Spring is in full swing and the lazy days of summer are inching closer. It's the perfect time to catch up on some reading. For those who enjoy a bit of religion in their reading, these books are just a sample of what's available. They include stories of inspiration, historical insight and words from the pope. Pick one and settle in for a good read.
Savor: Living Abundantly Where You Are, As You Are, by Shauna Niequist (Zondervan, $16.99) -- This latest book by Niequist is a devotional, a first for the author known for Bittersweet and Cold Tangerines. As in her previous books, food plays an important part. For Niequist, a spiritual life isn't one confined within church walls. It also happens around the table with good food and friends.
As the title implies, the devotional is Niequist's attempt to get readers to savor each moment and not miss the sacred in the everyday. The book has 365 devotionals, one for every day of the year, with some of Niequist's favorite recipes interspersed throughout. There's Blueberry Morning Yogurt Cake, Grilled Peach and Caramel Sundaes and Curried Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches.
Savor is food for the soul and the belly.
The Prophet, by Kahlil Gibran (Alfred A. Knopf, $15) -- Sometimes it's good to revisit a classic, and the latest printing of Gibran's masterpiece offers readers a chance to do so or to discover The Prophet for the first time. Originally published in 1923, the book has been translated into more than 40 languages, with millions of copies sold. This year's release by Alfred A. Knopf marks the 152nd printing of the book.
Gibran, who was also an artist and mystic, is perhaps best known for his poetry. In The Prophet, the Lebanon-born poet explores a variety of subjects, including love, marriage and prayer, as told through the words of a prophet, Almustafa, as he shares his wisdom with the gathered townspeople before departing for his homeland. Of prayer, the prophet says: "You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance."
The Prophet is a grand companion for whiling away the afternoon.
Walking With Jesus, by Pope Francis (Loyola Press, $22.95) -- Subtitled A Way Forward for the Church, this book is a collection of writings by the pope that encourages Christians to make Jesus the focus of their lives. Using the image of walking with Jesus, the pope discusses how prayer, service to others and the sacraments can lead individuals, and the church, closer to Christ.
He writes, "Jesus is often walking, and he teaches his disciples along the way. Jesus did not come to teach a philosophy, an ideology ... but rather 'a way,' a journey to be undertaken with him, and we learn the way as we go, by walking."
Francis emphasizes the importance of community and encourages Christians to meet and talk with others, including those of different faiths or no faith. He challenges readers to bring hope to the hopeless by sharing the love of God.
Walking With Jesus is the second volume of the pope's homilies. The first was The Church of Mercy.
How to Read the Bible, by Harvey Cox (HarperOne, $26.99) -- OK, so the title might sound like more of a Sunday School lesson than a springtime page turner, but Cox's approach is quite engaging. The Harvard Divinity School professor has written a book that anyone who reads the Bible can learn from, whether they read the Scriptures for spiritual edification or academic study. To get the most out of reading the Bible, Cox suggests using three different approaches -- narrative, historical and spiritual -- and he explains each while walking readers through various books of the Bible.
Cox includes study tips to help readers get the most out of the biblical text.
The Heart of Unconditional Love, by Tulku Thondup (Shambhala, $18.95) -- In the meditation style known as loving-kindness, unconditional love -- inherent in human nature -- is gradually increased to embrace all beings. In The Heart of Unconditional Love, the author introduces readers to a new four-stage approach to this popular meditation style, which has its roots in Tibetan Buddhism.
Tulku Thondup uses the Buddha of Loving-Kindness as a starting point for this meditation, as he guides readers and shows how their inner unconditional love can infuse and enrich their everyday lives.
Born in Tibet, the author studied at the Dodrupchen Monastery there before moving in 1958 to India, where he taught for several years before coming to the United States in 1980. His previous books include The Healing Power of the Mind and Boundless Healing.
Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God, by Kelly Brown Douglas (Orbis Books, $24) -- Douglas, an Episcopal priest and professor of religion at Goucher College in Baltimore, takes on the topic of racism in her latest book, exploring the roots of current cultural attitudes toward blacks in the United States, as well as the faith of black Americans.
The book was inspired by the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in Florida in 2012. Writing from the perspective of the mother of a black son and as a scholar, Douglas takes a hard look at stand-your-ground rights and at what she calls the "myth of Anglo-Saxon superiority," as well as American exceptionalism and religion's role in shaping society's views of the black community.
The Shed That Fed a Million Children, by Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow (William Collins, $21.99) -- Billed as the "extraordinary story of Mary's Meals," The Shed That Fed a Million Children tells the story behind MacFarlane-Barrow's quest to feed starving children around the world. Inspired by news reports from Bosnia, the author and his brother decided to help. Their journey and a subsequent visit to Malawi changed the course of MacFarlane-Barrow's life. He quit his job, sold his house and committed himself to feeding the most vulnerable of the world's population -- the children.
Today, Mary's Meals provides meals to schoolchildren in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, eastern Europe and South America. MacFarlane-Barrow's story is sure to inspire readers.
The book is available for pre-orders and will be released May 26.
Baptists in America: A History, by Thomas S. Kidd and Barry Hankins (Oxford University Press, $29.95) -- It might be hard to believe but Baptists were once a minority in America. Now the second largest religious group in the nation (behind Catholics), Baptists weren't welcome in some towns and often clashed with authorities, in England and in the states. The Puritans of Massachusetts Bay Colony ran them out of town in 1645, referring to Baptists as "the troubles of churches in all places."
The book traces the denomination's history from those early troubled days through the American Revolution, the Civil War, through schisms and the civil rights movement to more recent times. Kidd and Hankins know their stuff. They are both history professors at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where Kidd also serves as senior fellow at the university's Institute for Studies of Religion and Hankins serves as resident scholar.
Rather than a dry academic look at Baptists, the two have crafted an engaging read. The book will be released June 1.
Religion on 05/09/2015