Book Reviews

[1] As we enter the Christmas season, Diane Yeager reviews The Magi: Who They Were, How They’ve Been Remembered, and Why They Still Fascinate by Eric Vanden Eykel.  From the history of biblical interpretation to contemporary literature to the covers of Christmas cards, the Magi capture our imagination. Yeager’s review explores Vanden Eykel’s scholarship and concludes […]

[1] Science and technology writer Sally Adee has written a book that provides a summary of the research demonstrating that electric currents run throughout bodies, even in the mind, and every living thing (the field of bioelectricity).  This is a valuable volume for Christian ethicists and for any Christian thinker interested in what theology can […]

[1] Several years ago, I was finishing up my STM and in the last stages of the candidacy process, looking at paperwork for congregations that were hoping to call a new pastor. As the reality of this hit me, so did the weight of my studies. Instead of feeling excited, I felt dread. There are […]

[1] The Lost Art of Scripture by Karen Armstrong is one of the most important books I’ve read in a long time. I don’t say that lightly. It’s not an easy read. But it is well worth the effort. Karen Armstrong is a prolific author who has written numerous books on a variety of theological […]

[1] The summer of 1939 afforded Stewart Herman Jr. his last idyll as a pastor of the American Church in the heart of Nazi Germany, little though he knew it at the time. An opportunity to travel for six weeks through Scandinavia and the Baltic states, heading northward beyond the Arctic Circle, proved an invigorating […]

[1] After years of activism and protests, the simple statement “Black Lives Matter” became more than a hashtag or a chant. It made the leap from the streets to homes, offices, and institutions. It became part of our personal conversations and our national conversation. Even those who react negatively cannot deny it or make it […]

[1] Christianity and the Law of Migration comes at an opportune time. This volume of essays brings law and legal principles into conversation with Christian Scriptural, ethical, and theological concepts on the topic of global migration. The work represents an important intervention into scholarly, humanitarian, and policy discussions at a time when millions of people […]

In this “Summer Books Issue” we include book reviews that consider Christianity and the laws of migration; racism through lenses of science and faith; religion and foreign policy; the emotional and experiential power of theological doctrines; and the value of disruption in the church.  Happy reading!

[1] Just months before his untimely death in 1963, H. Richard Niebuhr issued a rousing call for “a recovery of feeling in theology.”[1] Though he affirmed Barth’s rejection of any point of contact between revelation and human experience, he felt the pendulum had now swung too far. In securing the objectivity of the Word of […]

[1] Wired For Racism opens with a helpful introduction that sets a foundation for the chapters to come. Readers learn about the dichotomy between the authors, with Woodall being “a millennial Black Baptist preacher” and Ellingsen “a baby boomer, a White minister” (Norwegian-American Lutheran.)[1] This contrast is important because it sheds light on the minds […]