Category Archives: Books

Book: Jesus for President

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Two years ago I read Shane Claiborne’s “The Irresistible Revolution,” and it shook me up. Conservative evangelical Christianity labels as “liberal,” as a “social agenda,” concerns for the poor, the environment, and nonviolence. I carry plenty of that kind of baggage. But Claiborne presented a totally different world, and it convicted me like few other books I’ve ever read. 

Claiborne’s voice is that of a prophet. A loving and patient (not angry) prophet.

His views on pacifism particularly made me think. In our world, pacifism is not realistic, not popular, not how things work. But Claiborne painted a picture of Jesus that is not compatible with violence; a picture that, I realized, lined up with everything I knew about Jesus from Scripture. 

I didn’t change my views and become a pacifist. But the feeling deep in my gut told me, “There’s something here, something central to who Jesus is. Don’t discount it.”

These themes are continued in Claiborne’s recent book “Jesus for President.” First, let me say that the graphic design of the book is phenomenal. The most creative design I’ve ever seen.

As for the content? Disappointing, overall. A bit bloated. Plenty of good stuff, but nothing like “The Irresistible Revolution.”

The best passage in “Jesus for President” was a speech given by Father George Zabelka, the Catholic Air Force chaplain who blessed the crews who dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Over the next 20 years, Zabelka came to renounce violence. Zabelka’s speech, given on the 40th anniversary of the bombings, is an eloquent argument for nonviolence.

“There is no way to follow Christ, to love as Christ loved, and simultaneously to kill other people. It is a lie to say that the spirit that moves the trigger of a flamethrower is the Holy Spirit. It is a lie to say that learning to kill is learning to be Christ-like. It is a lie to say that learning to drive a bayonet into the heart of another is motivated from having put on the mind of Christ. Militarized Christianity is a lie. It is radically out of conformity with the teaching, life, and spirit of Jesus.”

Now, let me state that I’m not a pacifist. I support the invasion of Afghanistan (not of Iraq), and I certainly support fighting the Germans and Japanese. It’s one of the things governments do–defend their people. I believe in redemptive violence, within limits.

And yet…my beliefs are pricked by Claiborne’s writings. We Americans are so militaristic, and we think God is always on our side, blessing our fire-bombings. But can you see Jesus firing an M-16 to kill another person? I honestly can’t. And if I’m to be like Christ….

So I’m intrigued with the pacifist arguments. There’s something there, something central to the nature of Christ. Something I want to understand, but which is way beyond my comprehension right now. 

Claiborne takes things much further than I feel comfortable with. In Claiborne’s world, you can’t be a soldier, and he gives examples of soldiers who have been convicted about nonviolence and have left the military. But what does that say about all the Christians serving in the military? Does God never call anyone to serve in uniform? Is a Christian colonel misled if he says, “I’m right where I believe God wants me to be”? 

I’m not willing to put the “unbiblical” label on my Dad or anyone else who has served in the military. I think God is mysterious enough, beyond our understanding, to call one person to pacifism and another to a life of military service. I don’t think that’s inconsistent; Claiborne, who has studied this far more than me, would say it is.

Anyway, Claiborne makes me think. He forces me to look at my lifestyle, my attitudes, my assumptions ingrained from growing up in America. His advocacy of the poor is something I absolutely cannot dispute, though his lifestyle takes things well beyond what I’m comfortable with. Let me state for the record that my comfort level is in no way a measure of my spirituality.

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Book: The Fine Line

fineline.jpg“The Fine Line: Re-envisioning the Gap Between Christ and Culture,” by Kary Oberbrunner, is about how the Christian relates to our culture. There are separatists, who avoid the culture in order to remain pure. And there are conformists, who indulge in the culture. Most evangelicals I know would fall in the conformist camp. We like our TV shows, pop music, movies of whatever rating. We justify it by saying we need to relate to our secular culture. It’s a matter of relevance.

Oberbrunner says neither the separatists nor the conformists are relevant.

  • Separatists create their own insulated Christian subculture, and the world can’t relate to it (and doesn’t feel welcome there); they are out of touch.
  • Christian conformists are not much different from secular people. They try so hard to fit in with the world, that the world doesn’t see anything particularly spiritual about them.

Read more »

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Books: Roseanna, The Locked Room

LockedRoom_Roseanna.jpg Martin Beck is the central figure of this detective series by Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall. He’s a Swedish detective, and bears plenty of resemblance to Kurt Wallander, the detective in Henning Mankell’s books.

Both are team players, the lead investigators of police teams, not the individualistic, lone-wolf, man-against-the-system types common among American detective fiction. Both Beck and Wallander are pretty much anti-heroes. The Martin Beck books, I should mention, were written first (in the 1960s and 1970s).

I read “Roseanna” and “The Locked Room” back to back a couple weeks ago, having previously read two other Martin Beck books: “The Laughing Policeman” and “The Man Who Went Up in Smoke.” Of the four, I would say “The Locked Room” is probably the best, with some very interesting twists and resolutions that surprised me. Plus, Beck was almost an incidental figure through parts of the book, as two plots converged. “Roseanna” may have been the weakest. But all were good reads.

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Book: “This Beautiful Mess”

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To me, the most interesting chapter of “This Beautiful Mess,” by Rick McKinley, was chapter 11, “We Must Go Through Hardships.” He talks about strategic suffering, suffering as a choice in order to accomplish something for Christ.

He says Christians in the West don’t understand what it means to suffer for Christ. And when somebody does actually suffer–get kidnapped in another country, for instance–they come home with a book deal. “The American church doesn’t produce martyrs; we produce celebrities.” Very interesting thought.

But in other parts of the world, suffering for Christ is a way of life, and they identify with what Paul endured in Acts.

He tells a great story about being with other Christians and talking about Cuba. Someone in the group heard that the Cuban church was led mostly by women, and they desperately needed medical supplies. But how could they get supplies into a mostly closed country?

“Celestin, our friend from Rwanda, spoke up. ‘What wold happen if you took medical supplies to Cuba to your sisters there?’

“‘You would get arrested,’ I said. Someone else began to explain to Celestin the embargo and other legal roadblocks. But Celestin interrupted….

“‘Wouldn’t that preach?….Wouldn’t that preach to the world if you got arrested while taking medical supplies into Cuba for your sisters?’

“At that moment I felt like I had taken a baseball bat in the ribs. I’d been hit with the dangerous side of the kingdom….Clearly my creativity for the gospel ended at the point of suffering.”

We have it so doggone safe in America. We have our freedoms, our Constitutional protections. If persecuted for our faith, we can sue for damages. None of us suffer for Christ, not really. We endure some slights, maybe, but it’s not worthy to be called suffering.

Paul suffered, and he did it strategically. He intentionally went to places where he might very likely get beaten or stoned–and often he was. For Paul, and for many Christians around the world, it’s not safe to be a Christian. It’s a dangerous calling.

Here are a few more thoughts from McKinley’s chapter:

  • “In Celestin’s life I see so much beauty and a willingness to suffer in the mess for the sake of his King. I, on the other hand, am the guy who doesn’t want to go to India because I could get an upset stomach.”
  • “I have felt superior to those who suffer. It’s an ugly truth. I have subconsciously assumed that their suffering is due to their inferiority—that they have pulled a sort of second-class seating assignment in God’s big, blue kingdom bus.”
  • “We are brothers and sisters, not Western CEOs and Third World employees.”
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Book: This Beautiful Mess

mess.JPG“This Beautiful Mess” was written by Rick McKinley, pastor of Imago Dei church in Portland, Ore. That’s one of those creative, postmodern-ish churches that traditional evangelicals aren’t sure what to do with. They’re doing innovative things, more interested in relationships and empathy than in institution-building. And they have some great things to tell us about what Christianity is really all about. We need to listen and learn. I try to do both.

McKinley’s book talks about “the Kingdom.” Not Saudi Arabia, but the Kingdom of God. Parts are good, parts not so good. But I enjoyed it. Most chapters end with some free verse by poets I’ve never heard of, and some are excellent.

Here is a good quote:

“Pastors and lay leaders love to talk about advancing the kingdom, about building the kingdom. It’s as if Jesus said, “My kingdom is a pile of lumber on the truck in heaven, and I need you boys and girls to get a hammer and help me nail this thing together.”…When Jesus talked about the kingdom, he never talked about us building it or advancing it….The kingdom IS. That’s it. Jesus does not need you or me to nail it together.”

He says we’re not building something, but merely living in something that already exists. We embrace the kingdom. God is sovereign in this kingdom, and he’s got everything under control. Our inadequacies won’t cause it to crumble.

“I don’t see my life now as one in which I advance the kingdom of God. It is advancing all by itself….The kingdom is a dimension I acknowledge, I live in, I participate in….It is a lot less like building the business of Christianity and a lot more like slipping into the matrix of Jesus.”

These were some very interesting thoughts for me.

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Book: The Audacity of Hope

AudacityofHope.jpegBack in December, while killing time in Barnes & Noble, I began browsing through a copy of Barack Obama’s book “The Audacity of Hope.” I opened to a random page near the middle of the book, began reading–and immediately found myself disagreeing with something he said. It had to do with an interpretation of Scripture.

As I continued perusing the book, I realized it wasn’t what I had assumed–that is, a typical campaign biography, published to puff up the candidate and inflate his accomplishments. That’s a cynical statement on my part, but it explains why I hadn’t bothered reading Obama’s book before. But now I realized it wasn’t like that at all. Each chapter was basically an extended essay on a specific subject–politics, opportunity, faith, values, the Constitution, etc.

I decided I needed to read the book, to better understand my then-future President’s views and discover other possible areas of disagreement.

Now I’m halfway through the book, and let me tell you–it’s a superb book. I’ll be posting more about individual chapters. But for now, here are some initial observations.

  • Since the book was written before Obama’s presidential campaign began, it gives a fascinating perspective to the campaign and to events since the election. You understand why he acted in certain ways, why he took certain positions, and where he acted in ways not entirely consistent with his published views. And you catch glimpses of where he may be headed.
  • Obama is a highly talented writer. He doesn’t use a ghost writer, as does nearly every other politician. You’re reading his own thoughts in his own words. 
  • He is self-deprecating, freely citing his faults and failures, and poking fun at himself. 
  • He understands and is conversant on difficult issues, like the economy. He has thought deeply about lots of important issues. That gives me confidence (which I lacked in Bush, and wouldn’t have felt in McCain).
  • His values, for the most part, mirror mine (though I haven’t read the chapter on “Faith” yet, where he discusses some issues where I’m sure to disagree).
  • I’m impressed with his detailed grasp of US history. He provides fascinating insights into how we got where we are.
  • He shares my thoughts (and, it seems, disgust) with how our government is broken and dysfunctional, regardless of which party is in charge. He illuminates where the problems lie (and I suspect that if we give him time, over the course of his presidency he’ll try to accomplish at least a few changes).
  • Though he’s unabashedly a Democrat, it’s not a partisan book. He skewers, and commends, both Democrats and Republicans. “My party can be smug, detached, and dogmatic at times,” he says in the prologue. 

Here’s a paragraph toward the end of the prologue, a capsulized listing of basic views about America.

“I believe in the free market, competition, and entrepreneurship, and think no small number of government programs don’t work as advertised. I wish the country had fewer lawyers and more engineers. I think America has more often been a force for good than for ill in the world. I carry few illusions about our enemies, and revere the courage and competence of our military. I reject a politics that is based solely on racial identity, gender identity, sexual orientation, or victimhood generally. I think much of what ails the inner city involves a breakdown in culture that will not be cured by money alone, and that our values and spiritual life matter at least as much as our GDP.”

Although I voted for Obama and retain high hopes, I am no Obama worshiper. I have been repeatedly disappointed by the persons I helped elect, and my cynicism, skepticism, and distrust run deep. But I can still muster up hope, and I can’t live a sane life without hope.

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Book: Contrarian’s Guide to Spiritual Growth

contrarianguide.jpegThe best Christian book I read in 2008 is Larry Osborne’s “Contrarian’s Guide to Knowing God.” He takes some beliefs we’ve always held as true, and sheds a whole different light on them. He doesn’t stray from orthodoxy, only from our western paradigms and interpretations. His thoughts about how people grow are particularly fascinating (as in the chapter “The Case for Meandering”).

But my favorite chapter, “The High Place Principle,” deals with “blind spots.” He discusses how, in the Old Testament, God told the Israelites to “Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places.” God wanted to rid the land of idol worship. But king after king allowed people to continue offering sacrifices at “the high places.”

Including ultra-wise Solomon. The Bible says Solomon “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord,” but adds, “The high places, however, were not removed.”

Of King Asa, the Bible says, “Although he did not remove the high places, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord al his life.”

It was a blind spot. Idol-worship was so ingrained in that world’s culture that they didn’t see how deeply it angered God.

“We all have our own high places–areas where we simply don’t get it,” Osborne says.

Like godly southerners who owned slaves. Any American Christian today understands that slavery was wrong. But there were Christians who, like Asa, were “fully committed to the Lord,” yet saw no contradiction in owning slaves.

So I think about the blind spots of today’s Christians. We don’t have it all figured out. We don’t fully “get it” when it comes to what God wants.

  • In American culture, I’m sure materialism is a huge blind spot for most of us. Jesus told a rich man to sell everything and give it to the poor. Was he just kidding? I think Jesus was absolutely serious. 
  • How does Jesus feel about the huge complexes our megachurches erect? Does Jesus, in fact, disapprove of pouring millions of dollars into buildings? Is that a blind spot for American Christians? 
  • Are we blind to how we get sucked into popular culture? Should we, in reality, be more like the Amish–a distinct, separate people? 
  • What about the way we exalt military might? I tend to be hawkish. But is that a blind spot? Would Jesus pull a trigger in warfare? Did he approve of dropping atomic bombs? We can justify all of these things…like people justified slavery, citing chapter and verse. But how does Jesus really feel about the use of force? 
  • We talk about engaging the culture. But might Jesus, if he were here today, tell us, “Don’t watch TV and movies, and put away those cheap novels. They distract your mind from heavenly things.” 
  • I look at the health-and-wealth TV evangelists, with their fancy rings and big hair and high lifestyles. They don’t get it. They can easily justify themselves. But to me, their lifestyles are so contrary to the way of Jesus. It’s obvious to me. 

But, “A blindspot is something I honestly don’t see,” Osborne says. And I have to ask: what things do I honestly not see about myself?

Ever since reading that chapter (nearly a year at this point), I’ve pondered and looked for blind spots in my own life, and in our US Christian culture. Because I think we’re saturated with blind spots.

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Studs Terkel

Studs Terkel died. He mastered the “oral history” form of writing. He would take a subject, then interview people who could address the subject from life experience. And he would just let them talk. His books gave tremendous insight into everyday America and the life of the common man.

Terkel was a listener. He didn’t interview aggressively. He just sat down with people and let them talk, and then masterfully edit a mass of material into a fascinating whole.

His books typically had simple titles, with subtitles that explained what the book was about.

  • Working: People Talk About What They Do all Day and How they Feel About What They Do.
  • Race: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel About the American Obsession.
  • Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression.

My favorite book was The Good War, in which he interviewed people about their experiences during World War II, whether on the home front or on the front lines. A remarkable book which strikes the same cords as Tom Brokaw’s much-later The Greatest Generation.

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Four Vacation Mystery Novels

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I had mentioned the three books I hoped to read on vacation. I got them read, plus one more.

  • Die Trying (Lee Child). My second Jack Reacher book. Wow, what a great character! The ultimate tough guy (tougher than Spencer, I’m afraid, but not Hawk). Reacher lives off the grid, wandering around the country, coming to people’s rescue.
  • The Fifth Woman (Henning Mankell). My fifth Kurt Wallander mystery by Mankell, a Swedish writer. Superb, once again. Every Mankell book is a delight.
  • Cross (Richard Patterson). I savor every Alex Cross novel. Devoured this one in one day. Patterson never disappoints when he writes about Alex Cross.
  • Jar City (Arnaldur Indridason). A police mystery by an Icelander set in Reykjavik. A slow start, but couldn’t tear myself away toward the end. I always enjoy mysteries set in other countries. There are several excellent Swedish writers. Iceland makes a somewhat exotic setting.
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Two Books for Labor Day

Finished two mysteries over this long weekend, both from the Black Lizard imprint.

  • A Coffin for Dimitrios, by Eric Ambler. Ambler_Ripley.jpgThis 1939 book roams from Turkey to Greece to Yugoslavia to Paris, as our protagonist, a writer of detective novels, researches the travels of a shady figure named Dimitrios. I could have used more action, but I definitely need to read more Ambler stuff. Very literature fellow.
  • The Talented Mr. Ripley, by Patricia Highsmith. As in Strangers on a Train, Highsmith loves to get into the psychology and inner thinking of characters. Ripley (played in the movie by Matt Damon) is quite an interesting, moral-less character. There are four more Ripley novels I need to read. But a Highsmith novel isn’t something you read casually. You need to work at it.
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