Some holiday reading

One of the joys of going away on holiday is being able to catch up on reading some of the really good books that are around. Relaxing by a pool in temperatures in the 30's for the last two weeks gave me plenty of opportunity, and I was able to spend time on some serious non fiction as well as some lighter holiday material.
In the non fiction category I was fascinated by a new book just out by James Davison Hunter, the LaBrosse- Levinson Distinguished Professor of Religion, Culture and Social Theory at the University of Virginia, as well as Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. To Change the World, it is called,The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World. Hunter's concept, of "faithful presence,"to be practiced by Christians throughout and within all aspects of their lives, and to touch all those of any faith or none, to work towards a flourishing of the world, struck a chord with me as it is very much my own theme.

When I wanted an easier read, I found a paperback that someone had left behind in the apartments, The Olive Route: a Personal Journey to the Heart of the Mediterranean,by actress turned organic olive farmer Carol Drinkwater. This I really enjoyed - I found the well researched history of the olive fascinating. I also loved her descriptions of places visited and friends made along the way. She was also disturbed by what she saw in the Middle East and the book ends on a more serious reflective note which adds something more to what otherwise would have been just another travelogue.



For much more about these books I have reviewed them both on Amazon, US and UK.

To Change the World - Serendipity again

Yesterday I received my July edition of the Christian magazine Sojourners - Faith in Action for Social Justice. As I opened it the page fell open at an ad for a book that I had not come across to date but which is so close to my own interests, I must read it.
James Davison Hunter is the author; the title, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World.
If we hope to heal this wounded earth we need to change our culture. I feel quite sure about this, but my preoccupation is with how we can achieve this? Hunter addresses this complex and vital subject. He looks at the question "how might Christians in the 21st century live in ways that have integrity with their traditions and are more truly transformative?" And he introduces a theology of what he calls "faithful presence"within culture and society.

I am looking forward to reading of his ideas and challenges and will be posting up a review in due course.

But I fear that the wealth of wisdom in books such as this do not reach the population masses - and if the subject matter does hit the popular media it tends to be sensationalized and therefore is dismissed too readily as over the top, scare mongering, unrealistic, whatever. Witness the popular media responses to James Lovelock when he wrote The Revenge of Gaia.

In the same magazine its Chief Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief Jim Wallis has written an article "Is Christian Ministry Illegal in Arizona? (a quick free registration process is required to access). The answer in short is yes! Arizona's new and harsh enforcement law against undocumented immigrants is forcing Christians to break the law in their ministry of love and neighborliness to all, offered in a spirit of compassion and need rather than with regard to and questioning of an immigrant's status. "Arizona's law is a social and racial sin, and ... should be denounced by people of faith and conscience across the nation, " he writes.

Amen to that.