The Little Friar

Every year, I see memes making their rounds on how Christians stole Christmas from the pagans.  These memes recur around the Christmas season, and tend to reinforce ideas that question the very historicity of Jesus himself . So let me lay it out plain:  No, Christmas did not begin as a pagan holiday.  In fact, to claim as much is to deny the very history folks want to lay claim to.  In some ways, the following is going to be a rant.  But rants are quite probably the only (and certainly the best) response to such silliness. The Christmas tree is pagan. What if I told you that most Christians throughout history did not celebrate Christmas with trees?  Christmas trees have started to spread all over the world, but that is a recent development and not something most Christmas-celebrating Christians would have even heard of for most of history.  Christmas trees were a purely localized phenomenon for a long time. And it's not like pagans invented trees...

J Chase Davis' Trinitarian Formation:  A Theology of Discipleship in Light of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit develops one of the strongest theologies of discipleship I've read in recent years.  He offers readers a " Triperspectivalism" that balances doctrinal, devotional and dutiful perspectives about discipleship into a clear view of all the ways in which the theology of the Trinity informs and forms the church's ministry to make disciples.  Far from a deep theology that is disconnected from the practical concerns of disciple-making ministry, Trinitarian Formation highlights things like racial justice and the struggles of addiction as deeply theological and devotional issues. This is clearly one of the most important ministry texts for 2021. _______________________ I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.

Gregg R. Allison's 40 Questions about Roman Catholicism is another volume in Kregel's "40 questions" series that explores historical and foundational questions (questions 1-10), theological questions (questions 11-34), and contemporary and personal questions (questions 35-40).  It's a balanced, serious engagement from an evangelical (specifically Southern Baptist) who has spent decades researching and dialoguing with Roman Catholics. Allison is clear that one of the fundamental differences between Roman Catholics and evangelicals generally is the approach of the relationship between nature and grace.  For Roman Catholics (cf. Question 3), nature and grace are intertwined.  Put simply, for Roman Catholics, nature transmits grace.  This is particularly true in the sacramental theology that infuses the Roman tradition.  While the sin of Adam may have corrupted nature, it did not obliterate the divine grace infused into it.   Questions 11-13 will quite...

Following the Call:  Living the Sermon on the Mount Together is a companion volume to Called to Community: The Life Jesus Wants for His People ( reviewed here ), a collection of essays from various Christian spiritual writers who open up ways of reading and living Jesus' words contained in the Sermon on the Mount.  The book is divided into four sections: Kingdom Character (Matthew 5.1-16) Kingdom Commands (5.17-48) Kingdom Devotion (6.1-18) Kingdom Priorities (6.19-7.28) and explores all the beauty and grace of Jesus' words in fresh and enlivening ways.   Because our culture tends to think of Jesus' teachings as individual ethical imperatives, this book offers an added layer of criticism.  It is meant to be read in community, with others, and enacted in the lives of its readers.  This collection of 52 essays is also "essential reading" for disciples. ______________________ I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review ...

The NIV Beautiful Word Bible has an update from its original 2016 edition.  This edition has an additional 100 illustrated verses, a larger (9.9 point) font size, and a set of matching self-adhesive book tabs that you can attach for the reader's ease in finding Bible books. The tabs, unfortunately, didn't come with instructions -- so you have to be careful when applying them and put thought into the process.  But their design is simple and adds to the beauty of the final product.  The binding is a strong soft leather over board, giving the book a strong structure, which, when opened, lays the text flat, regardless what part of the book you might be reading.   Overall, this is a beautiful text that my wife is going to treasure for years to come. I've attached some images below to give readers a clear view of that beauty. _____________________________ I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.

Derek Peterson's Flat Earths and Fake Footnotes:  The Strange Tale of How the Conflict of Science and Christianity was Written into History  reads like a detective story ... on the interrelationships between science and Christian faith.  Peterson exposes a range of myths about those interrelationships -- asking the important questions of who, what, where, when, and why we believe modern science and Christian faith are at odds with one another.  In many ways, this detective story weaves and meanders down blind alleys to bring to light just how false these myths are, and how widespread they're believed in our culture. Historians and philosophers of science have, over the past quarter century, begun to quietly leave those myths behind and tell the real story of the relationship between modern science and Christian faith.  And Peterson does a masterful job bringing their work to light and exposing the myths of conflict for just what they are.  Like a good detec...

Douglas Webster's The Parables:  Jesus' Friendly Subversive Speech offers readers an accessible yet scholarly depth introduction to the parables of Jesus from the canonical tradition.  Webster gives a thorough exposition of several of the common parables, with an echo of the parable tradition from the Old Testament, particularly the prophetic tradition. The final chapter is perhaps the most important.  In it, Webster offers some critical advice on teaching and preaching Jesus' parables in contemporary contexts.   This is a great resource and a valuable addition to any pastor's library. __________________________ I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.

Alan Olsan's Caspar Schwenckfeld:  Between Tyranny and Anarchy tells the semi-historical account of one of the lesser known characters of the 16th Century Protestant Reformation.  Developed from letters, pamphlets and other writings of Schwenckfeld's, the book tells the all-too-human story of real life reformers -- their hopes, dreams and fears.  It's an intriguing account for historians, but it also offers a rich account of the very roots of the Reformation in the deep biblical disagreements that formed the heart of the movement. Schwenckfeld was a nobleman born in the province that now encompasses modern western Poland, an early follower of Martin Luther.  After Caspar's own conversion, he brought Lutheranism to Poland, and quickly gained the approval of Luther himself.  After some converts began to abuse Luther's notion of "justification by grace alone" -- and over a deep disagreement of the nature of the Lord's Supper -- Schwenckfeld broke with Lu...

Matthew John Ehan's God*s Will:  Based on a True Story is the story of Sam Snyder, a fourteen year old boy, who is admitted into a reform school in Missouri by his adoptive mother.  Sam is initially led to believe that he is being taken to his godfather's farm for some quality time.  When he learns the truth of his mother's intentions, he argues and complains, hoping he might be able to change her mind, but it’s too late.  Mount Zion Baptist Boarding Academy turns out to be far worse than Sam had imagined it to be.  That's because the Academy is all about fear, not about the divine love of God made known in Jesus Christ. And make no doubt about it, this Academy is like so many in our world.  Ehan has pulled the curtain back for a paced novel that will keep your attention but also leave you asking serious questions about the way in which Christians construct their camp contexts. ______________________ I received a free copy of this book from the publis...

ST Kimbrough's Radical Grace:  Justice for the Poor and Marginalized -- Charles Wesley's Views for the 21st Century continues his rich theological exposition of Wesleyan hymnody for new generation.  Kimbrough brings some of the most important texts -- whether hymns, sermons, journal entries, and even a few letters -- that take a long-overdue exposition into Charles Wesley's 18th century views of justice for the poor and applies that faithfully into a 21st century context. This is a refreshing read that takes one of the most important early Methodist theological/ethical themes and gives it a new life and spirit. It's a must read! ______________________ I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.

AE Smith's Gift for Gracelyn is a beautiful children's chapter storybook of a little girl who needs heart surgery and the love of her pets to love and support her through the surgery and recovery.    Gracelyn who is11-turning-12 has a heart condition, which means that she becomes tired quickly and sometimes has trouble breathing. She lives on a ranch in Arizona with her older brother, Terry, their parents and a whole host of animals.  The animals feature heavily in the story and are described precisely and quite accurately for a children's book. Gracelyn is preparing for surgery, which will take her away from her ranch.  The animals learn of this and gather together to determine the appropriate gift to give her for her birthday. There's so much more -- but saying much else would be spoilers for readers.  It's a delightful story with some beautiful illustrations.  Parents, this is a book you'll want to share with your child, rather than just giving it...

Juanita Campbell's Learning to Be:  Finding Your Center after the Bottom Falls Out explores Campbell's own contemplative journey in and through depression.  It explores so many of the spiritual practices that can sustain us as we make that same journey.  For that reason alone, this is perhaps the most important book to read in 2021.  We've just come through one of the most isolating, uncertain period in contemporary memory, and some of us didn't fare too well.  Isolation quickly ushers is depression.  And 2021 is filled with those of us who haven't made the transition well. Campbell calls her major depressive episode "the crash", and describes it in vivid detail.  But she does so with an eye toward medicine and spirituality.  That makes this book essential reading. _______________________ I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review here.

 Dave Andrews' To Right Every Wrong:  The Making and Unmaking of One Improbable Minor Prophet is full of the deep reflections that one would expect of a prophet.  Although Andrews' book is primarily a spiritual memoir, it is also a profound treatise on the prophetic role and the necessity for a radical re-envisioning of the calling to represent God's cause in the modern world in the tradition of Jesus himself.  Even as it continues that same christological work.   The book is structured into three sections:  "The Personal", which is very brief; "The Prophetical", the center of the book's narrative; and "The Paradoxical", which is another brief selection but one that brings the whole book to a close. As I read, I have to admit that I found myself partly angry, partly frustrated -- but in the end, convinced.  This is a book about Christian prophecy in the best sense of the phrase. ______________________ I received a free copy of the boo...

Jennifer Butler's Who Stole My Bible?  Reclaiming Scripture as a Handbook for Resisting Tyranny offers readers a primer on so many of the biblical themes that resonate with "progressive" Christianity.   Let's be honest:  So many progressives are scared of Scripture as a source and resource for faith.  It's been coopted by churches and traditions that would have us believe so many of those themes are opposite to the biblical text. Butler will convince you otherwise. The biblical text is part of a shared heritage and the text inhabits the lives of those who have gone before us.  In a way that opens the text up to the diversity of modern American church life. Butler has no intention of laying out a comprehensive interpretation on the entirety of the Bible.  But she selects nine biblical texts that issue in quite essential themes.  Creation, Exodus, the Golden Calf, Israel's desire for a king, Solomon's complex legacy, women in the Gospels, Pilate's ...

Tom Anderson's Ephesians and All That Jazz is a fun devotional quality book that brings a fresh perspective -- and translation -- to the letter of Paul to the Ephesians.  Using a rich personal style, Anderson gives us both commentary and translation -- in much the way a jazz musician deals with themes and notes.   Anderson himself describes the book as a "transliteration", an attempt to look at the basic structure of Ephesians and let the Holy Spirit reveal elements of the message which are not explicit but part of its message.  He compares this process to jazz music, where musicians take a basic structure and improvise off of it.  That makes Ephesians and All That Jazz  one of the more unique attempts to deal with Scripture in a fresh way. Don't miss this little book! _______________________ I received a free book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review here.

  Alon Goshen-Gottstein's important edited collection, Coronaspection:  World Religious Leaders reflect on COVID-19 , brings together some of the world's most significant religious leaders to offer messages about the spiritual challenges of COVID-19.  These leaders explore a selection of those themes that have emerged over the past year:  how to deal with fear and anxiety; how do cope with loss; how to use the time in lockdown and how to use solitude; how to maintain a sense of solidarity with others; what kind of world do they envision for the future.  This collection is nothing short of a storehouse of teaching and inspiration, delivered by some of the most prominent global voices in religion.  From Christian to Jewish, Muslim, and other voices like those of Ravi Shankar, this collection is one that is important for any number of audiences.  There are some basic themes that begin to emerge as part of the conversations that created the rich soil ...

ST Kimbrough's Partakers of the Life Divine:  Participation in the Divine Nature in the Writings of Charles Wesley is the product of decades of research and writing on the theology of Charles Wesley.   When I was a seminary student, one of the most intriguing parts of the Wesley brothers' theologies to me was the notion of "going on toward perfection" and the resonances the idea had with Eastern Orthodox theologies of theosis , or deification -- the process of entering into the divine life through Christ in the Spirit with the Father.  Kimbrough's masterful book takes all that Charles Wesley has written -- both the prose and the lyrics -- to explore the deeply pastoral, thoroughly spiritual and complexly theological account of that process.  For Wesley, this process went beyond one's own spiritual life to find expression in the corporate life of the fellowship of the Spirit as the Body of Christ in the world.   In other words, what one finds here is a ...

A friend asked recently if I might give some of the "reasons" for my Evangelical Universalism. I shared my The Fire and the Rose and On Hell. Her concern, of course, is whether the Scriptures support what I believe about the salvation and restoration of all things into relationship with God through Jesus Christ. So here are some of those texts. And then all flesh shall see the salvation of God (Luke 3.6). This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that through him all might believe…. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world (John 1.7, 9). Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1.29). For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved (John 3.16-17) The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His...

I've been thinking lately of two lessons I learned from one of my most significant professors in grad school.  Fred Norris passed away in 2016.  I hadn't seen Fred for nearly two decades.  But I still remember these vinettes because, in them, there was a shared lesson:  Pastors must love people.  Once, he told a class of "a wonderful spiritual woman" in a congregation he served in Oklahoma.  She never once took communion, and he thinks that she probably went to her grave not having taken it.  Why?  Because she didn't feel worthy -- in part, because she had been left by her husband.  Fred grieved over how difficult it was for this woman in his church to know and  experience grace. In a more serious moment, Fred said it this way:  "Don't let yourself get to a place in ministry where grace and mercy sit as an apostrophe somewhere". Perhaps all that I learned from Dr Norris can be summarized by a story he told when I first had ...