This month our recommended reading features some of our favorite book reviews – just in time for back to school! Enjoy these recommendations from our editors and add some great titles to your Fall reading list.
The Nativity of Mary as Revealed by James
Each page offers a few lines of translated text with a number of beautiful images, enhancing the reader’s reflection of the smooth translation. Reading Mattison’s book feels like immersing oneself in a spiritual experience.
Why I’d Look Back
September 2022 Poetry Selection
Perhaps it was the vase handed down from my mother
or maybe the albums of my children’s photos...
Perhaps it was the vase handed down from my mother
or maybe the albums of my children’s photos...
Growing into God — CD by Kathryn Christian and Poetry by...
All of the tracks are superb, but our favorite is "Come Holy Mother" (inspired by Julian of Norwich) which profoundly evokes an image of God's motherly tenderness, as does "Gather Me Under Thy Wings."
The Dance of the Dissident Daughter
Much that Sue Monk Kidd writes about her journey from complicity as a "good daughter" of patriarchal Christianity to her rebirth as a daughter of the Feminine Divine resonates with me. I have traveled much of the same path as she.
Ten Egalitarian Children’s Books
"You may know you want your children to have a different experience, one that makes room for questions, social activism, and gender equality, but finding resources to educate your children when you may still be asking questions yourself is difficult. "
One Coin Found – How God’s Love Stretches to the Margins
"One wandering sheep or a single lost coin. For those of us who have felt lost, forgotten, hungry, or rejected, these are powerful metaphors. Biblical stories can comfort, reframe, and re-name our relationship with God."
What Jesus Learned from Women
"It’s empowering to read the story of the widow’s mites as an illustration of institutional economic injustice (rather than just a commendation of an individual)."
Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith
Lamott is not pious at all. And yet, she has a deep, abiding faith and strong sense of God's presence in all the parts of her life. She leans on God. She talks to God all the time and asks God for what she needs.
The Gathering: A Womanist Church
"This quick, engaging read is, in fact, a practical “how to” for this movement and, indeed, for this very moment, as recent events have exposed the deep divisions in U.S. society."
On Love and Mercy: A Social Justice Devotional
"Mattson calls us to expand our definition of neighbor to include all humanity regardless of income, education, background, religious affiliation, race, gender, and sexual orientation or expression."
May Cause Love: An Unexpected Journey of Enlightenment after Abortion
"Although she felt relieved, she also found herself feeling regretful. Anti-abortionists said women like her were murderers and would go to Hell, but her community of friends could not comprehend her having depression after abortion."
Intersectional Theology: An Introductory Guide
I was particularly appreciative of the book’s historical narrative of intersectionality theory because it seems that, in the manner in which feminist history is taught in the United States, intersectionality theory is frequently identified as “third-wave” work. Kim and Shaw’s work demonstrates why the “wave” model of feminist theory is insufficient...
Untold Volumes Poetry
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Saying No in the Community
"Churches rely heavily on volunteering women to take on childcare responsibilities, cooking, fund raising, and administrative duties, usually without pay. In fact, women who are already conditioned to take on nurturing tasks may find it more difficult to say no, and perpetrators of abuse take advantage of that."
Feminist Bible Studies and Related Material
New Heaven, New Earth: The Final Vision: Revelation 21:1–22:5
Lesson 35: “The city is also the people, gathered from all over the world, collectively to become the wife of the Lamb. And a tender, motherly God says, ‘I will be their God and they will be my children’ (Rev. 21:7). No wonder this passage is so often read at funerals!”
Bathroom Legislation: Unconstitutionality Is Only Part of the Story
In this article, I explain why HB2 is clearly unconstitutional. But I will also stress that constitutionality is always only one small part of understanding why legislators do what they do. A hostile feeling (or animus) toward transgender people becomes an important part of the legal discussion.
Coming Back from Coming Out
"Coming out ruined my life. At least, that’s the way it seemed. To claim my identity as a lesbian meant sacrificing everything on the altar of my own selfishness, of my need to be “true to myself.” To come out as a 43- year- old woman meant walking away from a tolerable twenty- year marriage, leaving behind a career in church ministry, and learning to negotiate custody arrangements and a new solo life. To come out, for me, meant walking away from God."
Celebrating LGBTQIA+ People: CFT Responds to the Nashville Statement
We believe those who name themselves as “Christian” represent a diverse group of denominations, cultures, gender identities, and sexual expressions. We affirm that our LGBTQIA+ siblings are formed in the Imago Dei and are joint-heirs in Christ with all of us.
Was Esther a Post-Colonial Feminist?
Esther was in the same situation that many women in the postcolonial world are in; and in the end, like her, they do what they need to do in order to survive.
Ecowomanism: African American Women and Earth-Honoring Faiths
"Through discussion of African cosmology, Harris presents a framework for the interconnectedness of all that exists. '... any ethical or unethical behavior conducted by humans impacts the other aspects of the cosmological order positively or negatively.'"
Our Lives Matter: A Womanist Queer Theology
"Pamela Lightsey... correctly asserts that despite oppressive Sunday morning sermons, Black and queer Christians can nevertheless be confident that our wellbeing is 'not dependent on human hands but the providential care of God our Creator' (p. 60)."
Most Recent Book Reviews
Jesus and Women: Beyond Feminism
At the heart of Middleton's new book, "Jesus and Women," is a call to reclaim Christianity from the stranglehold of the patriarchy.
From the Archives
A Friendly Letter to Skeptics and Atheists
This is the kind of book I would want to read if I were a skeptic or atheist. The book would not persuade me that Christianity is true, since that is not its aim, but it might prompt me to look more closely at Christianity.
