c. 2004 Religion News Service
(UNDATED) New religious titles being published near the winter holidays offer gift-givers and book lovers the sort of choices one wishes for this time of year.
Some scholarly titles might be read on chilly winter evenings by the fireside. Others are perfect for bedtime snuggles with little ones. A few provide new choices for morning prayers or evening devotions.
THE INSPIRING
For the fatherless children or single parents in your inner circle, you would do well to choose “It’s Better to Build Boys Than Mend Men” (Looking Glass Books) by S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A restaurants.
Cathy, benefactor to more than 135 foster children, is well known as a positive role model for business associates and his natural and foster offspring. “Children all around us are growing up without strong positive guidance from their parents who are busy, distracted, absent or choose to be buddies instead of parents,” he says.
In his new book, he tells stories to illustrate principles of trust, discipline, reputation, generosity, common sense, peer pressure and family stability. His well-told tales will enrich readers’ lives.
In a world filled with misery and disillusionment, inspiration to fight for change is provided in a new book of essays from Fortress Press. “I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Future of Multicultural America,” edited by James Echols, president of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, proffers intriguing essays linked to the nation’s future. A book fit for serious thinkers and more casual readers, it features essays by seven leading religious and theological thinkers from African-American or Hispanic communities. The book assesses the ethics of King’s vision, decries social ills linked to ethnic divisions and racism and explores King’s long-term impact on U.S. culture.
At least one essayist takes an urgent tone, noting the diverse nation King envisioned has already come about. “The question is not, will America become multicultural? The question is rather, what will become of an America that is already multicultural,” asserts Justo L. Gonzalez, visiting professor of church history at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga.
Retirees, and even workers, seeking meaning beyond the workplace will find it in SkyLight Path’s new book, “Keeping Spiritual Balance As We Grow Older: More than 65 Creative Ways to Use Purpose, Prayer and the Power of the Spirit to Build a Meaningful Retirement” by Molly and Bernie Srode. Designed in a nondenominational way, the Srodes’ book highlights how spirituality enables one to overcome the obstacles of aging, attain one’s goals and find meaning in everyday life. The couple is a Catholic husband-and-wife team. They lecture and lead workshops across the country.
A lovely little paperback book from ACTA Publications in Chicago acknowledges the enduring power of prayer and offers the means to enrich one’s prayer life. “Prayers from Around the World and Across the Ages” crosses cultures and traditions, including prayers from Thich Nhat Hahn, Dwight Moody, W.E.B. Du Bois, St. Francis of Assisi and others. At $9.95, it would make an inexpensive gift to anyone who treasures prayer.
FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES
ACTA Publications offers another volume ripe for the winter season with the book, “Wonderworker: The True Story of How St. Nicholas Became Santa Claus.” Readers quickly discover the magic inherent in the true story of the man who overcame relative obscurity in a small Mediterranean city to become a cultural icon.
Authored by Monsignor Vincent Yzermans, the books describes how Nicholas soon made a name for himself by helping children in need, mothers in labor and sailors at sea. In the mid-19th century, Nicholas was popularized in Clement Clark Moore’s famous poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” which is also known as “The Night Before Christmas.” In a commercialized world frantic about the number of shopping days left till Christmas, this book focuses on the true meaning of the Christian holiday.
Adults who love gifts with a teachable twist will like “The Bramble Thicket,” a children’s book by teacher and toy maker Deborah E. Thomas. Published by Gypsy Hill, the book tells the story of eight bears stranded in the forest. As the bears strike out to find a new home, their kindness, persistence and teamwork pay off. The book helps teach reading, problem-solving, manners, honesty and other virtues.
FOR BOOK LOVERS AND SCHOLARS
Pop culture buffs will revel in “The Gospel According to Disney: Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust” from John Knox Press. Written by Mark Pinsky, religion writer for the Orlando Sentinel, the book tours readers through Disney’s iconic characters from their famous Mickey Mouse and Peter Pan days to more recent creations including Ariel in “The Little Mermaid” and Simba in “The Lion King.”
Pinsky writes of “the Disney canon” underlying the movies and shaping generations of children where good is always rewarded and evil is punished; dreams come true, love conquers all, optimism and hard work see people through and faith is essential.
That faith is in oneself and in something greater, Pinsky writes, arguing that Walt Disney actually intended his films be “message” movies. They uphold a civic consensus of sorts, which the author describes as “a nondenominational, nonsectarian faith, with an undergirding of unconquerable optimism.”
As 2005 looms, Oxford University Press has released a thorough exploration by John-Peter Pham on how the next pope may be selected. Pham, a former Vatican diplomat and former aide to high-level Vatican officials, now is on the faculty at James Madison University’s Center for Liberal and Applied Social Sciences. His book, “Heirs of the Fisherman, Behind the Scenes of Papal Death and Succession” conveys a readable portrait of the changes in papal succession procedures instituted by Pope John Paul II. Pham’s book details the dramatic shifts in the College of Cardinals, the legacy of the current influential pope, the possible candidates for the next pope, how the cardinals might vote and the difficult issues the next pope will face. His book chronicles the ecclesiastic and political nature of papal elections.
Among the best religious novels available for giving is “Godiva” (Whitaker House) by David Rose, former CEO of Santa Monica studios. The foreword to this first novel by Rose, an the award-winning film producer and developer, is written by Tim LaHaye, who co-authored the blockbuster “Left Behind” series. In Rose’s new book, a Scandinavian king and his Viking legions invade England in 1016. The invasion destroys the English town of Coventry, turning young Godiva’s life into a nightmare. Ten years later, the young maiden has become Lady Godiva when she realizes she stands alone between Coventry and destruction.
(Cecile S. Holmes, longtime religion writer, is an assistant professor of journalism, at the University of South Carolina. Here email address is: cholmes(at)sc.edu)
KRE/JL END RNS
