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I l l l l l l i l l l l l l l l l l l lill liliSPIRITUAL LIVING

meditation is well suited to the moderncircumstances she addresses.Stanford,Shane. A Positive Life: Livingwith HIV as a Pastor, Husband, and Father.Zondervan. Apr. 20 10 . c.224p. ISBN 97 8- 0-3 1 0 - 2 9 2 9 2 - 0 . 1 9 . 9 9 . RE LStanford The Seven Next Words ofChrist)has had a tougher row to hoe than most,as an HIV-positive hem ophiliac, Ch ristianminister, husband, and father. Althoughmemoirs as such rarely rise to the level ofspiritual reading, the extraordinary cir-cumstances of Stanford's life, his unblink-ered clarity about it, and his unquenchablegratitude for God's presence in it makethis book a salutary exception. As he elo-quently writes, his illness is a continuingreminder that "what divides us is, ulti-mately, of little consequence." VERDICT Aheartbreakingand remakinglife storyfrom a longtime survivor of hemoph iliaand HIV, alarming and inspiring by turns.

u, Desmond & Mpho Tutu. Ma de forGoodness: And Why This Ma kes Al l theDifference. HarperDne: HarperCollins.Mar . 2010. c .256p. ISBN 978-0-06-170659-2 2 5 . 9 9 . RELDesmond Tutu, Anglican archbishop ofCape Town, as well as chairman of SouthAfrica's Truth and Reconciliation Com-mission, hardly needs an introduction. Hislatest book was cowritten with his daugh-ter, an Episcopal priest as well as executivedirector of the Tutu Institute for Prayerand Pilgrimage. The book is founded onthe broad notion that we are created withthe freedom to choose good or evil butalso incline fundamentally to the good.Abstract theology or spirituality has neverbeen Archbishop Tutu's way; accordingly,this book flows effortlessly through nar-ratives that illustrate Tutu's unquenchablehope.VERDI TA crucially impo rtant bo okfrom the Nobel Peace Prize winn er; a wit-

ness to our tumultuous times.F O R F U R T H E R T H O U G H THow To Achieve a Heaven on Earth:101 Insightful Essays from the World'sGreatest Thinkers, Leaders, and Writers.Pelican. 2 01 0. c .32 0p . ed . by John Wade II.ISBN 978-1 -5898 0-59 7-2. pap. 19.95 . RELWade (founder. Soldiers of Love) askedmore than 100 leaders and thinkers to con -tribute brief essays on ways to improve theworld, and his respondents here include AlGore, Ted Turner, George W . Bush, Presi-dent Obama, M arianne Williamson, TonyBlair , and Paul Prudhomme, speakingto peace; security; freedom; democracy;prosperity; spiritual, racial, and ecologicalharmony; health; and moral purpose. The

broad range is hard to describe in briefThe contributors agree that something canbe done, and even must be done, but theirsolutions are as various as they are them-selves. VERDICT A fascinating octopus ofa book on global change, reaching in alldirections at once.Keen,Sam. In the Ahsence of G o d : Dwellingin the Presence of the Sacre d. Harmony:Crown. Mar. 2010. c.224p. ISBN 97 8-0 -30 7-46229-9. 23. RELKeen YourMythicJourney) presents a pro-vocative book on the dilemmas of modernspiritual l ife. His premisehis control-ling metaphor in this bookis noth ing lessthan mapping spirituality to the journeyof the hero through separation and alien-ation to initiation and finally to return.For Keen, our alienation from our spiritualselvesand from an apparently "absent"Godcan lead us to a rediscovery of ele-mental emotions that make renewed spiri-tuality possible. VERDICTThis profound,psychologically informed guide throughour current difficulties, in the spirit of J o -seph Campbell, is highly recommendedfor many seekers.Merritt, Jonathan. Green Like God: U nlock ingthe Divine Plan for Our Planet. FaithWords.Apr . 2010. c .208p. ISBN 978-0-446-55725-2 16 . 99 . RELMerri t t deals with the relat ionship ofChristian faith to the environment, trac-ing his own journey from uncertainty toadvocacy about the need for "gre enin g" inthe ch urch. His book is interesting becausemany of his fellow conservative Christiansfeel, as he points out, that the return ofJesus cancels out any obligation to care forthe earth in the meanwhile ("Nonsense "he writes) or doubt the reality of globalwarming . Merr i t t u ses "Plan Po in t s"and call-outs to crystallize his ideas, e.g.,"Because God powerfully reveals him-self through the creation around us, weshould reflect on it and respond to it," and,"Th e human tendency to pursue more andbetter is impossible to reconcile with thedivine plan."VERDICTMe rritt's pow erfuland faith-driven ideas should com e as ahealthy shock to many Christians. A wel-come and salutary salvo for a faith-basedenvironmental activism from a conserva-tive Christian.Paintner, Christine Valters. Wa ter, Win d,Earth,and Fire: The Christian Prac tice ofPraying with the Elemen ts. Sorin. Mar. 20 10 .c.160p. ISBN 978 -1-9 334 95- 22-4 . pap. 1 4 . 9 5 . RELPaintner Awakening theGreative Spirit),aBenedictine oblate, here gives us a fresh

and original treatment of Christian spirtuality. The elements she speaks ofwatewind, earth, and fireare of course nelements as contemporary science undestand them, but Paintner's work is closto poetry than science, as she reflects othe metaphorical powers of these old-styelements and selects poetry and prayethat engage them. Her chapters includideas for reflection and prayer, as well guides for lectiones divinae with each ofelements . VERDICT A lovely, brief booreconnect ing Chris t ian spir i tual i ty withe natural world.Park, Andrew. Between a Church anda Hard Place: One Faith-Free Dad'sStruggle To Understand What It MeansTo Be Religious (or Not). Avery: PenguinGroup (USA). Mar. 2010. c.224p. ISBN 978-1-58333-371-6 . 26 . R LJournalist Park has written a kind ofsidways memoir, which also incorporatesociological, psychological, and historcal t idbits. After his three-year-old sopronounces the word God, Park explorhis own childhood, wonders at the phenomenon of religious faith, and considethe paradoxes of clinging to secular anhumanist values in a profoundly religiouenvironment . VERDICTA gently h um oo u s insightful journey through one manheart and one family's life, as seen thro ugthe lens of belief Highly recom men ded.Vattimo, Gianni & Ren Girard. Ch ristianity,Truth, and Weakening: A Dialogue. ColumbiUniv. Mar. 201 0. c.128p. ISBN978-0-231-14828 -3. pap. 18.50. REL .Vat t im o and Gi rard a re perh aps nohousehold names in the United States buare well-known philosophers in EuropVattimo, a Catholic nihilist and a clevedployer of the ideas of Martin HeideggeGirard, admired author of such books aViolence and theSacred Both men, frvarying view points, see Christianity ascrucial influence on world culture. Thshort volume is a compilation of converstions between the two held between 199and 2 006 , as well as essays wr itte n by eacbetween 1999 and the present . Bracinand even daunting in its intellectual adventurousness, the book shows two verdifferent minds with Christianity as "threligion of exit from religion" and one the most important sources of democracindividualism, and the free mark et somof the very forces that have weakened igrip on contemporary society. VERDICRich, difficult, fascinating, and provoctive reading on Christianity and culturfrom two of the new Europe 's leadineggheads.

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