiracy of Fools: A True Story by Kurt Eichenwald

I read two books this month that dealt with deep wrongs done in the world: the trial of Adolph Eichmann for his war crimes as a Nazi, and the rise and fall of Enron. In both I was deeply troubled by how easy doing the wrong this can be and how easily average people can fall into a pit of their own making. This book is a very detailed (700 pages) account of the Enron debacle, specifically the design and development by Skilling and Fastow of the now-infamous “raptors”, “Jedis” and other such funds. This book is probably the definitive work on the Enron failure and is worth holding on to as a reminder of how easily small sins can lead to great falls.

Grace and Grit: Spirituality and Healing in the Life and Death of Treya Killam Wilber by Ken Wilber

I can not recommend this book more fully if you are a Wilber reader. This is the heart-wrenching story of Treya Wilber, Ken’s second wife, dying of breast-cancer. The book has insights and disclosures on the part of Ken that were not necessary for him to disclose as they made him look bad. I have so much more respect for Wilber’s analysis and beliefs now having seen his very being tested against a great loss and seeing how he came through ultimately stronger.

Critiques of God: Making the Case Against Belief in God edited by Peter Angeles

This book is a compilation of essays on atheism. It is a very good compendium and represents some of the more approachable arguments about atheism and its reasons for denying belief in a God as being rational. For those looking to understand atheistic philosophy, this book is a great place to start.

Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith by Martha Beck

Few books have touched me as deeply as this book did. It recounts Beck’s departure, coming back and then again leaving the Mormon faith. I resonated very deeply with her desire to stay in loving relationship with family and friends who hold her at a distance, unable to resolve their own desire to “save” you while at the same time enjoying the simple act of being with you. Beck suffered at the hands of her father a bizarre form of pseudo-religious sexual abuse that ultimately caused her family to ostracize her. The book is a compelling story of being brought up in a particular faith tradition, coming to terms with your own beliefs, and the familial impact of being honest about your new beliefs.

Callgirl by Jeannette Angell

This book is about a world most will never experience, the world of prostitution (or the world of callgirls as Angell would like to be called). Angell is a Harvard educated anthropologist who, through a difficult financial situation and a badly ended relationship, finds her way into the world of paid sex. The book is graphic at times and the reader is cautioned that this book is not for the prudish or squeamish. It is, however, a good insight into those things that motivate men to reach out to callgirls and what motivates callgirls to take this line of employment. In talking about both the customers and the callgirls, Angell manages to paint pictures of both their pleasure and pain while suggesting at a basic level what motivates them both. The beginning and end of the book, where Angell respectively talks about what led her into and out of the profession seem incomplete. A bit more personal introspection and thought would have helped me understand her a bit more. As it was left by the author, I have to say I believe more than need compelled her.

Letters to a Young Contrarian (Art of Mentoring) by Christopher Hitchens

For those of you who find yourself in the minority over your beliefs on religion, politics, history or economics, you are probably experiencing the difficulties in being a contrarian. Hitchens, our current-day Bertrand Russell, writes about what it means to hold beliefs at odds with those of most people. This book is in letter format, writing on a different topic to a young man in each chapter. Highly enjoyable and recommended to those struggling with the dawning realization that their beliefs are going to cost them some family and friends.

Integral Christianity: Insights from Ken Wilber’s “Theory of Everything” by Rich Vincent

That’s right folks – the “amateur pastor, hack theologian and wannabe mystic” over at TheoCentric.Com is publishing his first book. Rich’s analysis of Wilber’s work does two things well: first, it introduces Wilber’s integral concept and models in a way more approachable than Wilber’s own writing and second, by making Christianity primary it takes Wilber’s insights and molds them to Christian truth. The final chapter of the book is on the role of dogma and is probably the most challenging of all of Rich’s work in this piece.

The Banality of Evil: Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arnedt

I wish this book had impacted me more, but perhaps it not doing so is precisely what Arnedt means by the title given to the book – the banality of evil. The book records the trial of Adolph Eichmann, one of the essential players in the Final Solution to the Jewish question by the Nazis. What is distressing in the book is how easily someone as average as Eichmann becomes such an evil presence, a cautionary tale to what happens when we accept the rule of law or the chain of command as having higher authority than moral reasoning. The implications to law and theology are worth reflecting on.

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• August 3, 2005

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