Book Review

Hope Against Darkness: A Book Review

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I was working for Pep Boy in Irving, Texas while going to college, and the radio was always on in the store. The station was usually chosen by the manager on duty, and more often than not, a country station or a soft rock station was chosen (unless, of course, the Cowboys were playing). So, more than likely, it was there, amidst the smell of motor oil and tires, that I first heard Billy Ray Cyrus and the soon-to-become annoying song “Achy, Breaky Heart.”

I remember on several occasions that the DJ (or critics on TV) would label Cyrus the “Elvis of Country Music.” That was when labels really began to annoy me.

Even though Elvis was labeled the “King of Rock and Roll,” he had 31 top ten Country hits during his career – eleven of which went to number 1 (compare that to Cyrus’ 8 top ten hits). So, upon hearing the label given to Cyrus, I’d often mutter under my breath, “No, Elvis was the Elvis of Country music!” (Full disclosure, I’m a huge Elvis fan).

And yet, that’s what we do as humans, don’t we? We label people. We put people in boxes. When we pick sides, we build walls around us to shield us from the ideas of others. We assume that we or others can only align with similar people and that each group is homogeneous. We assume that those people can only do what we think (read know) they can do. We become so attuned to “our group” that we can’t see our own hypocrisy or the value of another group’s ideals.


It was personally painful at times (in a good way), but one of the things I most appreciated about Richard Rohr’s book, Hope Against Darkness: The Transforming Vision of Saint Francis in an Age of Anxiety, was the fact that he clearly showed how neither left nor right, liberal or conservative has all the answers or is completely wrong. He showed how each extreme is often hypocritical.

As one who tends to more align myself with the left / liberal viewpoints, I often felt Rohr jabbing at me, personally. As much as I wanted to stand up and defend my tribe and my ideals, more often than not, I could see that he was right.

Even though the book was published in 2001, it speaks so clearly to the greatly divided world of religion and politics that seems so prevalent today in 2014 (of course, it was likely that way then, too, but my eyes were not opened to it – a blessing and a curse of social media). His call, echoing that of Jesus and St. Francis, is to drop the tribalism – to quit with trying to decide who is in and who is out.

I have said at times through the years as I have led various studies that we in the mainline church need to become very black and white about one thing, and only thing only: the world is full of gray. My theory has been that real transformation can come by being clear from the get-go that there are few if any absolutes. I continue to think that is valid, but this book helped me to see a slightly different perspective.

Rohr writes on page 163:

Spiritual transformation is often thought of as movement from darkness to light. In once sense that is true, but in another sense it is totally false. We forget that darkness is always present alongside the light. Pure light blinds, only the mixture of darkness and light allows us to see. Shadows are required for our seeing.

Here, we are reminded that light and darkness is not an either / or but a both / and. And throughout the book, he reminds us that the dark times of life are not bad (unless we choose to stay there); rather, these are a new telling of the sad yet hopeful story of the cross. They are the reminder of “the lamb who is simultaneously slaughtered and standing.” (pg. 23)

So, as I’ve reflected on these writings, I began to think about “white” and “black” in terms of science. “In the visible spectrum, white reflects light and is a presence of all colors, but black absorbs light and is an absence of color.” (from Wikipedia, June 28, 2014) To put it another way, white is the presence of all colors, but black absorbs light that contains all colors (you can even make black paint by mixing all colors). Interestingly, it is through the cuts made in the glass of a prism or the results of rain that show the full spectrum of color that is always present. And as Rohr reiterates poignantly throughout the book, it is the often painful cuts and rains of life that truly bring transformation and new life. And though these are painful, they are not bad but a place to experience grace.

Now, I think that the church needs to be black and white about the fact that there is a full spectrum of colors (and ideas), and it’s the full spectrum that brings real beauty, not the plainness of black OR white or the drabness of grays. To claim that all the world should be only blue OR red OR yellow is to deny the fullness of God’s creation. This should serve as a reminder for us to keep going back to examine ourselves and determine whether we are, in fact, promoting only one color of the spectrum. In that examination, we must ask, “What can we learn from another color of the spectrum?”

If I have one complaint with this book, it has to do with the subtitle: The Transforming Vision of Saint Francis in an Age of Anxiety. I have recently become interested in Saint Francis of Assisi thanks to the inspiring example of Pope Francis and thanks to reading Matthew Fox’s book, Letters to Pope Francis. Plus, I’ve relatively recently become a fan of Richard Rohr. Therefore, I thought, this will be a great book! I can learn more from and about each. However, other than an occasional mention here and there and one chapter (Chapter 7: Francis of Assisi: Showing the Way Toward Reconstruction), I didn’t get much about St. Francis. I’m sure that many of his ideals and theology guide and inform the book, but I’m no more clear about what comes directly from him.

And yet, I see that I’m falling into the old trap of labeling. This book was for me a positive challenge to and for my life of faith, no matter the label on the front. Thus, I hope you’ll consider reading this book.

Fr. Richard Rohr is a globally recognized ecumenical teacher bearing witness to the universal awakening within Christian mysticism and the Perennial Tradition. He is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fr. Richard’s teaching is grounded in the Franciscan alternative orthodoxy—practices of contemplation and lived kenosis(self-emptying), expressing itself in radical compassion, particularly for the socially marginalized.

Fr. Richard is the author of numerous books, including Everything Belongs, Adam’s Return, The Naked Now, Breathing Under Water, Falling Upward, and Immortal Diamond, as well as the devotionals, Yes, And… and  Preparing for Christmas.

CAC is home to the Rohr Institute where Fr. Richard is academic Dean of the Living School for Action and Contemplation. Drawing upon Christianity’s place within the Perennial Tradition, the mission of the Rohr Institute is to produce compassionate and powerfully learned individuals who will work for positive change in the world based on awareness of our common union with God and all beings.

Hometown Prophet – A Book Review

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Honestly, I’ve always been skeptical of the “supernatural” – predicting the future, speaking in tongues, miracles, and the like. On top of that, I’ve come to believe that the biblical prophets were not predicting the future so much as telling people to shape up for a good future or expect a dismal future if they stay on their current path. Think about it.  That’s the task that Jonah is faced with (that he runs away from), and when he tells his archenemies, the Ninevites, they actually do what he says, to his chagrin. Their future is good.

As I got about one third of the way through Hometown Prophet by Jeff Fulmer, a story about a slightly below average man turned supernatural predictor of the future, I was ready to give up on the book. Three things kept me going:

  1. I’d made a deal with www.TheSpeakEasy.info. They’d given me a free book in return for a review of it. I wasn’t going to go back on my deal.
  2. Some of my friends had told me that if I read the Left Behind series as pure fiction, they could be enjoyable. I’ll take their word for that, but I figured I could look at this as pure fiction and get past differences in theology.
  3. If I was honest, though, I had heard and experienced some supernatural events that called my thoughts into question:
  • My Grandma often told the story of my Dad as a little tyke riding his tricycle in the kitchen. He’d had a wreck, falling back on the wood burning stove neck first. Nothing they could do would stop his crying. I don’t remember whether the doctor was not in town, or he couldn’t do anything either. As a last resort, they took him to a local “healer” who said something, spit in her hand, and touched his neck. Grandma said he quit crying instantly.
  • A seminary professor of mine had told the story of a United Methodist seminarian who’d graduated a few years before my time. He’d grown up in and accepted his call in UM churches that practiced “traditional” worship. Once, as a requirement for a seminary class, he’d attended a Pentecostal church to write a paper about worship styles. Much to his surprise, he was “slain in the Spirit” and spoke in tongues leaving him questioning whether glossolalia was really “repugnant to the word of God” as Methodist doctrine proclaims.
  • I’d taken a college-aged group to a revival service featuring an exuberant preacher. After her sermon, she invited folks to come to the altar to pray if they felt led. She, in turn, went around to each person, laid hands on each, and prayed out loud for each without speaking to person. One young woman in my group went forward to pray. She had confided in me recently about some difficulties she was facing. She was a total stranger to the preacher, but the preacher prayed specifically for the problems the young lady was facing.

Armed with the insights above, I continued on.

Peter Quill is a 31 year old college grad who never really made it, and he finds himself back at home – without a job and living with his divorced mother. He’d given up on church, but when he is awakened by a very vivid, lucid dream about his childhood pastor, he decides to go to church. Inspired by his dream and the sermon he hears, Peter goes forward to tell the now-older pastor that he should get his heart checked out. Turns out he does have a life-threatening blockage. Thus begins a story of one who has dreams that predict the future following a time of interpretation.

Frankly, the first third of the book was rather predictable for me as Peter’s predictions get wider, affecting larger numbers of people of his community in and around Nashville. I also found this portion of the book rather slow moving failing to hold my interest. Yet, shortly following this, twists and turns began to happen and predictability went out the window. A love interest for the prophet entered the story adding more depth to the plot and to Peter. On top of that, Peter’s dreaming went from being simply foretelling the future to being about changing people’s attitudes and actions, too, which was closer to my way of thinking. By the beginning of the last third of the book, I was engrossed in a real page-turner, and I did not want to put it down.

Socially speaking, the book promotes ideas that I appreciate: care for the poor, care for the environment, and respect for other religions. It also highlights the hypocrisy of some forms of Christianity that pick and choose the “sins” they want to highlight in society while overlooking others. It promotes moving the church beyond its own walls out into community, and it encourages individuals to take the personal responsibility of looking out for one’s neighbors. It also encourages persons to grow in their self-esteem as they begin to discover and use their God-given gifts (as Peter does throughout the book).

This book fits into what I call theological fiction. Other books that fit this genre for me include Marcus Borg’s Putting Away Childish Things: A Tale of Modern Faith (which I really enjoyed), Joseph F. Girzone’s Joshua: A Parable for Today, and William P. Young’s The Shack. These seem heavy-handed in theology, though. Some sections could easily be excerpted from these works of fiction and plopped down in a non-fiction theology book; thus, in many ways, they don’t always feel like novels to me.

In contrast, I enjoyed how Fulmer includes theology in his book in a more background way. There are no long speeches or narratives espousing theology. There’s theology there but not overtly. Thus, the book was much more readable as a novel.

And yet, I still struggle with some aspects of the theology. Most I can squint my eyes through, but I’m left with the idea that the author might be espousing a theology in which God causes natural disasters to teach people lessons.  Now, I’m not sure, after looking at his website, that Fulmer feels that way, but the book certainly left me feeling that way.  I just can’t go there. The character of God that I see in Jesus doesn’t do that. For sure, God can teach us things in response to natural disasters – and I believe God does. But, the God I know doesn’t cause natural disasters.

As a work of fiction, I think Hometown Prophet is a real good read, especially once you get past the first third with the last third being the best. There are good elements of theology sprinkled in, but one should think critically about all aspects of the theology found there – and anywhere, for that matter.

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About Jeff Fulmer, the author of  Hometown Prophet:

Jeff grew up in Franklin Tennessee, just outside of Nashville, where he attended a conservative, charismatic church that actively sought the gifts of the Holy Spirit. After graduating from Pepperdine University, he bounced around for a few introspective years before eventually moving back home to Tennessee. Along the way, he began to question some of his longstanding beliefs and attempted to reconcile his political and religious views. Increasingly, he became saddened and angered with how Christianity was so misrepresented for personal and political gain.  Hometown Prophet was born out of that frustration.  Learn more at www.hometownprophetbook.com.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and/or publisher through the Speakeasy blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR,Part 255.

What Does a Progressive Christian Believe? A Book Review

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Retha, the unofficial spokesperson and treasurer for the Open Door Sunday School Class, had told me that they would soon be finishing the book they were studying and would need some recommendations.  They were the one truly liberal Sunday School class at First United Methodist in Wichita Falls, Texas.  I could have given them a list of Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, or John Shelby Spong  books that they had not yet discussed.  Nothing against any of them, but I really wanted them to get a slightly different perspective even if it was saying similar things with different words and insights.  Yet, I hadn’t read much of anything in awhile other than those authors myself.  The few different things I had read would not interest them.

Amazon.com had often given me recommendations of books I should buy, but there for awhile, they recommended anything with the label “Christian.”  Many of those I was not going to read or recommend, so I was skeptical when I saw a recommendation for What Does a Progressive Christian Believe? A Guide for the Searching, the Open, and the Curious by Delwin Brown.  I was not familiar with Brown or his work, and I didn’t really know anything about the publisher, Seabury Books (which is an Episcopal publishing house).  The title sounded intriguing to me, but for the Open Door Class who were suspect of anything sounding creedal, there was one word in that title that I knew would turn them off: believe.  I couldn’t recommend it and say I hadn’t read it if I wanted them to read it.  I was going to have to be able to talk it up and give insights into how Brown used that word, believe.  So, I ordered it and read it as fast as I could.

In trying to talk it up, I told the class that the book did something that I’d been saying mainline / progressive Christians should do – be black and white about the fact that there is gray in the world.  Since then, I’ve changed that to say that we should be black and white about the fact that there is a full spectrum of diverse colors between the extremes of black and white.  This book does that as well for me.

Brown begins by talking about what progressive Christianity is NOT.  In doing so, he gives a short but solid history of the development of theology over the past 200 years, highlighting the dominant theological movements from that time period.  He shows aspects of each that progressive Christians should not adhere to while also pointing out positive elements of each that can inform a progressive Christian’s journey of faith.

Next he looks at how to more properly interpret and be informed by both Scripture and tradition.  A major part of this discussion involves what it means to say that each has “authority” while also showing unhealthy ways that we attribute authority to these sources of our faith.  He also graciously points out ways in which both cannot be considered “inerrant” while affirming their incalculable worth to our spiritual foundation and growth.

In the next chapter, Brown sets up a concept that will run through the rest of the book as he considers the incarnation.  Surprisingly, to guide and inform this discussion, he suggests “that we take as our guide the Christian councils of the fourth and fifth centuries, those gatherings of bishops and theologians at Nicea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon called to clarify and define the nature and content of the Christian faith over and against all rival interpretations.” (pg. 32)

At this point, on my first reading, I almost put the book down to write it off for use in the Open Door Class given their disdain for creeds.  Had it not been for this next sentence, I probably would have, “To many progressive Christians, this way of addressing the question will seem unpromising, if not utterly shocking.” (pg. 32)  That made me read on, and I’m glad I did, for he succinctly describes the outcome of each of those councils in how they chose to interpret the incarnation of Jesus and then takes these affirmations to the next level.  The incarnation isn’t just about the incarnation of God in Jesus; it is about God being incarnated in all of humanity.  Then, alluding to passages like Ephesians 4:6 (God is above all, through all, and in all), Psalm 139 (there is nowhere we can go to escape God’s presence), and Acts 17:28 (it is in God that we live, move, and have our being) he takes the incarnation one step further – to all of creation.  Quoting Gregory of Nyssa (“What God has not assumed, God has not saved”) and looking to Romans 8:19-23 (in particular vs. 21 where Paul writes that all of creation will be saved), Brown brilliantly affirms these points: the incarnation isn’t just about Jesus or humanity but all of creation, too.

This way of looking at the incarnation is the theme that connects the rest of the book as he considers these chapter topics:

  • God: Exploring the Depth
  • Humanity: Continuing the Creation
  • Sin: Failing and Hiding
  • Salvation: Seeking and Finding
  • Church: Serving and Being Served
  • Rightly Mixing Religion with Politics

All the while, Brown leaves space for disagreement and alternate ways of thinking along the way while encouraging all (including himself) to having an open mind.

One feature of the book that I really appreciated were the “Points for Reflection” found at the end of each chapter.  Here he succinctly reminds us, in bullet-point fashion, of the primary points he wanted to get across in the chapter.  Thus, he helps the reader contemplate the chapter as a whole before moving on to the next chapter and topic for development and discussion.

If you hadn’t guessed it already, I highly recommend this book.  It helps us develop a theology that can easily lead to action as God takes on our flesh and guides us into the ministry of loving God and our neighbors as ourselves.

Delwin Brown was a United Methodist lay person and dean emeritus of Pacific School of Religion.  He was also Professor of Christian Theology at Illiff School of Theology.  Sadly, he passed away September 12, 2009 after battling cancer.

If you’ve read the book, please, leave your thoughts below!

The Powers That Be – A Life-Changing Book

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“That is, by far, the funniest movie we have ever seen,” my parents kept repeating.  They were not alone as other friends and family members had profusely offered a similar judgment.  I had yet to see it and wouldn’t see it for a few years.  I missed the window of when the movie was in the theaters, and this was still the time when it took quite awhile for movies to make it to video.  I was also cheap, so I seldom rented new release movies.  I preferred waiting until I could rent it for only $0.99.

Eventually, I got around to renting (at $0.99) and watching Robin Williams’ Mrs. Doubtfire.  To be honest, I was underwhelmed.  It’s not that I didn’t think it was funny – it was.  The problem was that with all the praise I heard, I was expecting even more than I got.  My expectations were too high, so it turned out to just be “okay.”

In saying that Walter Wink’s book, The Powers That Be: Theology for a New Millennium, was a life-changing book, I fear raising your expectations too high.  Many things lead to this:

  • I don’t know how life-changing this book would have been for me had I not already had a year and a half of seminary under my belt.  Would I have been ready for or understood many of the concepts in the book?  I remember when serving First United Methodist in Wichita Falls, Texas that I recommended it to one Sunday School Class who was ready for it and loved it.  Another class who studied it shortly thereafter was not ready, did not understand it, and hated it (except for one or two individuals).
  • Had I not read this, I may have had similar life-changing experiences with other books.  At the same time, would I have been prepared for those other books without the new understandings I gleaned from this book?

Whatever the case, I do know this was a life-changing book for me at the right time, and it continues to be.  It molded the way I looked at the remainder of my time in seminary as it has my outlook on life in general.

The book was required reading for my Supervised Ministry Class at Brite Divinity School conducted by Dr. Steve Sprinkle.  The purpose of the class was to help me critique (and be critiqued) in my service of ministry within a local congregation (for me it was First United Methodist of Lewisville, Texas).  To help in this process, we had reflection papers along the way.  One of these papers was entitled “Appropriate Pastoral Authority and the Minister of Integrity.”  The required texts to influence this paper was The Powers That Be and Michael & Deborah Bradshaw Jinkins’ Power and Change in Parish Ministry: Reflections on the Cure of Souls.  I had a hard time writing the paper as I kept wanting to contemplate other aspect of Wink’s book that didn’t relate directly to the paper.

I remember the three things that most impacted me back then:

  • The idea that there are different ways of viewing the world, and the dominate way of viewing the world has changed through the centuries.  Wink gave a brief definition of several of these worldviews (ancient, spiritualist, materialist, theological, and integral) highlighting positive and negative attributes of each and offered an invitation to begin to view the world through the integral worldview.
  • He pointed out something many of us have experienced in life: even organizations have a “spirit.”  Haven’t you entered a church and right away could feel a positive or negative vibe?  Or have you taken a job somewhere expecting it to be a certain way, but as you got to know the organization you sensed a positive or negative attitude that was deeper than a surface level critique of the place?  Or have you worked or participated somewhere where the leadership changed and with it so did the demeanor of the organization (in a good or bad way)?  Although I had experienced things such as these, I’d never taken time to consider that sometimes the spirit of an organization needs redemption, too.
  • For the first time, I experienced the teachings of Jesus as being more than simply personal – for personal salvation only.  There was a social aspect that I’d never been exposed to (or chose to listen to).  So many of Jesus’ teachings were about dealing with and changing society, and Wink made this very clear for me for the first time.

I think these three stood out the most to me on my first reading as they most closely related to the paper I had to write.  Since that first reading, though, Jesus’ promotion of non-violent resistance has been what has been most eye-opening for me.  This is clearly in Jesus’ teachings when we are able strip away the way we have often been taught some of Jesus’ teachings, and this book helped me to do that.

So far, I’ve read this book cover-to-cover at least three times, and I’ve gone back to study and / or reference parts of it for deeper understanding.  Each time, I’ve come away with a new insight or way of understanding the world and our Christian response to it.

For me, the one weak point of the book is Chapter 10, “Prayer and the Powers.”  In many ways I feel that he retreats from the integral worldview back into the ancient worldview in his understanding of prayer.  That being said, the thoughts he laid down about prayer made me reconsider my own thoughts on prayer, and there is still good insights to take way.

For those wanting a good book to study, this one can create some good conversation.  Vern Rossman has created a study guide to go along with the book, and it can be found at http://www.bridges-across.org/ba/vr_confront.htm.  Honestly, I haven’t found that to be very helpful for me, but that probably has more to say about my teaching style than his guide.  In the fall of 2011, I led two groups from First United Methodist in Wichita Falls through this book.  To accompany, I used video clips from some Living the Questions produced series:  Victory and Peace or Justice and Peace, featuring John Dominic Crossan; Tex Mix: Stories of Earthy Mysticism, featuring story of and told by Tex Sample; and the segment on “Prayer” from Living the Questions – the original study.

If you haven’t read the book, obviously, I’d highly recommend it.  If you have, please, leave a note below about your thoughts of the book.

Re-Imagine the World: An Introduction to the Parables of Jesus

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I first heard of Bernard Brandon Scott by seeing snippets of an interview and a sermon he gave as a part of the Living the Questions Saving Jesus video guided study.  I enjoyed what I heard and put his name on my “to read in the future” book list but had never quite gotten around to reading anything by him.

Then, in October 2010, I got the opportunity to see and hear him in person at Mayflower United Church of Christ in Oklahoma City along with Joanna Dewey as a part of a Jesus Seminar on the Road program.  Their topic was “First-Century Jesus Movements:  How Did Christianity Evolve?”  It was truly fascinating, and I was blown away by their insight.

Trying to stay on a budget, I limited myself to purchasing only one book, and Re-Imagine the World: An Introduction to the Parables of Jesus was it.

For me it was an easy initial read, but many of the laity in the church I serve (First United Methodist Church of Wichita Falls, Texas) did not find it quite as easy as I did.  So, as I read it again in preparation for leading discussions on the book, I could see where some might have trouble with parts of it.  It is one thing to read it and understand it; it is another thing to explain what it means to others!  Scott does use some “big” or less-used words; however, in general, when a new or relatively unknown topic is mentioned, there are set-apart “Cameo Essays & Texts” that are strategically placed near the introduced topic to help make it more clear.  I found these immensely helpful and wish more authors / publishers would do this!

The premise of the book is that through telling parables, Jesus “re-imagines” how the world is, showing that the socially and culturally imposed worldviews of the first century (and even today) are sometimes very wrong.  Jesus’ parables thus seek to change:

  • How we view the world;
  • How we view God and God’s role in the world; and
  • How we view ourselves and our role in the world.

For instance, he uses the examples of the beatitudes, which he (and the Scholars Version) term the “congratulations!”  You don’t have to be rich and powerful, for the poor has the kingdom of God and the meek will inherit the earth.  That role reversal is seen elsewhere in Jesus’ teachings, including the parables, as noted by Scott.

Scott’s approach is to consider each parable in it’s first century context at the time of Jesus’ ministry.  That means, he often pulls it out of the context of the gospel in which it is found, but he shows at the same time how the gospel writer misused the parable to begin with.  Here’s an example.

Matthew’s gospel sets up the parable of the unforgiving slave (Matthew 18:23-34) with Peter asking how many times he should forgive one who has sinned against him.  Jesus’ response is essentially infinite (77 times or 70×7 times).  Then Matthew puts this parable in which the king, who Matthew thinks is God, will only forgive one time (despite the fact that Matthew 5:48 says we are to be perfect / whole / impartial as God is perfect / whole / impartial).  Scott argues persuasively that Jesus does not equate the king with God, which gives a completely different interpretation of the parable.  I won’t tell you the rest of Scott’s interpretation outside the context of Matthew, though, as I want you to read the book!  ;c)

In addition, where there are parallels between parables in different gospels (including the Gospel of Thomas), Scott notes them and also shows where some of the differences between the different versions probably go back to redaction of the gospel writers – making the parables more inline with their own writing style and focus.

An aspect of Scott’s writing style that I thoroughly enjoyed (but other readers at my church did not) is that he sometimes leaves you hanging at the end of the chapter in which he has interpreted a parable.  You’re left wanting more – wanting to know how it fits into the big picture of Jesus’ life and ministry.  He does exactly that, though in chapters 12-13.  So, if you are finding it difficult to read, you might do as members of the Living the Questions Sunday School class did and read those chapters first and as you go along chapter-by-chapter.

I thoroughly recommend this book to you.  Members of a recent study that I led also said that this was one of the best books they have used for study.  Thus, I hope you’ll consider reading and sharing your insights below!