[1] In this issue, we offer book reviews of three recent publications, the first geared toward families and churches, the second toward academics and the third toward children.
[2] The first book, We Carry the Fire by Richard Hoehn, advocates a spirituality defined by action for the common good. Instead of private individual piety, Hoehn argues for a social political spirituality that calls people to go beyond themselves, joining in the solidarity of prophetic action. Weaving stories and poetry into his text, Hoehn focuses on families and religious organizations as institutions for building relationships, strengthening democracy and enacting social change.
[3] Vincent Evener’s Enemies of the Cross: Suffering, Truth and Mysticism in the Early Reformation is a scholarly treatment of selfhood, suffering and the knowledge of truth in the writings of Luther, Karlstadt and Muntzer. Evener examines the influence of mysticism on each thinker and details how each of them addressed social ethics, concluding with each reformer’s response to the Peasant’s War.
[4] In search of a children’s Bible featuring diverse images of people and an understanding of justice grounded in God’s love, Stacy Johnson Myers developed Picture the Bible. Striking for its artwork steeped in multicultural images, this volume contains over 50 Bible stories, written for ages four to seven, along with scriptural references to help adults who are accompanying children in experiencing the wonder, purpose, and promise of God’s love.
Nancy Arnison is a lawyer, theologian and nonprofit executive and serves as the Book Review Editor for the Journal of Lutheran Ethics.