2018 Fall List of Books & Resources
Theology, Spirituality The Bible Unwrapped: Making Sense of Scripture Today. Meghan Larissa Good. Herald Press, 2018, 312 pages. This book is for readers with lots of questions about the Bible, especially young people. Good writes in a very down-to-earth and non-academic style, using lots of present-day images, and tackles tough questions with honesty. She…
Barnyard philosopher on hope for the future
Life at the End of Us Versus Them is an unconventional critique of the postmodern world from the perspective of a youngish father who lives off the land. Part theologian, part philosopher, Marcus Rempel examines contemporary culture from the perspective of someone who takes the message of Jesus seriously. Rempel believes in being honest about…
Spring 2018 List of Books & Resources
Theology, Spirituality I Corinthians: Believers Church Bible Commentary. Dan Nighswander. Herald Press, 2017, 403 pages. Like other commentary writers in this series, Nighswander provides explanatory notes as well as describing the text in the biblical context and in the life of the church. He also points out which parts of I Corinthians do not appear…
A peace that ignores Jesus’ atoning work
Some years ago, in the book The Body and the Blood, reporter Charles Sennott of the Boston Globe lamented the Middle East’s vanishing Christian population, many leaving because of the bitter conflicts there. They were needed, Sennott argued, because they represented a mediating force, even those not committed to pacifism. Naim Ateek, an Anglican…
2017 Fall List of Books & Resources
Theology, Spirituality Approaching the Divine: Signs and Symbols of the Christian Faith. Margaret Loewen Reimer. CMU Press, 2017, 96 pages. This book explores the history and meaning of various Christian holidays, and the symbols and rituals connected with them. Many symbols have ancient roots, but Reimer also includes any Mennonite connections. She also considers the…
2014 Fall list of Books & Resources
Theology, Spirituality Good News: The Advent of Salvation in the Gospel of Luke. Darrin W. Snyder Belousek. Liturgical Press, 2014, 140 pages. As the executive director of Bridgefolk, Snyder Belousek brings together the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition with the Benedictine prayer tradition in looking at what salvation means for life on earth. Snyder Belousek teaches religion at…
Suffering under the Soviets
Village houses face the main street with barns attached behind and fields beyond that. Young people gather for “singings.” A bone setter relieves headaches by carefully manipulating the neck. These are all aspects of Mennonite life in Russia as presented by Janice L. Dick in her new novel, Other Side of the River. They resonate…
Spring 2012 List of Books & Resources
Theology, spirituality Atonement, Justice and Peace: The Message of the Cross and the Mission of the Church. Darrin W. Snyder Belousek. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2012, 668 pages. Belousek explains in great detail why he believes the penal substitution theory of atonement is faulty. He believes that nonviolence is the message of the cross if…
The Bible and the billionaire
Billionaire media titan Rupert Murdoch has made headlines over the phone-hacking scandal that forced him to shut down his British tabloid, News of the World. But few people know that News Corp, the company Murdoch heads, also owns Zondervan, the world’s leading Bible publisher. News Corp, which took in $32.7 billion last year, also owns…
Capitalism under an imperialistic logic
Todd Gordon’s Imperialist Canada is not theology, nor is it written for or about the church. And while Mennonites are nowhere mentioned within its pages, the content of this book should be of great interest to Canadian Mennonites. This work is an attempt to demonstrate that Canada operates under an imperialist logic and practice. Popular…
