c. 1996 Religion News Service
UNDATED _ Everyone know’s it’s better to give than to receive. And better still, during the holiday season is to give something of value, something with meaning, a gift that will last long after the celebrations have concluded.
So here’s a sample of this year’s best inspirational and thought-provoking books and recordings, compiled for the spiritually attuned holiday shopper by the staff of Religion News Service.
CHRISTMAS BOOKS”Probity Jones and the Fear Not Angel,”by Walter Wangerin Jr. (Augsburg) $15.99
In this touching children’s story, Probity Jones misses her chance to be the angel who cries”Fear not”in her church’s Christmas pageant because she is too sick to leave her inner-city home. But while her mother and siblings are at the pageant, she meets the”Fear Not Angel”she planned to portray and gets to join her in singing to the shepherds about the birth of Jesus. The story, written by award-winning author Walter Wangerin Jr., is illustrated by Tim Ladwig.
“Alabaster’s Song: Christmas through the Eyes of an Angel,”by Max Lucado (Word) $14.99
Best-selling author Max Lucado has written a poignant Christmas tale for children about how a gap-toothed angel brings Christmas to life for a six-year-old boy. Alabaster the angel sits atop a Christmas tree, a mere decoration to adults in the home. But he becomes real once a year, singing songs of praise heard only by a little boy. With illustrations by Michael Garland.”Christmas Memories: From Our Hearts to Yours,”compiled by Terry Meeuwsen (Thomas Nelson) $12.99
This compact gift book features Christmas memories from Christian women recalling Christmases past and present and suggestions for future celebrations of the holiday season. The brief contributions recall special childhood moments, more recent family gatherings, and ways to move beyond the commercial aspects of the season. Compiled by Terry Meeuwsen, co-host of the”700 Club,”the book includes contributions from western TV star Dale Evans Rogers, country singer Naomi Judd and Vonette Bright, co-founder of Campus Crusade for Christ.
MUSIC”Emmanuel,”featuring numerous contemporary Christian music artists (Sparrow Records), (cassette $10.98; CD $16.98)
This recording is in the same vein as”The Young Messiah,”a popular, multi-artist recording project that has performed live concerts for the past six years.”Emmanuel”is another compilation of contemporary Christian music produced by Norman Miller. This musical telling of the story of Jesus features a who’s who of contemporary Christian artists, including Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Sandi Patty and BeBe Winans. The text begins with Scriptural prophecies of the coming of Jesus, continues with accounts of his life and concludes with the ascension into heaven. Pop and modern gospel styles are interspersed with classically inspired orchestrations.
Look for”Emmanuel”concerts this Christmas season in Atlanta (Nov. 30), Charlotte, N.C. (Dec. 1), Grand Rapids, Mich. (Dec. 3), Minneapolis (Dec. 5), Detroit (Dec. 7), Peoria, Ill. (Dec. 8), Dallas (Dec. 10), San Jose, Calif. (Dec. 12), Portland, Ore. (Dec. 14) and Tacoma, Wash. (Dec. 15)
“The Real Meaning of Christmas,”featuring numerous contemporary gospel artists (Benson Music Group) (cassette, $10.98; CD $15.98)
Artists ranging from well-known gospel performers Hezekiah Walker & the Love Fellowship Crusade Choir to newcomer Kim Rutherford, a member of Radical for Christ, are featured on this recording. It is a mix of new Christmas music and gospel interpretations of classics, such as”O Come All Ye Faithful”performed by Angelo & Veronica, and”Away in a Manger,”performed by jazz keyboardist Ben Tankard. The album also contains a diversity of styles from urban contemporary to traditional gospel to pop ballads.
“Mother & Child,”featuring a range of women artists (I.R.S. Records/Star Song Communications) (cassette $10.98; CD $15.98)
This recording explores the close relationship between mothers and children through original compositions and Christmas classics. One piece,”When You Believe,”is performed by a mother-daughter team, recording artist Crystal Wilson and her daughter Shanice Wilson. The 11 songs reflect a variety of genres, including pop, gospel, country and R&B. Amy Grant, CeCe Winans and Sierra are among the artists performing original Christmas music. The classics,”Ave Maria”and”Oh Holy Night,”are sung by Beth Nielsen Chapman and Martina McBride, respectively.
INTERACTIVE MEDIA
Compton’s Interactive Bible ($50)
This multi-media delight, designed for Windows 3.1 or Windows 95, blends the New International Version of the Bible with an extensive concordance, a Bible dictionary, Nave’s Topical Bible, maps, and more. Compton’s Interactive Bible is a great tool for either casual exploration or in-depth study. Extensive search capabilities offer an easy way to find that hard-to-place verse. The many paintings, photos, videos and music make it an audio-visual joy to click your way from Genesis through Revelation. Hear Psalm 121 sung in Hebrew and English. See classical artwork depicting the Last Supper and the Sacrifice of Isaac. Take a tour of the sacred sites of Israel.
FICTION”In the Beauty of the Lilies,”by John Updike (Knopf) $25.95
Ever since the Puritans planted the Protestant ethic in the receptive soil of the new world, a distinctive kind of faith has permeated the American experience _ faith in God and in the seemingly limitless capacity to invent and re-invent ourselves. John Updike’s”In the Beauty of the Lilies”explores how ideas of faith unfold and fade over four generations of one 20th-century American family. Updike said his goal was to take a”spiritual inventory”of the past 100 years. And that he does, with a tale that begins in New Jersey, proceeds to Hollywood, and has an apocalyptic conclusion in a religious cult in Colorado. This is no clear-cut morality tale. Rather, it is a story of how the sins and virtues of one generation are handed down to the next, and how the polar forces of faith and doubt move the human spirit like a tide.
NON-FICTION”Among the Amish: Drawings and Writings,”by Keith Bowen (Running Press) $30
The farms and back roads of Lancaster County, Pa., are home to the world’s oldest surviving Amish community, which has turned its eye to God by turning away from all the trappings of the modern age. With a fresh eye and open heart, artist Keith Bowen kept a personal journal of the four seasons. Gathered together in this lush book, Bowen’s watercolor and oil paintings, pastels and and line drawings depict the Amish at work, at play and at prayer. It is a coffee-table book designed to nourish the mind and the soul.
“The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart,”by Peter Gomes (Morrow) $25
Peter Gomes is an American original. Professor of Christian Morals at Harvard College and Dean of Harvard Memorial Church, he is counted among the top preachers in America. He is also black and gay. In”The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart,”Gomes offers a crash course in biblical literacy and interpretation, and comments on its role in American politics and culture. Writing with compassion, humor and insight, Gomes considers ways the Bible has been used _ and abused _ to promote decidedly unbiblical ideas. But Gomes insists that the Bible is an inclusive document.”I want black people, women and homosexuals, among others, to see and to hear that the Bible is both for them and with them,”Gomes writes.”I want them to know that the Bible is theirs by right and by intention.” “Honest to Jesus: Jesus for a New Millennium,”by Robert W. Funk (Harper San Francisco) $24
At 70, Robert W. Funk, founder of the controversial Jesus Seminar, has decided to scale back his ambitious exploration of the historical Jesus. But before doing so, he has written”Honest to Jesus,”which sums up the findings of his and the Jesus Seminar’s exploration of the sayings and deeds of Jesus. The Jesus Seminar has been soundly criticized by theological conservatives as a secular-humanist attack on the foundations of Christian faith because of its historical denial of Jesus’ virgin birth and resurrection. Funk argues that he and other Jesus Seminar scholars are primarily interested in separating fact from fiction about who Jesus was and what he taught. He calls its”a reality check.”Moreover, Funk argues, only by returning to its historical roots can Christianity survive the modern age when many Christians have lost their traditional faith.
“How to Be a Perfect Stranger: A Guide to Etiquette in Other People’s Religious Ceremonies,”edited by Arthur J. Magida (Jewish Lights) $24.95
In pluralistic America, opportunities to attend religious events of another faith abound. But how does a non-Jew act when visiting a mourning Jewish acquaintance? What is expected of a non-Muslim at a Muslim prayer service? Is it appropriate to wear jewelry to a Seventh-day Adventist church? The answers to these a many more questions are contained in this perfect how-to book for the post-denominational age. The book is written in a clear, direct style that lays out the basic history and beliefs of 20 Christian denominations and non-Christian faiths. Answers are provided by representatives of each of the groups included in a straightforward manner with not a hint of triumphalism on anyone’s part. That in itself makes this book worth reading.
“Mary Through the Centuries: Her Place in the History of Culture,”by Jaroslav Pelikan (Yale University Press) $25
The humble peasant girl from Nazareth who gave birth to a child who would change the history of the world has left her mark on the history of Western spirituality and culture. Jaroslav Pelikan, Sterling professor of history at Yale University and president of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences, has produced a book rich in images and ideas about Mary: her influence on ideas of womanhood; her poetic connection to Eve; how she is venerated by Catholics, Orthodox Christians and even Muslims (she is the most venerated woman in the Koran). He considers the paradox of Mary as virgin and mother, and explores her place in literature from Dante to Spenser, Milton and Wordsworth and her place in popular culture, from Lourdes to Fatima and Guadalupe.
“I Was Wrong”by Jim Bakker (Thomas Nelson) $24.99
Subtitled”The Untold Story of the Shocking Journey from PTL Power to Prison and Beyond,”this is Bakker’s long awaited narrative of his and Tammy Faye’s rise and fall from the excesses of 1980s televangelism. Throughout the 600-plus pages, Bakker repeatedly points out where he went astray _ his tryst with Jessica Hahn, his brand of”prosperity”Christianity and his extravagant lifestyle. But he still maintains his innocence when it comes to the federal charges of fraud and conspiracy that ultimately sent him to jail. In an unlikely twist, Bakker views his incarceration as a God-given gift that stopped the PTL madness and got him back on the right theological track.”Slouching Towards Gomorrah”by Robert H. Bork (ReganBooks) $25
In his latest best seller, Bork, the contentious conservative Reagan-era judge who was denied a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court because of his unorthodox views, traces what he calls”modern liberalism and American decline”back to the 1960s, when radical individualism and egalitarianism swept through university campuses. Never one to shy away from controversy, Bork tackles a host of cultural hot potatoes: censorship, crime, illegitimacy, welfare, abortion, assisted suicide, euthanasia, feminism, race and religion. Staunch conservatives will relish Bork’s prescription for America’s ills, including, among other things, limiting the powers of the Supreme Court, reversing the Roe vs. Wade decision, abolishing bilingual education, and interpreting the First Amendment in a manner that would eliminate violent pornography and extremist ideas from the Internet.
MJP END RNS
