Five Views on the Church and Politics, edited by Amy E. Black

Recent trends in the United States seem to point to a constantly lowering importance of religion in public life.  Yet religion persists as an important factor in elections and in policy making.  Grappling with the question of the interactions of faith and politics does not compare in importance to larger, eternal mission of the church, but political life is unquestionably an element of the temporal mission of the church.

In Five Views on the Church and Politics, Amy Black brings together five scholars who describe and discuss their own traditions' views.  Each of these contributes a chapter, to which the other four offer brief responses: Thomas Heilke (Anabaptist), Robert Benne (Lutheran), Bruce Fields (the Black church), James K.A. Smith (Reformed), and J. Brian Benestad (Roman Catholic).

As you might expect from this type of book, each chapter feels just a bit brief.  Each contributor covers the high points of his tradition, while providing extensive sources for those who want to dig in.  The responses highlight the differences among the traditions.  I was left with an impression of varied traditions that have distinctive ways of saying the same things.  Of course, there are differences among these five traditions, but there are many more similarities.

Five Views is a very useful volume for readers looking for a brief synopsis of these five traditions.  Black couches each in categories drawn from Neibuhr's Christ and Culture.  She points out that "these traditions overlap in many significant ways, have borrowed from each other's teachings over time, and continue to learn from one another and change from within."  Five Views did little to dispel my notion that while theological and scriptural traditions certainly inform denominational views on politics, the reverse is also frequently true.  Sometimes those who shape a denomination's position use theology and scripture to defend a political perspective.

At the very least, Five Views will be a useful book for seminary classes on Christian ethics.  But one hopes that lay people and clergy will use Five Views as a starting point for reflecting on their own traditions and the theology behind their own political views.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

NeuroTribes, by Steve Silberman

Autism.  Sometimes it seems like no one really knows what that word means.  Even among medical professionals, that word has so much vagueness and leeway that it sometimes seems like it can include just about anyone with some sort of abnormal behavior.  In NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity, Steve Silberman may not answer all the questions about autism, but the questions are there and he provides plenty of fodder for discussion.

In terms of a percentage of content, the majority of NeuroTribes concentrates on the Legacy part of the subtitle.  Acknowledging that autism as a medical or psychological diagnosis is a relatively recent phenomenon, Silberman looks at historical figures and records, describing some individuals who, if they lived today, would most certainly be considered autistic.  History buffs will enjoy reading about Asperger, Kanner, and other pioneers who first developed the idea of autism as a unique diagnosis.

Sadly, for most of our history, many people we now see as autistic would have been thrown down a well, ostracized, left to die, or, for the lucky few, institutionalized.  Silberman recounts the history of abuse that autistic individuals have suffered (and more recently that we would like to admit).  Similarly, he traces the shift in the perception of autism, to "viewing it as a lifelong disability that deserves support, rather than as a disease of children that can be cured."  Some of the "treatments" that medical professionals used to try to "cure" children of autism are truly barbaric and unconscionable.  I know hindsight is 20/20, but it's hard to imagine what some of those folks were thinking. . . .

Two major issues Silberman discussed were, I thought, left without a satisfactory resolution.  First, the question of a relationship of autism and vaccines.  In my limited reading, it seems as if the medical community has pretty well debunked the notion that vaccines, specifically the preservatives in particular vaccines, cause autism.  Silberman clearly rejects that notion as well.  However, he offers enough anecdotal evidence of the connection that it seems there are still some legitimate concerns.  I am not a psychologist, psychiatrist, or neurologist, just a casual reader, but I have some sympathy with those parents who report drastic changes in their children immediately after receiving a vaccine.  Their experiences cannot be rejected out of hand.

The second issue that I wondered about is the enormous growth in diagnoses of autism.  As awareness grew, and especially as autism was described in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the Bible of the psychiatric profession), it raised the question as to whether there were more cases of autism, or simply that they now had a name and psychiatrists were putting the name to work.  Some studies showed that the DSM "trigger[ed] a significant rise in diagnoses."  They found that "awareness of autism among professionals was dramatically increasing at the same time that the boundaries of the condition were expanded.  The new numbers reflected the estimates realigning themselves with the reality of the spectrum."

So is there some evolutionary change leading more and more individuals to have autism?  Are factors in the environment or toxins in vaccines or other man-made factors leading to more occurrences of autism?  Are there really more people with autism, or is autism simply being more widely recognized?  These questions don't have easy answers.  They might not have hard answers.  Silberman doesn't have the answers.  But they are interesting questions to contemplate.

Whatever the case, autistic individuals are becoming better and better at navigating the wider world.  Starting with ham radio, then with the advent of computer bulletin boards and now with the various ways the internet allows people to network and create virtual community, autistic people are more connected and empowered than ever.  Technology has been a huge boost for their opportunities for employment and learning.  In fact, they themselves have developed much of that technology!

Silberman features people like Temple Grandin, perhaps the most famous autistic person to date, to demonstrate that the possibilities for autistic people to have productive lives, impacting their chosen fields and the world, are limitless.  Parents of children with autism and adults with autism still have battles to fight, and public perception is still sometimes an obstacle.  NeuroTribes gives reason for hope.  Those of use who might be considered "neurotypical" must recognize the growing neurodiversity around us and appreciate the contributions those who are not neurotypical make to society.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Holding Tight--Letting Go, by Benjamin Garber

About the time I got married, my mother gave me a little needlepoint picture to hang on my wall which read, "All a parent can give a child is roots and wings."  I thought of that as I read Benjamin Garber's Holding Tight--Letting Go: Raising Healthy Kids in Anxious Times.  Garber, a psychologist and, more importantly, a father, looks at attachment and child development with an eye to the question, When is it time to let go?

It's a balance.  "Holding on too long can be as harmful as letting go too soon."  The parent provides the anchor.  As the child grows the anchor line grows longer.  As the line grows, Garber suggests that "transitional objects" can help remind the child of the anchor itself.  Something small he can carry in his pocket, wear on his wrist, or hold can give reassurance.  Too much contact (phone calls during the school day, Skyping while he's away at camp, etc.) can lead to dependence that delays readiness for eventual separation.

There are plenty of reasons--cyberstalking, terrorism, disease, to name a few--for keeping a child at home and the anchor line short.  Garber reminds parents that "They must fall down . . . and they'll need you there, once again, to hold them tight."

Garber's writing is fueled by his experience as a psychologist, but it's readable and conversational enough that it doesn't have the feel of an academic journal article.  He may actually have gone a bit too far, sacrificing some structure and practical application for a more free-flowing, story-telling style.  I think most parents want to hold tight too long.  Garber reminds us that as long as we give our children a reliable anchor, we can let that anchor line go and we'll find they circle back to hold tight in a way that's healthy for both parent and child.


Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

People to Be Loved, by Preston Sprinkle

Here's what I don't like about Preston Sprinkle's book People to Be Loved: Why Homosexuality is Not Just an Issue: the fact that it had to be written.  That's what I don't like about his major point: that it has to be made.  Sprinkle takes on one of the most pressing issues in church life today, homosexuality.  He argues that "If the church is ever going to solve this issue, it needs to stop seeing it as an 'issue.' Homosexuality is not an issue to be solved; it's about people who need to love and be loved."

Christians have gotten worked up about legalizing gay marriage.  Some talk about a homosexual agenda.  They boycott Disneyworld on gay day.  It has gotten to the point that some outside the church identify an anti-gay stance as the chief characteristic of the church.

Sprinkle plays a little coy about his stance on the "issue" but he is assuredly within traditional Christian teaching.  He's uncomfortable with the way we talk about homosexuality within and without the church.  Is it the act?  The inclination?  Attraction?  It's too simplistic to try to categorize people as "gay" or "homosexual" without caveats and explanations.  He reinforces his major point, that a person can't be reduced to an issue, and that relationships should come first.

I think he's right, that we should work toward a day when Christians will be "known more for their radical, otherworldly love for gay people than their stance against gay sex."  We should follow the example of Jesus.  He "doesn't lead with the law.  He leads with love--love without footnotes."

Sprinkle's treatment is solidly biblical and deeply pastoral.  People to Be Loved shouldn't have been necessary.  But it is.  Any Christian who knows gay people in his or her community or church--and that covers just about all of us--would be well-served to spend some time reading and reflecting on Sprinkle's book.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Django/Zorro, by Quentin Tarantino

If you've seen the movie Django Unchained and liked it, you'll love Django's continuing adventure as he meets up with Zorro in Django/Zorro.  Quentin Tarantino teamed up with the writers and illustrators at Dynamite Entertainment to create a series of comics, compiled here in graphic novel form.  Django has left the South and headed west, where he meets Diego de la Vega, a.k.a. Zorro, on the way to confront a bad dude in Arizona.

Zorro's interested in the fraud perpetrated by the self-appointed Archduke of Arizona, and Django comes along for the ride.  Djanog soon discovers the Archduke isn't much different from the slave owners he knew back in the South and begins to foment a bit of rebellion.

I loved the way Tarantino and his collaborators emphasize the differences between Django and Zorro (class, choice of weapons, readiness to kill) while using their contrasting styles to work together.  Fans will love the additional material included in this edition: cover art, commentaries from Tarantino and collaborator Matt Wagner, as well as the original script from the first comic.  I doubt there are plans to make this into a movie, but Django/Zorro stands on its own as a worthy sequel to Django Unchained.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Drama Dolls, by Jason Tanamor

There are some books about which I think, "This book is not for me, but it's probably for somebody."  Jason Tanamor's Drama Dolls was definitely not for me.  I suppose it could be for somebody.  The basic premise: a widower copes with his grief by dressing up like a cheerleader (skirt, makeup, pom-poms, etc.) and burglarizing houses.  And by the way, he brings along his life-size doll, dressed up in his late wife's clothes.

Sorry if I'm giving away important plot points.  I just didn't appreciate the story, the development, or the characters.  Lena's in love with Jeffrey, but why?  I never saw much to love in him, just someone to be pitied.  Pity-love, I guess.  Wouldn't be the first time.  And the "punch line" pay off I saw coming a mile away.

It's not that Tanamor is a bad writer.  He's not.  (Well, except for his annoying habit of writing sentences like this: "Short blond hair, feathered, it was cut down and parted on the side.  The boy, he was clean shaven."  That antecedent, pronoun construction, it got old.  That style, it's cumbersome and overused.)  It's just. . . . He wrote a pretty bad story.  If I were his literary agent, I think I would try to get him to channel his skill and energies into something different.  So perhaps what I have written makes you think, "Well, this reviewer didn't like Drama Dolls, but maybe I will."  More power to ya.  Based on the five-star reviews on Amazon.com, I'm in a clear minority.


Thanks to the author for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Soul Mates, by W. Bradford Wilcox and Nicholas Wolfinger

It's no secret that marriage has declined in the U.S.  It's also generally accepted that marriage lends stability and social improvement.  Given these general ideas, sociologists W. Bradford Wilcox and Nicholas Wolfinger investigated the impact of religion on marriage among African-Americans and Latinos.  They write about their conclusions in Soul Mates: Religion, Sex, Love, and Marriage among African Americans and Latinos.

Drawing on a wide variety of polling data, as well as personal interviews, Wilcox and Wolfinger concluded that "religion is a force for good in African American and Latino family life." However, they are careful to point out that "although religion benefits many Latino and African American families, it is neither a panacea nor a one-size-fits-all solution."

They provide lots of charts and figures to bolster their claims, but the interviews more effectively personalize the statistics they cite.  We hear not only the stories of couples whose lives were turned around because of their religious involvement, but others whose lives do not conform to typical religious norms.  All told, those who become involved in religious activity are less likely to be involved in the street subculture ("Del mundo" as Latinos say), which includes, infidelity, drugs and alcohol abuse, and crime and imprisonment.

Some of their findings surprised me.  Even though the impact and influence of religion is clear and demonstrable, it is not as significant as I would have thought.  For example, those who are involved in religious activities are less likely to divorce, have children outside of marriage, and be incarcerated, but not by as big a margin as you might expect.  I was also surprised that the impact tends to be be smaller for blacks than whites.  There are, of course, cultural and societal structures that cause that to be the case.  Wilcox and Wolfinger's research, unfortunately, provides a bit of validation to stereotypes about minorities, specifically surrounding participation in "street culture."

The bottom line is the religion definitely tends to be a good thing for couples.  Broadly speaking, they found that "people who attend church regularly are less likely to report being unhappy."  There's a good reason to go to church!  More specifically, they have a word of advice for couples: they identify "two of the mechanisms through which religious participation improves relationship quality: religious friends and shared prayer.  Latino and black couples who attend church together enjoy significantly happier relationships, in large part because they socialize with friends who share their faith and especially because they pray with one another."  So let's go to church, honey, and later we'll pray together!


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!