Book Review - The Appeal

WHEN A YOUNG WIDOW wins a multi-million dollar jury verdict, she is only halfway there. She and the small, strapped and stretched law firm representing her must also win the appeal against a corporation, its law firm, and a team of shadowy figures and forces working against them.

It is true that the emphasis of this book is not on character development, but the characters are certainly not (all) underdeveloped. The novel offers what may normally be expected from a successful work in this genre, a good plot. The work been criticized for not ending in a pow, but had it so ended, Grisham would then have been criticized for being predictable; a no-win situation for him in this respect.

Grisham shows that he indeed knows his stuff in terms of how the world works, especially in the realms of church (liberal and conservative), finance, and, of course, law. Writers will also pick up quite a bit about the mechanics of telling a story, including how to create and assemble multiple elements while pushing a plot along.

Book Review: Everyday Greatness

Everyday Greatness
Stephen R. Covey
464 pages
Thomas Nelson

This bulk of this book's text is a compilation of inspiring short stories culled from back issues of Reader's Digest. The readings, however, are not simply lumped together. Rather, they are organized in a nice way according to topic and subtopic. The stories are introduced and analyzed with commentary by Stephen R. Covey the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey's thinking, as expressed in that book, is carried over consistently into Everyday Greatness. For each sub-topic, a collection of related quotations follows the commentary. The topics and subtopics are as follows:

Searching for Meaning: Contribution; Charity; Attention
Taking Charge: Responsibility; Courage; Discipline
Starting Within: Integrity; Humility; Gratitude
Creating the Dream: Vision; Innovation; Quality
Teaming with Others: Respect; Empathy; Unity
Overcoming Adversity: Adaptability; Magnanimity; Perseverance
Blending the Pieces: Balance; Simplicity; Renewal

Two final points: For those looking for a book written by Covey, this may not satisfy, since, as noted the bulk of the text is not by Covey. As a related point, if you really enjoy Reader's Digest, you will love the selection of works here. If that publication is not your cup of soup, you may find that the book drags a bit. This being said, the book is so well organized that it is worth reading simply for the presentation of concepts and the supporting quotations.

Book Review: The Copts and the West, 1439-1822*

Author: Alistair Hamilton
Publisher: Oxford University Press (2006)
360 pages


PROFESSOR ALISTAIR HAMILTON has succeeding in producing a work that is both a readable narrative and a monumental work of historical scholarship. For this reason, the book will be of value not only to scholars of church history, but to non-scholars, such as everyday workers in the ecumenical movement as well as to Copts seeking a deeper understanding of their heritage. The work uncovers the timeless issues facing Coptic participation in the ecumenical movement. At base, Professor Hamilton has shown that, far from being considered serious parties to the ecumenical table, the Copts have largely functioned as a kind of battleground between Protestants and Rome.

The work comprises four parts. The first part is a survey of Coptic Church history from late antiquity to the Islamic Period. Here, the author highlights some of the important intellectual achievements of Copts under Arab domination and emphasizes the importance of these achievements for western students of the Eastern Churches. This section also includes an intriguing discussion of the tension between the Coptic upper class and the Coptic priesthood, a tension whose intensity has waxed and waned up to the present time.

Part Two focuses primarily on the Roman Catholic missions to Egypt during the period. This part highlights the Roman Church’s efforts to exploit the sacramental commonalities between the two communities in order to strengthen ecumenical bond. In this part, the author suggests that loyalty to Dioscorus and anti-Calcedonianism was so deeply-embedded in Coptic consciousness, that these sentiments, in combination with Rome’s insistence on Alexandria’s total submission, were sufficient to frustrate union with Rome. Importantly, the author also highlights the linguistic shortcomings of the Jesuit missionaries - who apparently couldn’t speak Arabic at all – and shows that the failure of ecumenical dialogue between Alexandria and Rome in that period probably was doomed from its inception, not because of a substantial disagreement about dogma, but because of the sheer failure to communicate.

While the authored touches on the tension between the Pope’s emphasis on submission to Rome and Coptic patriarch’s hesitation to sign on to this, his study of the interactions among all the players in between was far more interesting. Hamilton analyzes the relationship between emissaries from Rome - with their primary preoccupation with Egyptian submission to Rome and secondary concern for theological agreement - and the Coptic monks, some of whom, it must be admitted, may not have adequately distinguished the Chalcedonian position from Nestorianism. From the time of Anthony’s influence on Athanasius to the present day, monks have held a strong influence on Coptic patriarchs. Hamilton skillfully demonstrates how this strong influence, coupled with the monks’ often extreme theological positions, make for a complex dynamic. Finally, this part also includes intriguing vignettes on bright and colorful personalities, such as, for example, Raphael Tuki.

Part Three follows with a study of the efforts of Roman Catholics and Protestants to understand the Copts. Additionally, Hamilton lays out a very helpful background regarding how the two occidental bodies rivaled one another for influence over the Copts. He explains the dynamic between them, separate and apart from his discussion of their respective relationships with the Copts. This provides an excellent context for understanding their interactions and motivations with respect to the Copts. The author shows how the respective agendas of these two groups colored their differing conclusions regarding the Egyptian Christians. He also shows that, while Roman Catholics emphasized the Coptic recognition of the sacraments, the Protestants were more interested in the Copts as a significant body of Christians not in submission to Rome. As with Part Two, this part’s narrative feel is enhanced by biographical close-ups of intriguing figures, such as Johann Michael Wansleben, author of the important Histoire de l'Église d'Alexandrie.

Part Four is, for the most part, a highly technical study of the efforts of Western scholars to identify and understand the three major Coptic dialects. It begins, however, with an excellent, in-depth analysis of the work and methodology of Athanasius Kircher, generally considered the greatest Coptic scholar of the seventeenth century. The author’s meticulous analysis, however, utterly demystifies Kircher. Hamilton notes his “notorious carelessness” and “lofty indifference” to criticism and to his own mistakes. Generally, this section will be of primary interest to Coptolgists and linguists, and the general reader may, frankly, skip to Hamilton’s helpful epilogue.

In the end, the book is highly unique as a study of the Copts, being as it is, primarily a study of western missionary efforts to Egypt, and, secondarily, a study of the Copts themselves. Those looking for a more direct study of the Copts during this period will, of necessity, need to look further. A Copt reading this frank history of western perceptions and misperceptions about the Copts may become, as the present reviewer did, increasingly annoyed. At first one finds himself amused, but, as a pattern emerges, the amusement fades, giving way to unrelieved exasperation and dismay as he realizes that arrogance and ignorance have consistently characterized western approaches to the Egyptian Church. Copts seeking to learn more about this period of their history will appreciate Hamilton’s study because it manages to be extremely understanding of the Coptic position vis-à-vis the West without slipping into over-indulgent, politically-correct fawning.
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*This review originally appeared in the April 2009 issue of the journal Touchstone and is republished hereon with permission.

Book Review: Not The Religious Type (Confessions of a Turncoat Atheist)

IT IS PROBABLY TOO MUCH to say that I like Dave Schmelzer, based simply on having read his short memoir, Not the Religious Type: Confessions of a Turncoat Atheist. I don't think it's too ambitious, though, to at least say this: I'd be surprised if I met him and didn't like him.

Here is a book that is part memoir, part apologetic, and which never seems to over-do either. In this quick and pleasant read, Schmelzer shares his spiritual journey and presents life with God as a kind of adventure.

He makes the case that truth is relational rather than simply abstract or propositional (Personally, I think it is both). He explains why we are better off entering into a relationship with God and others as part of a Christ-centered life journey (rather than a group/my team/us-and-them existence).

He also makes the bald statement "God is good. Religion is bad." At first I found it, I suppose, kind of annoying. The more I thought about it though, I saw his point. It is a view shared by prominent Orthodox Christian thinkers such as the (late) Rev. Fr. Alexander Schmemman (For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy*) and the Rev. Fr. Thomas Hopko (in many of his lectures). I agree that although Christianity may be characterized as a 'religion' in certain contexts and discussions, it is above all a "Way." (Acts 18:26; 24:22).

Eastern Christians will appreciate this book in that it reminds us to keep union with God in Christ as our paramount aim in life. It also holds a unique value to those who serve in "ethnic" churches. While cognizant of the need to serve the needs of those coming from a particular cultural milieu, we are warned not to be snagged by cultural trappings.

And he is a good writer. Having earned his undergrad degree in English from Stanford, Dave has a way with (few) words. He is mercifully stingy with his words and generous with his ideas. He has masterfully combined the fields of memoir and apologetics (he makes some powerful, succinct observations on the 'new atheist' movement).

While I think he and I would probably disagree on some points of theology and ecclesiology, I liked the book overall. I heartily recommend this work for pastors, college-student ministers, and as a gift for the skeptic in the cubicle next door.
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*Schmemman writes, "Christianity, with its message offering fullness of life, has contributed more than anything else to the liberation of man from the fears and pessimism of religion...

"Christianity quarrels with religion and secularism not because they offer 'insufficient help,' but precisely because they 'suffice,' because they 'satisfy' the needs of men. If the purpose of Christianity were to take away from man the fear of death, to reconcile him with death, there would be no need for Christianity, for other religions have done this, indeed, better than Christianity. And secularism is about the produce men who will gladly and corporately die-and not just live-for the triumph of the cause, whatever it may be...

"Christianity is not a reconciliation with death. It is the revelation of death, and it reveals death because it is the revelation of Life. Christ is this Life. And only if Christ is Life is death what Christianity proclaims it to be, namely the enemy to be destroyed, not a mystery to be explained." (pp.98, 99)

Book Review: The Reason for God

Sometimes I find an author who makes strong apologetic points, and sometimes I find an author whom I'd really like to meet in person. Sometimes, as here, I find both.

Timothy Keller's The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism is a highly readable defense of the main doctrines of the Christian faith. It is written as a kind of personal letter from one post-modern person to another.

In the introduction, he sets forth his key thesis, which is that we all believe something. He states, "If you come to recognize the beliefs on which your doubts about Christianity are based, and if you seek as much proof for those beliefs as you seek from Christians for theirs--you will discover that your doubts are not so solid as they first appeared." (1).

In Part I, The Leap of Doubt, Keller addresses the following objections to Christianity: 1. There can't be just one true religion, 2. How could a good God allow suffering?, 3. Christianity is a straitjacket, 4. The Church is responsible for so much injustice, 5. How can a loving God send people to Hell?, 6. Science has disproved Christianity, and 7. You can't take the Bible literally.

On suffering, he notes, "With time and perspective most of us can see good reasons for at least some of the tragedy and pain that occurs in life. Why couldn't it be possible that, from God's vantage point, there are good reasons for all of them?" (2)

Part II, The Reasons for Faith, Keller discusses, 1. The clues of God, 2. The knowledge of God, 3. The problem of sin, 4. Religion and the Gospel, 5. The (true) story of the Cross, 6. The reality of the Resurrection, and 7. The dance of God.

While Keller is generally accommodating and respectful in his tone to skeptics, he also makes several blunt statements such as, for example, "I think people in our culture know unavoidably that there is a God, but they are repressing what they know." (3).

He also explains why the Resurrection is so significant: "If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead." (4)

The work covers many topics and, for this reason, it does not present a comprehensive discussion of all of them. However, it would not be fair to demanded this of any single volume, especially one of this size. In any event, Keller makes many important and interesting points on each of the topics he addresses.

Also, although I am sure that Mr. Keller is a man of deep personal commitment and faithfulness to God, I do not think the chapter on sin says enough about the struggle against sin and for holiness. For these important topics, an Orthodox Christian will have to turn to the rich heritage of the Fathers.

Overall, I think this work is incredibly powerful and valuable for the post-modern believer and skeptic alike. It should be read (at least twice) by anyone interested in the issues and questions that face post-modern people.
___________________
(1) p. xviii
(2) p. 25
(2) p. 146
(3) p. 202

Book Review: The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief

In The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, geneticist Francis Collins, who was head of the NIH Human Genome Project, shares his journey from Atheism to Christianity and the high value both science and faith have for him.

Some may pick up this book thinking that it is a Christian defense of one or both of the Creationist or Intelligent Design movements. Rather, it is a plea by a Christian biologist for understanding between the theological and scientific communities. To be sure, Collins is a believing Christian in the very traditional sense of the term, but he is equally a lover of science. He believes deeply in God as our Creator, but also subscribes unequivocally to Darwin's theory of evolution.

He devotes equal portions of the book to explaining the reasons he embraced Christianity and to the reasons he believes in evolution.

At the end, he writes to believers skeptical of science,

I hope you are reassured by the potential for harmony between faith and science...If God is the Creator of all the universe, if God had a specific plan for the arrival of humankind on the scene, and if He had a desire for personal fellowship with humans, into whom He had instilled the Moral Law as a signpost toward Himself, then He can hardly be threatened by the efforts of our puny minds to understand the grandeur of His creation.(1)

A few lines down, he exhorts believers to consider the words of Copernicus, who said, "To know the mighty works of God; to comprehend His wisdom and majesty and power; to appreciate, in degree, the wonderful working of His laws, surely all this must be a pleasing and acceptable mode of worship to the Most High, to whom ignorance cannot be more grateful than knowledge."(2)

On the other hand, he writes to those "who trust the tools of science but remain skeptical about faith,"

Science alone is not enough to answer all the important questions... The meaning of human existence, the reality of God, the possibility of an afterlife, and many other spiritual questions lay outside of the reach of the scientific method. While an atheist may claim that those questions are therefore unanswerable and irrelevant, that does not resonate with most individual's human experience.(3)

Later he says, "Science is not the only way of knowing. The spiritual worldview provides another way of finding truth."(4)

My only criticism of the book is the author's curt, albeit cordial, dismissal of the Intelligent Design ("ID") movement and the significant distinction ID scholars have made between microevolution (adaptation within species) and macroevolution (the transformation from one species to another).

Despite the heavy topics tackled by the book, it generally carries a personal and humble tone throughout. Dr. Collins account of his gradual journey from Agnosticism, to Atheism, to Theism, to Christianity is instructive and rings tremendously genuine.

The book is recommended to those generally interested in the Faith and Science dynamic.
_____
(1)p.230
(2)pp. 230, 231
(3)p. 228
(4)p. 229

Book Review: The How of Happiness

I recently had the opportunity to read a helpful book, The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky.

The author sets forth twelve "Happiness Enhancing Strategies". The reader is encouraged to adopt the handful of those that best suit his/her personality and situation. They are

(1) Counting your blessings: Expressing gratitude for what you have (either privately – through contemplation or journaling – or to a close other) or conveying your appreciation to one or more individuals whom you’ve never properly thanked. (CHAP 4)

(2) Cultivating optimism: Keeping a journal in which you imagine and write about the best possible future for yourself, or practicing to look at the bright side of every situation. (CHAP 4)

(3) Avoiding overthinking and social comparison: Using strategies (such as distraction) to cut down on how often you dwell on your problems and compare yourself to others. (CHAP 4)

(4) Practicing acts of kindness: Doing good things for others, whether friends or strangers, either directly or anonymously, either spontaneously or planned. (CHAP 5)

(5) Nurturing Relationships: Picking a relationship in need of strengthening, and investing time and energy in healing, cultivating, affirming, and enjoying it. (CHAP 5)

(6) Doing more activities that truly engage you: Increasing the number of experiences at home and work in which you “lose” yourself, which are challenging and absorbing. (CHAP 7)

(7) Replaying and savoring life’s joys: Paying close attention, taking delight, and going over life’s momentary pleasures and wonders – through thinking, writing, drawing, or sharing with another. (CHAP 7)

(8) Committing to your goals: Picking one, two, or three significant goals that are meaningful to you and devoting time and effort to pursuing them. (CHAP 8)

(9) Developing strategies for coping: Practicing ways to endure or surmount a recent stress, hardship, or trauma. (CHAP 6)

(10) Learning to forgive: Keeping a journal or writing a letter in which you work on letting go of anger and resentment towards one or more individuals who have hurt or wronged you. (CHAP 6)

(11) Practicing religion and spirituality: Becoming more involved in your church, temple, or mosque, or reading and pondering spiritually-themed books. (CHAP 9)

(12) Taking care of your body: Engaging in physical activity, meditating, and smiling and laughing. (CHAP 9).


I learned a few things from this book, though it's emphasis on happiness "techniques" was, for some areas, problematic for me. For example, developing a "strategy" for acts of kindness in order to enhance one's own happiness didn't sit well with me.

That being said, I am better off for having read it. First, I realized that I have a tendency to rethink and overthink things. The solution is to learn to "let go", and trust God in love and submission. Second, I am learning to get "into" what I'm doing now and live with God "here", rather than spend so much time regretting the past or fretting over the future. Third, I was reminded of the value of relationships: with God, with my wife and with my dear friends. Fourth, I have come to realize that most of my unhappiness is self-inflicted by neglect of my relationship with God.

I'd like to make clear that it does not appear to be the author's view, and it is certainly not mine, that the ultimate purpose of life is happiness. In the Christian understanding, sin is a neurosis and abiding joy is found, ultimately in repentance and victory over all that is not of God. As the Sermon on the Mount makes clear, the happy people in this world are the virtuous.

Still, happiness is a health issue, falling under the subcategory of mental health. I read it as I read books on other important health topics such as running, nutrition, running, sleep, running, weight-lifting and... running.

Also, the author of The How of Happiness places a high value on spirituality and religion. She is clear that one does not pursue spirituality, truth and meaning in order to become happy, but that happiness is without question, a byproduct of this pursuit.