LITTLE ROCK — Christmas is nearing and writers at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette once again offer a selection of books ideal for gift-giving. This year’s list features books on a variety of topics for readers interested in religion, even beyond the Christian tradition. Topics include travel, theology, history and struggles of faith.
The Good Pope: The Making of a Saint and the Remaking of the Church, by Greg Tobin (Harper-One, $26.99) — The legacy of Pope John XXIII, also known as Il Buono Papa or “the Good Pope,” is explored in this book by Greg Tobin. A high-profile and revolutionary leader, John might be best known for convening the Second Vatican Council in 1962. The actions of the council changed the Catholic Church in ways that Catholics have been applauding — or lamenting — ever since.
Readers will learn how John’s poor childhood far away from the powers that be in Rome helped shape his life and ultimately his leadership of the church during a time of worldwide turmoil. During the Second Vatican Council, John proved himself to be a tolerant, open-minded yet bold reformer, and the impact of his leadership continues to be felt.
Named “blessed” by Pope John Paul II in 2000, Il Buono Papa is one step away from sainthood.
— Christie Storm
In the Footsteps of Jesus, by Jean-Pierre Isbouts (National Geographic, $40) — This hefty book is chock-full of the beautiful photographs expected of the National Geographic brand: lush green fields near Nazareth, sunrise from atop Mount Sinai. Through illustrations, pictures, maps and text, readers will follow in the path of Jesus from Bethlehem to Galilee to Jerusalem in vivid detail.
The book includes information on new archaeological finds, photos of ancient artifacts and artwork, as well as plenty of pictures from the Holy Land and beyond. The goal is to help readers visualize the biblical stories of Jesus’ life — to see the lands where he was born, lived and died. The book begins with an overview of the Roman Empire before moving on to re-create Jesus’ journeys as told in the Gospels. Part three focuses on the growth of Christian communities after the death of Christ and concludes with a look at popular pilgrimage routes.
— Christie Storm
Holy Nomad: The Rugged Road to Joy, by Matt Litton (Abingdon Press, $15.99) — The crash and loss of an antique mirror during a move was one of several events that led writer and teacher Matt Litton to examine his acquisitive middle-class life, realize its joylessness, and examine what was imprisoning him and how to break out of it.
Litton diagnoses the problem as “spiritual Stockholm Syndrome,” in which captives empathize with or prefer the comfort of whatever enslaves them, like Israelites grumbling and longing for Egypt scant weeks after their liberation.
The Holy Nomad is Jesus, and Litton decides that answering his “follow me” means a life of journeying “with a God who is always on the move.” Paradoxically, that is sometimes best done by putting down deep roots in a community. “The Way of the Nomad,” he writes, “isn’t about physical mobility as much as it is about the location and openness of your heart for others.”
Litton uses an appealing variety of references — the Bible and other written works, his life, movies, TV, popular music — as he wrestles with questions and invites others on the journey.
— Laura Lynn Brown
Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis (HarperOne, $34.99) — It’s been 60 years since C.S. Lewis’ perennial favorite Mere Christianity was published, and HarperOne is celebrating with a gift edition filled with photographs and illustrations. The book also includes a new foreword by Lewis’ stepson, Douglas Gresham.
Readers will be interested to know the story behind the book, which didn’t start off as a book at all. It originated as a series of lectures on Christianity that Lewis shared during radio broadcasts by the BBC during World War II as a way to offer solace to war-torn Britain. As an extra treat, the appendices include letters from Lewis to readers, as well as a chronicle of Lewis’ radio broadcasts.
— Christie Storm
The Saint Who Would Be Santa Claus, by Adam C. English (Baylor University Press, $24.95) — The tubby, red-cheeked Santa Claus of popular culture is a far cry from the real St. Nicholas. Pictured in icons with a beard of white, his eyes intense and visage stern, St. Nicholas looks far more like a fearless leader than a jolly old elf.
Born in the fourth century in what is now Turkey, Nicholas later became bishop of Myra. The once poor peasant boy became an influential figure in church history, destroying pagan sites, including the temple of the goddess Artemis in Myra, and helping craft the first Christian creed at the Council of Nicaea. Legends abound of Nicholas’ generosity, with an often-told story being that he tossed gold coins through an open window in an act meant to save a family from poverty. The stories mesh well with the modern-day gift-bearing Santa Claus, but Nicholas had no hidden workshop at the North Pole. He often gave away his possessions to help the poor.
This book is a perfect gift for anyone who has ever wondered about the real St. Nick.
— Christie Storm
Holy Places of the Buddha, by Elizabeth Cook (Dharma Publishing, $35) — Few of us can afford a pilgrimage to India to visit the sacred sites associated with The Buddha, but this new edition of Holy Places of the Buddha may be the next best thing.
The big change: The photographs of the more than 50 pilgrimage sites are now in color. The text includes teachings and excerpts from writings by pilgrims and archaeologists, and offers insights on the purpose and benefits of going on a pilgrimage.
— Ellis Widner
Faces of Compassion: Classic Bodhisattva Archetypes and Their Modern Expression, by Taigen Dan Leighton (Wisdom Publications, $14.95) — In Buddhism, bodhisattvas symbolize spiritual awakening. In this new edition, Zen teacher Taigen Dan Leighton explores seven archetypes. Emphasizing universal spiritual ideals, he points to contemporary examples such as Mahatma Gandhi, Henry David Thoreau and Mother Teresa to show how these archetypes surface in our world.
— Ellis Widner
The Best Buddhist Writing 2012, edited by Melvin McLeod (Shambhala Publications, $17.95) — This annual anthology includes works by Pema Chodron, the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh and others on subjects such as the Occupy Wall Street movement, contemplative art, living with Alzheimer’s disease, starting a meditation practice and a harrowing tale of leaving Tibet.
— Ellis Widner
Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis, by Lauren F. Winner (HarperOne, $24.99) — This is the second memoir from Lauren Winner. Her first, Girl Meets God, shared her journey from Judaism to Christianity. The current volume focuses on a midlife spiritual crisis of sorts following the death of her mother and the collapse of her marriage.
She calls it the spiritual “middle.” It’s what happens after the life-altering conversion experience wanes and the voice of God seems distant, and going to church seems more chore than joy. She writes: “I went to church by habit. I went prompted by some deepburied intuition. Most days I went brittle, like a dry cake of gingerbread. Like the hinges of an old book.”
The book is personal, insightful and ultimately hopeful as Winner works her way through spiritual doubts.
— Christie Storm
A Season of Mystery: 10 Spiritual Practices for Embracing a Happier Second Half of Life, by Paula Huston (Loyola Press, $14.95) — Our culture offers two myths for old age: postponing it, and turning it into a quest to achieve unfulfilled goals. Both are dead-end roads in preparing for what awaits: death, and for Christian believers, the promise of everlasting life.
Paula Huston writes candidly from the experiences of growing older with her husband and caretaking for her mother and her in-laws. Letting go of the myths, she says, can lead to “genuine adventure, including some of the richest spiritual experiences we may ever have.”
The 10 practices she offers include lightening (letting go of possessions); delighting (letting go of what should be and seeing what is); confronting (facing self-deception and recognizing evil); appreciating (an antidote to grumpiness); and generating (planting seeds in younger generations).
A Catholic and an oblate of a California monastery, Huston blends in wisdom from her friends the monks and from the desert fathers and other early Christian writers.
— Laura Lynn Brown
The American Bible, by Stephen Prothero (HarperOne, $29.99) — Subtitled “How Our Words Unite, Divide and Define a Nation,” this book by bestselling author Stephen Prothero examines what he calls the “American Scriptures.” These scriptures are composed of the writings, speeches and songs of the nation’s history. From the Constitution to the inspiring words of Sojourner Truth to the music of Woody Guthrie, these words not only tell the story of America’s past but continue to spark conversation and change today.
Prothero, author of God Is Not One, examines this diverse collection of Americana and posits that politics have become so divisive that people have forgotten how to talk to one another. His hope is that by remembering this nation’s long history of debate, we can reclaim the tradition of civil discourse.
— Christie Storm
God: A Story of Revelation, by Deepak Chopra (HarperOne, $25.99) — Bestselling author Deepak Chopra takes on God in the fourth installment of his Enlightenment Series. Previous books include Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad. This latest book, a blend of fiction and nonfiction, uses the tales of 10 visionaries to explore the nature of God.
Chopra contends that God evolves because the human understanding of God “waxes and wanes.” Using the stories of Job, the Apostle Paul, Julian of Norwich, the philosopher Socrates, the Islamic mystic Rumi and others, Chopra weaves an engaging tale and raises intriguing questions along the way. In the prologue he wonders what it would be like to be one of the chosen visionaries of God. Readers can find out along with him.
— Christie Storm
Religion, Pages 12 on 12/01/2012