Tickle, Phyllis

Rare is the book that I immediately begin re-reading the moment I finish it. The question this time is, How many times will I read it before moving on to something else? The book that has so engaged me is The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why, by one of America's most respected authorities on religion, Phyllis Tickle.

In this short volume, Tickle gives a birds-eye view of the history of Christianity, with special attention to the 500-year deltas—that is, the times of significant change that has taken place in the church (and in the world) roughly every 500 years. By doing so, she places the extraordinary shifts happening in our time within a larger framework and context. Until the last 40 pages or so, the book describes with expert analysis and insight the profound forces which have caused the contemporary expressions of Christianity to morph into something new and not-fully-formed. Everything from Darwin to Rosie the Riveter to the iPod is touched upon, and the effect is to leave the reader giddy, dizzy, awestruck, and contemplative...all at once! The last 40 pages take a more scientific approach, dissecting Christianity into quadrants and types and more. I suspect Tickle's highly readable and profound book may well be at the very top of my "favorite books of the year" list come December!

Tickle your sense of humor

Progressive Christianity is marked in part by its greater comfort with biblical scholarship from the fringes, with explanations of texts that simply stomp on long-held assumptions about how a passage should be read. Those who are not easily offended by a more irreverent approach to understanding the Bible will enjoy The Uncensored Bible: The Bawdy and Naughty Bits of the Good Book. That title is absolutely honest; this is the Danielle Steel, read-it-under-the-covers kind of Bible book. And while the humor is a bit silly at times (much of it apparently added by a third contributing author), I really did enjoy the book quite a bit, and learned a few new things as well.

The authors—both biblical scholars from Rhodes College—take us on a tour of 23 stories, sharing with us and evaluating various plausible-but-unusual interpretations. The majority of them deal with the S-word (the one that's likely to cause this email to get directed to your spam box), which is exactly why I can't even fully describe all of the topics. Let's just say that you'll start to see many, many stories in a whole new light once you learn about the euphemisms, mating behaviors, and cultural realities in ancient Jewish culture. It's a very easy, breezy read, and I challenge you to simply leave a copy of it on your desk to spark conversation!

Tickler (file this one away for possible future reference)

I haven't yet finished the third book, Top Secret: The Truth Behind Today's Pop Mysticisms, and likely won't at this time. Instead, I may come back to it when the need arises, picking and choosing the sections of interest to me at a given time. Robert Price, professor of scriptural studies at the Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary, explores and analyzes many of the popular spiritual books which have risen to the top of the best-seller lists in recent years. Undoubtedly, members of your congregation have read some of these books: The Secret; the books of Deepak Chopra; The Celestine Prophecy; The Power of Now; popular evangelical author Joel Osteen; and several others.

Top Secret is a fairly dense and difficult book, one that expects a lot of its readers in terms of their existing knowledge of theology. That makes it a book which is most appropriate for readers with seminary training, those with a high degree of interest in theology, or students interested in studying religious trends. Price analyzes each author's work and describes where he thinks each book succeeds and falls short. Since he teaches at a seminary which emphasizes the more mystical or "New Thought" approach to Christianity, the book is certainly less critical of these new spiritual expressions than a great many Christians would be. If your public library carries it, you might read a section or two of interest; if not, the other two books above are the ones to add to your personal library.

~ Tim Gossett