The Weekly Wrap: December 21-27

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The Weekly Wrap: December 21-27

Reading Realities

“When evening comes, I return to my home, and I go into my study; and on the thresh-hold, I take off my everyday clothes, which are covered in mud and mire, and I put on regal and curial robes; and dressed in a more appropriate manner I enter into the ancient courts of ancient men and am welcomed by them kindly, and there I taste the food that alone is mine, and for which I was born; and there I am not ashamed to speak to them, to ask them the reasons for their actions; and they, in their humanity, answer me; and for four hours I feel no boredom,I dismiss every affliction, I no longer fear poverty nor do I tremble at the thought of death; I become completely part of them.”

― Niccolò Machiavelli

I came across this quote by Macchiavelli this week, describing the ideal, even transcendent, experience every reader hopes for. Maybe you have to live in a different century. But my reading experience is rarely the exalted experience of Machiavelli’s

Most often, it is like this. I sit down to read, mug of coffee at my right hand. I read a few pages and my dentist office calls-an automated message reminding me of my dental appointment next month. So, I recover the train of what I’m reading, get another sip of coffee and read a few more pages–good interesting stuff. Then my mind wanders to a conversation with a friend where something like this came up.

Realizing that my mind has been somewhere else while my eyes were scanning the lines, I back up to the point where I hopped on a rabbit trail. After reading a bit more, I notice my mind wandering somewhere else–to my bladder. The inevitable consequence of that coffee. After addressing that bodily need, I come back to my book and read another ten pages, feeling like I’m getting in the flow. Then I hear the mail truck…with a shipment of books I’ve been awaiting.

Am I the only one for whom this is true? And this is only a sampling. I haven’t even gotten to dozing off, or having a limb “fall asleep” or a myriad of other interruptions like clothes in the dryer that need to be hung up, a drain clog, or those annoying pre-registration texts from all our doctors. Maybe Machiavelli had household servants to take care of stuff like this. I don’t.

I’ve stopped dreaming of four hours without boredom in the company of great minds. An interesting new thought or an intriguing plot turn is enough. Reading doesn’t fail me. And as for the rest? It keeps me grounded in life beyond the book.

Five Articles Worth Reading

Saul Bellow was one of the authors my mother enjoyed. When I started reading him, I discovered an intelligent mind with incredible reach who created memorable characters. Tyson Duffy recalls “The Manifold Mind of Saul Bellow.”

J.R.R. Tolkien’s first son asked him about Father Christmas at age three. For the next twenty-three years, his children received an annual letter from Father Christmas, in which Tolkien created yet another imaginary world. Jake Rossen describes “When J.R.R. Tolkien Posed as ‘Father Christmas’ for 23 Years.”

Last week I posted the most popular stories from Literary Hub. This week, the editors of Literary Hub posted “Our Favorite Lit Hub Stories From 2025.” Ten more great articles selected from this year’s output.

I’m always surprised by the writers who win big awards I’ve never heard of. For example, Rabih Alameddine won this year’s National Book Award. Lily Meyer profiles him in “The Writer Fueled by Life’s Randomness.”

Finally, what do Betty Boop, The Maltese Falcon, The Little Engine That Could, and The Murder at the Vicarage all have in common? All of them will pass into the public domain on New Year’s Day! Learn what else is passing into the public domain in “The cultural works becoming public domain in 2026, from Betty Boop to Nancy Drew.”

Quote of the Week

Poet Thomas Gray was born December 26, 1716. You may have heard a version of this but never knew who said it:

“Where ignorance is bliss, ‘Tis folly to be wise.”

Miscellaneous Musings

My Christmas book haul began on Christmas Eve. Just when we were headed to church, we spotted the box on our doorstep that contained Beth Macy’s Paper Girl. An Ohio native, the book is her narrative of growing up in nearby Urbana, Ohio.

Christmas Day brought four more from my son and his wife. Two were on my wish list: Thomas Pynchon’s Shadow Ticket and Robert McFarlane’s Is A River Alive. They also came up with two others, one a mystery and one sci fi. All of them look like good reading!

I’ll be posting my 2026 Reading Challenge next week. One preview–I’ve decided to limit myself to five challenges for the year. I’m keeping it real with challenges I intend to pursue personally to enrich my own reading life.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: William Kent Krueger, Manitou Canyon

Tuesday: Louis Markos, Passing the Torch

Wednesday: Bob on Books 2026 Reading Challenge

Thursday: The Month in Reviews: December 2025

Friday: David W. Opderbeck, Faithful Exchange

And as a preview to future attractions, I will be reviewing the first Jane Austen novel I’ve read the following Monday, Sense and Sensibility.

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap  for December 21-27.

My best wishes to you all for your New Year’s celebrations. Stay safe!

Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page

Review: You Are Not Your Own

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Cover image of "You Are Not Your Own" by Alan Noble

You Are Not Your Own

You Are Not Your Own, Alan Noble. InterVarsity Press (ISBN: 9781514010952) 2025.

Summary: Challenges the modern understanding of identity as autonomous self-belonging and what it means to belong to Christ.

“You are your own, and you belong to yourself.”

This statement is a basic premise of modern life. Many will see this and say, “But of course! You do you.” This sense of self-belonging, of radical autonomy is basic to our idea of human freedom. Any claims upon us denies that freedom. In this book, Alan Noble wants to contest this premise. Not only does self-belonging come with the dark sides of having to generate one’s own meaning and living under the tyranny of one’s desires, the truth is, we were not made for this. Rather, he will argue that we were made to belong to another and are not meant to be our own.

Noble begins by arguing that the society where each of us is our own is an inhuman society. He likens us to the animals in a zoo. When we exalt self-belonging, we treat others merely as instruments for our fulfillment. And others treat us the same way. But the panacea of autonomy turns out to be a burden of justifying oneself. Furthermore, we even determine our values. In the end, Noble argues that this is wearisome.

However, society props up the self-belonging project. Social media enables us to express and project an identity. It offers us stories through which we justify ourselves. While there are no universal values, efficiency help us us choose values, and then abandon them for new ones that prove more efficacious. In the end, though, society is failing us. Noble points to the prevalence of pornography as an indication of that failure. It is one manifestation of the depression, anxiety, and insecurity with which we live and the consumptive strategies that we use to self-medicate. In fact we all self-medicate, whether with drugs, food, shopping, or peak experiences. Consequently we witness widespread burnout, exhaustion, and fatigue.

But we are not our own. If one accepts that God made us, we understand that. But humans have rebelled against that, bearing the burden of self-ownership. In Christ, restoring our relationship with God is possible, As Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20:

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;  you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” (NIV)

Noble explores what it means to belong to another, both the joy of belonging and our fear that it will be abused. The reality of belonging to Christ is belonging to one who gave his life for us. We belong to God, to a people, and to a place. We no longer need to justify ourselves. In addition, we find our meaning in God and our worth in being his unique creations.

How does this change the way we live? Noble begins with grace. We recognize God’s gifts in the midst of life’s challenges. We still exercise agency, not to create ourselves. Rather, “we can act to do good without deluding ourselves into thinking we will change the world.” We live in hope, “with palms turned upward.” We live in our cities, seeking their peace and prosperity. Christ is our comfort in life and death.

Noble reveals the dark side of our society’s assertion that we are our own. Our greatest freedom comes in belonging to another. For those who think a relationship with Christ is stultifying, Noble portrays the purposeful freedom of the Christian under grace. Likewise, for those see life’s ugly underbelly, Noble portrays belonging to Christ, not as freeing us from an ugly world, but rather taking its measure and living with hope in the darkest places.

The belief that we are our own is one inside as well as outside the church. The churches torn apart by disagreements during a life-endangering pandemic provide ample evidence of that. Sadly, we often act as a collection of private entrepreneurs checking in for weekly inspiration, rather than as a corporate body committed to one another, mission, and service together. How different we might be if we understood that we are not our own; that belonging to Christ means belonging to each other!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: Grieving Wholeheartedly

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Cover image of "Grieving Wholeheartedly" by Audrey Davidheiser

Grieving Wholeheartedly

Grieving Wholeheartedly, Audrey Davidheiser. InterVarsity Press (ISBN: 9781514010839) 2025

Summary: Grieving well can lead to healing and hope as we make space for all our grieving parts to express themselves.

This may seem a strange post for Christmas Day. But most, perhaps all of us, will come to a Christmas holiday grieving a loss–a death, a divorce, or job loss or another kind of loss. And for some who are reading, that is where you are right now. Grieving evokes all kinds of thoughts and emotions at various points. Being able to express all of these is part of the process of healing.

But sometimes, we struggle to get it all out. Audrey Davidheiser, a trained counselor in Internal Family Systems (IFS), discovered this with when her father died suddenly. The counseling approach of IFS proved helpful in her own grief process. Basically, IFS recognizes that there are different parts of us, and they respond to grief differently. The purpose of this book is to help the grieving process their grief well through the insights of IFS.

The first part of the book discusses why we cannot avoid grieving and how important is processing our grief. This part also introduces IFS and shows how the idea of our having different “parts” is evident in the Bible.

The second part of the book seemed one of the most important to me. It explores our “protectors.” These parts may try to shield us from griefs. They may come in the form of critics who tell us we shouldn’t be wallowing in these emotions or “firefighters” that try to extinguish our pain. Davidheiser shows how to negotiate with and later, thank, these parts for letting us grieve. Because she writes for a primarily Christian audience, she also identifies “religious” parts that are protectors.

Then part three identifies some of the different grieving parts. These include shock, sorrow, anger, guilt fear, and loneliness/ Not all of these will be present for each person. She devotes a chapter to each and how we may help these parts safely express themselves.

Finally, she addresses the future. First she briefly touches on other parts not mentioned here. Then she explores how we address anniversaries, birthdays, and holidays, the times we often most acutely feel loss. She helps us to know what to expect and how to cope even if we have experienced a healthy grieving process.

Each chapter includes a “Dipping Inside” section in which you can invite different parts to speak and reflect. The author also references her own grieving experience in ways illustrative of different parts.

The one thing I wondered about is whether some people would have difficulties identifying parts, or understanding how protector parts might be hindering the expression of other parts. I would recommend that if you like this idea of parts and the Internal Family Systems approach, but find yourself either at an impasse or experiencing intense feelings you cannot resolve on your own, to seek out a counselor trained in this approach. The IFS Institute provides a directory of certified IFS practitioners. In an emergency in the US, dial 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or 911 for local emergency services.

We all will face grief at some point in our lives, if we haven’t already. Grieving is hard, but avoiding grief is worse. When we process grief well, it’s not that grief goes away, but we grow deeper and our life experience can be richer. Dr. Davidheiser’s approach recognizes the different dimensions or “parts” of grief, all which have their place and need to be honored and given expression. In so doing, we know and care for ourselves more deeply.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: Athens and Jerusalem

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Cover image of "Athens & Jerusalem" by Gerald Bray

Athens and Jerusalem, Gerald Bray. Lexham Press (ISBN: 9781683597728) 2025.

Summary: An in-depth survey of the parallel histories of philosophical tradition and Christian theology and their interactions.

I should lead off by saying that this book turned out to be something different than I’d expected. Instead of a critical analysis of the influences of philosophy on Christianity, this turn out to be more of a historical survey of both traditions, their differing perspectives, and interactions. That said, the survey offered by Bray is a highly readable one spanning the time from Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle down to the present.

Bray accomplishes that by a chronological history that begins first in Athens and the rise of the Greek philosophers followed by a history of Jerusalem and the Abrahamic faith of the Jews. Then Bray traces the intersection of both Jews and Christians with the Greek philosophers, first in Alexandria, and then with Origin. Following this, Bray describes the period from 313 to late medieval times as Jerusalem triumphant. Theological controversy demanded the systematic rigor of philosophy to clarify matters of doctrine. The high point of harmonizing philosophy and theology came with Thomas Aquinas.

The rediscovery of philosophical works in the Renaissance resulted in the rise of Neoplatonism and an increasing focus on human reason. For Protestants, Hobbes and Locke offered a kind of creed for civil society that opened the way for the secular, separated state. The longest chapter in the work treats the thinkers of the Enlightenment with its focus on rationalism. Often, this resulted in challenging Christian theological conviction. Some of examples of this are found in the works of Rousseau, Voltaire, Hegel, Marx, and Darwin. In addition, philosophers like Jeremy Bentham and john Stuart Mill promoted a pragmatic secularism.

So, we finally arrive at the present. Both biological and cosmological discoveries have led to a renewed openness of some to theism. In addition, Bray notes metaphysical premises that parallel theological convictions including an orderly and rational universe and the human ability to understand it, contingency, and more. However Bray seems more cautious than some when it comes to reconciling the two. He notes a basic difference of perspective. Theology begins with and focuses on God. Philosophy begins with human reason and lacks a fixed point of reference. He’s not without hope however and notes the work of Christians in philosophy.

What Bray offers is a highly readable yet in-depth survey of the history of the interaction of Christianity and philosophy. Summaries at the end of each chapter distill the main points of his survey yet further. We don’t get an in-depth critical analysis of the church councils and how philosophical considerations played into the debates and formulations. Nor do we study the synthesis of philosophy and theology in Aquinas and subsequent Catholic tradition. Some may also object to his summary treatment of philosophers.

What I would suggest is that this is a great first work to read, overviewing the landscape of the history. Of course, the interested student will want to zoom in on particular periods and people. It would have been helpful to have more in-depth bibliographies for each chapter rather than the brief “For Further Reading” at the conclusion. However, any student who has learned basic research methods can figure this out. This also makes a good reference work for pastors who need historical context if discussing a particular philosopher.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: We Are Eating the Earth

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Cover image for "We Are Eating the Earth" by Michael Grunwald

We Are Eating the Earth

We Are Eating the Earth, Michael Grunwald. Simon & Schuster (ISBN: 9781982160074) 2025.

Summary: The sustainability of our food system, feeding earth’s population, and the impact it has on our climate

You’ve probably heard this before. We can only live a few minutes without oxygen and fall unconscious in seconds. We can only live a few days without water. And we can only live a month more or less without food. This book is about the third of these. It is incredible, but with proper distribution, we are able to feed a global population of over 8 billion human beings as well as the other creatures with which we share the planet. To feed the Earth’s population, a land mass equivalent to all of Europe and Asia is already devoted to food production.

The rub in all this is that we are continuing to consume more of the Earth to accomplish this vital end. That means clearing forests and other uncultivated land. Not only does this remove the trees that absorb carbon dioxide and exude oxygen in far greater quantities than our crops. Our food production contributes a quarter of all greenhouse emissions. This includes tractors, fertilizers (that sustain high yields), and livestock burps and farts, a source of methane that is worse than CO2 . Decaying food waste generates additional emissions.

The author’s deep dive into this subject came when he called Tim Searchinger, a Princeton research scientist who began his career as a lawyer, to factcheck an article. Searchinger will feature prominently throughout this book. It had to do with quitting meat. He asked Searchinger if meat is really that bad. Searchinger’s answer boiled down to this. “It’s land….Meat uses too much land. just like ethanol.” Livestock currently use the equivalent of fifty Texases and pound for pound, emit fifty times more greenhouse gasses than coal.

And the ethanol remark leads to an account of how Searchinger fought a battle to convince governments that ethanol made from corn would result did not come free. Land is not free and land is needed for food as well as fuel production, and is far more efficient at the first of these. If land is taken out of food production, other land would be put into food production. For example, forests, bogs, previously “marginal” lands.

Subsequent chapters look at other examples of flawed reasoning that didn’t take land into account. For example, he chronicles the biomass loophole European nations fell into in their plans to convert to woodburning, that actually resulted in net increases in carbon emissions. He looks at “carbon farming,” the problem being that it actually removed land from food production.

He considers what we eat. Basically we need to eat food that uses less land. And we need to produce more food on that land. He shows that at least some forms of sustainable agriculture result both in lower yields and use more land.

Then he turns efforts to create meat alternatives and the failures to come up with marketable products. He looks at ways to reduce the land use and emissions of livestock as well as new developments in producing more on less land. One point Grunwald makes is that the amount of research money devoted to this sector is still a pittance.

At the end of the book, he summarizes the actions Searchinger recommends to reform our food system in four statements. Produce more food per acre. Protect key habitats and keep them off limits to food production. Reduce our demand for meat, biofuels, and other land consuming products. Restore unproductive lands to nature.

In conclusion, he advocates both systemic change and personal action. Each of us is eating the earth and how we eat matters. I’ve seen how concerned citizens can protect key habitats. Several years ago, local residents fought off an effort to develop a wetland that was supposed to be set aside “in perpetuity.” It continues to do all the good things wetland do. At very least, this book is making me look, as the new year approaches, how we might change our own patterns of consumption and food waste. As the author notes, even drops fill buckets.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program.

Review: The Kingdom of God is Among You

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Cover image of "The Kingdom of God is Among You" by Gordon D. Fee and Cherith Fee Nordling.

The Kingdom of God is Among You

The Kingdom of God is Among You, Gordon D. Fee and Cherith Fee Nordling, foreword by Craig S. Keener. Cascade Books (ISBN: 9781666732924) 2025.

Summary: A New Testament theology drawn from lectures emphasizing the kingdom of God as a framework.

Gordon D. Fee was one of the outstanding New Testament scholars of my generation. He was a Pentecostal who taught at evangelical seminaries. His God’s Empowering Presence was probably one of the best books on the Holy Spirit I’ve read. He wrote academic commentaries and book on Paul. And he contributed to wider understanding of the Bible (with Douglas Stuart) with his How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth and How to Read the Bible Book By Book. I gave the former book to many of the students I worked with. One thing he never did was publish a book on New Testament theology.

However, he gave lectures to students on the topic. One series was recorded and transcribed. From these, his daughter, theologian Cherith Fee Nordling set out to edit these and turn them in the book. She describes the process in a moving Preface, set in the context of her father’s advancing Alzheimer’s illness and death.

The first lecture lays out Fee’s understanding of the nature and message of New Testament theology. He notes that the New Testament writings do not expound theology systematically. Rather, he says, “We must never forget that the writings of the New Testament are ad hoc documents, written in each and every case to speak to a specific need. Thus, rather than careful, systematic presentations of theology (such as in a book or a lecture), the earliest Christian theology is worked out in the marketplace, as it were.” With that in mind, Fee sees the New Testament concerned with God, people and redemption, captured in the idea of the presence of the kingdom. He works with the following definition of New Testament theology, which he unpacks in the book:

“Through the death and resurrection of Jesus our Lord, our gracious and loving God has effected eschatological salvation for his new covenant people, the church, who now, as they await Christ’s coming, live the life of the future by the power of the Spirit” (p. 13).

Then the following lectures unpack this definition. Firstly, lectures two, three, and four focus on the kingdom of God, its presence in Christ and how its fulfillment is anticipated in what already is seen in the works of Christ and in the life of the people of God. Secondly, lectures five through nine address salvation in the person of Christ, in the writings of Paul, John, and the other New Testament writers. Thirdly, lectures ten through twelve center on Jesus the Savior. Beginning with the gospels he considers Jesus as Messiah, Son of Man, and suffering servant. Then he explores the contribution of Paul, John, and Hebrews to our Christology.

Fourthly, lectures thirteen to fifteen approach the New Testament from the perspective of the people of God, following the same pattern of the gospels, Paul, and John. Finally, lecture sixteen addresses the continuity and discontinuity between Old and New Testaments and the consummation of all things. The book concludes with a benediction focusing on the Trinitarian formulation of 2 Corinthians 13:14 and emphasizing the personal nature of the Holy Spirit.

There are several things I appreciate about this work. First are the prayers that appear throughout, at the beginning of each set of three lectures. In addition, unlike some New Testament theologies that spend much time in technical discussions, referencing other scholars, this is Fee with his Bible, sketching out the major themes of the New Testament. Scholarly discussion and devotion are never far apart with Fee. Discussing Jesus’ teaching about titles, he turns to his own recognition of what being called Doctor Fee instead of Gordon and how we cease being brothers and sisters when we invoke titles. Above all, we witness his devotion to Christ. He writes:

“I suggest to you that the church could be effective once again in the world. This is the passion that infuses these lectures. If I could somehow communicate, inculcate, and instill one passion into our Christian lives in the present age, it would be to stop being in step with our own age, and to live fully as eschatological people. I’m not here with you merely as an academic exercise but with a desire to recapture the theology of the early church, the eschatological hope of the Spirit given already in Jesus and his kingdom that set the church ablaze. Jesus’ coming set the future in motion. The coming age has dawned. With the early Christians, may we await the consummation of his second coming as active participants in that future even now” (pp. 36-37).

This is a wonderful posthumous gift to the church from Gordon D. Fee. While treating the writings of the New Testament individually, he also sees the whole as part of God’s story. Read this work to know the story and better tell the story. Finally, Fee opens this work by saying, “the proper aim of all true theology is doxology.” Do not be surprised if, in your reading, you have to stop and worship.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

The Weekly Wrap: December 14-20

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The Weekly Wrap: December 14-20

A Reading Holiday?

Our consumer economy wants us to spend the day after Christmas shopping after-Christmas sales. But I came across a good counter-suggestion yesterday. Jamie E. Davis is the genius behind “Because All The Books,” one of my favorite sites for bookish memes. Yesterday, she posted one that said, “I think the day after Christmas should be officially declared a reading holiday.” While I love the idea, I think there is little chance of that happening. However, the U.S. President just spoke of making the days before and after Christmas federal holidays. While he is not a great fan of reading, it doesn’t mean we can’t make the day after our reading holiday.

There are good reasons to do this. Many of us readers are introverts. All the holiday visits, fun as they are, mean extroverting. The last thing we need is all the crowds at the sales! We’re ready to curl up and read!

Then, there are the new books we received as gifts, or the ones we bought while gift-buying. They are calling!

But, you may say, “I didn’t get any books, just some gift cards burning a hole in my pocket!” The last thing I want is singed clothing, so if you can’t wait, go ahead (and often you can do this online on a reading break). But if it means a trip to a bookstore, I always find it more relaxing when there aren’t too many people around, especially in my favorite sections.

Above all, I like the idea that Christmas just begins on Christmas Day. Remember the twelve days of Christmas, which end January 6. Why not give yourself the gift of a reading holiday?

Five Articles Worth Reading

“The Pamphlet That Has Roused Americans to Action for 250 Years” explores why Thomas Paine’s Common Sense has continued to be read.

Henry James often wrote of the magic of Venice. Departing from her usual writing, Anne Applebaum retraced his steps and discovered that the city, facing inundation, still has that magic. “Henry James’s Venice Is Still Here” is a delightful photo essay of her journeys.

Literary Hub is one of my sources for thoughtful writing on all kinds of books. If you’ve not discovered this online resource, “The Most Popular Lit Hub Stories of 2025” is a great place to start. And if you do follow Literary Hub, it is a great recap of this year in books.

A new short story by J.R.R. Tolkien has just been published, The Bovadium Fragments. It’s a satire rooted in Tolkien’s deep seated aversion to motor vehicles. Christian Kriticos reviews it in “Isengard in Oxford.”

Finally, The Public Domain Review posted Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Christmas Sermon, piblished in pamphlet form in 1900, six years after his death. No matter your religious persuasion, I think you will like his ideas.

Quote of the Week

john Greenleaf Whittier was born December 17, 1809. He remarked:

“When faith is lost, when honor dies, the man is dead.”

This quote reminds me of the question Jesus asks, “ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”

Miscellaneous Musings

I’ve been reading Louis Markos’ Passing the Torch. It is an argument for an educational curriculum for youth built around the classics and other great books as well as the trivium and quadrivium. I’m conscious of how these elements were not part of my childhood education and of my unsystematic efforts to make up for this deficit as an adult. He also helps me understand the growing movement of classical education in both Christian and secular contexts. I hope he will offer some critique as well as affirmation before he finishes.

Manitou Canyon is the 15th book in William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series. In some ways, it strikes me as a parable of the consequences of when we cede the implementation of technology to those who will most profit from it.

I posted about this earlier this year but Publishers Weekly reminded me in “Last Call for Mass Market Paperbacks” that the death of the mass market paperback is upon us. I wonder if some of those classics will become collectors items?

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Gordon Fee and Cherith Fee Nordling, The Kingdom of God is Among You

Tuesday: Michael Grunwald, We Are Eating the Earth

Wednesday: Gerald L. Bray, Athens and Jerusalem

Thursday: Audrey Davidheiser, Grieving Wholeheartedly

Friday: Alan Noble, You Are Not Your Own

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap  for December 14-20.

My best wishes to you all for your holiday celebrations, including that reading holiday!

Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page

Review: Beyond Stewardship

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Cover image of "Beyond Stewardship" edited by David paul Warners and Matthew Kuperus Heun

Beyond Stewardship

Beyond Stewardship: New Approaches to Creation Care, edited by David Paul Warners and Matthew Kuperus Heun. Calvin Press (ISBN: 9781937555382) 2019.

Summary: Essays exploring alternative ways to define the relationship with the non-human creation beyond stewardship.

Words matter. For the Christian environmental movement, “stewardship” has been the term Christian environmentalists use to describe the human relationship with the non-human creation. More recently, questions have been raised by a newer generation of Christian environmentalists as to whether this is the best way to understand this relationship. It doesn’t reflect the full scope of biblical teaching. Stewardship implies separation from both creation and God. Also, it implies an instrumental relationship of creation existing for human use. Then the association of this term with finances implies resources owned by another, and this is too limiting of God’s relationship to creation. Finally, stewardship tends to be individualistic when the scope of challenges require acting in concert.

The editors of this essay collection lay out this argument in their introduction. The essays that follow explore how then we might think about our relation to the non-human creation. Given this enlarged understanding, what wise actions are then implied? The book is organized in three parts.

Part One: RETHINKING: Expanding Awareness

Matthew Kuperus Heun, in “Smashing Prototypes,” likens what we’ve done to creation to what it would be like as a professor to take a chainsaw or sledgehammer to his students’ engineering prototypes. We need to recognize our complicity in the damage done creation, lament, and determine to act differently. Following this, Kathi Groenendyk cautions that not only do our words matter but so does our audience. She observes that while stewardship is helpful with some audiences, like farmers and ranchers, other terms like creation-care or earthkeeping will relate better to others. Therefore, know thy audience!

Part Two: REIMAGINING: How Things Could Be

Kyle Meyaard-Schaap opens this section proposing that the idea of kinship overcomes the gap between humans and the rest of creation Jesus, in the incarnation became kin with us. kinship changes how we view things like species loss. Then Clarence W. Joldersma proposes seeing ourselves as earthlings. We are earthy beings, sharing much in common, charging us with a vast responsibility while also giving an independent moral standing to the non-human creation. Not only do we have much in common with the rest of creation, we exist in a symbiotic relationship with it according to Aminah al-Attas Bradford. Consider the microbes in our gut that aid in crucial ways in digesting food, or even mitochondria as an independent organism in every human cell.

Steven Bouma Prediger reiterates the critique of stewardship from the Introduction as both limited in scope and confusing. He makes the case for the term “earthkeeping.” He argues for it as a better reflection of the biblical charge to tend and keep in Genesis 2. Finally in this section, James R. Skillen, argues that stewardship paradigms often overlook human finiteness and fallenness, engaging in hubristic activity. Rather, he advocates the humble posture of those seeking God’s kingdom.

Part Three: REORIENTING: Hopeful Ways Forward

Debra Reinstra argues that creation care begins with knowing the names of species or inorganic things. Then we proceed to understanding their basic ecologies and enter into delight, care, and suffering with those whose names we’ve learned. Matthew C. Halteman and Megan Halteman Zwart apply the idea of kinship to human-animal relationships, especially farm animals, and how this challenged a particular student’s thinking about using animals for food. However, this new perspective also implies a new worldview of whole systems. Neglect of this combined with human arrogance contribute to environmental disasters like the Dustbowl.

Racial injustice manifests in caring for creation as well. When certain groups are disenfranchised from environmental decisions, racism flourishes and the environment does not, especially in urban spaces. Dietrich Bouma reinforces this idea, arguing against barriers that prevent some people from having their voices heard. Then Mark D. Bjelland adds urban spaces, cities, and their watersheds to what counts as creation care. He calls for placemaking and placekeeping. Finally, David Paul Warners commends the idea of recognizing that we walk through a world of gifts. He calls us to respond with reciprocity, restraint, relationship-building, and remembrance.

Conclusion

This book harks back to a similar essay collection, Earthkeeping, from the 1970’s. This book concludes with an afterword from three of the original contributors: Loren Wilkinson, Eugene Dykema, and Calvin DeWitt. It’s a wonderful generational handoff and blessing of these younger scholars’ efforts. This is followed with a rendering of several pages of No More Room, a children’s book written by three students in one of David Paul Warners’ classes. A discussion guide for each of the chapters in this book is also included in “Additional Resources.”

Robin Wall Kimmerer is an ecologist from the Native American Indigenous Peoples and has mined that worldview for its wisdom. She has captivated the imagination of many with her sense of our kinship with other creatures and plants and the sense of our interdependent mutual relationship with it. The fact that she has captured the attention of many Christians reveals the shortcomings of our own theology of creation and our relationship with it. The ideas here reflect a similarly rich way of seeing without the latent animism in Kimmerer’s writing. One hopes that the contemporary disregard for environmental matters in the American church will be a temporary lapse into environmental unconsciousness. One hopes for revival that will wake us to be on the forefront of caring for God’s creation. For now, this work offers rich resources for those who will teach and disciple when people have “ears to hear.”

Review: Equal Rites

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Cover image of "Equal Rites" by Terry Pratchett

Equal Rites

Equal Rites (Discworld Number 3), Terry Pratchett. Harper (ISBN: 9780063385542) 2024 (first published in 1987).

Summary: A dying wizard gives Eskarina his staff by mistake and she wants to become a wizard despite no girl ever having been a wizard.

The wizard Drum Billet is dying. Wizards can only pass their staff, and powers, to the eighth son of an eighth son.. He hears of one about to be born in the village of Bad Ass and goes there. Upon the child’s birth, Drum Billet gives bestows his staff. Only afterward does he discover the child is a girl. He cannot withdraw the staff. But no girl has ever become a wizard. Admission to the Unseen University, where wizards receive training is not permitted for girls.

The staff is hidden away. Yet when it is evident that Eskarina has some kind of power, Granny Weatherwax, the local witch mentors her, trying to divert her thoughts of wizardry into the perfectly good role of village witch. While she’s a good student, it is evident that Granny can’t help her control the power upon her. It dawns on Granny that it is time to challenge the division of witches and wizard by sex Specifically, Eskarina’s power requires the training of wizards.

So, they set out on a journey to Ankh-Morpork to enroll in the Unseen University. On the way, she meets Simon, an apprentice wizard, also seeking entrance to the Unseen University. He gains entrance and quickly proves his talent for translating the universe into numbers. Those in charge reject Esk. Called on to demonstrate her power, she cannot. But the resourceful Granny finds a “backdoor.” She enters as a servant, using her powers to complete tasks, giving her time to study in the library. Soon she and Simon connect, leading to an adventure to rescue Simon’s mind from the Dungeon Dimensions that will bring wizards and witches together.

Pratchett shows how ridiculous gender-based barriers are in the facetious rationalizations the wizards give for banning girls. In Eskarina, we witness the struggle between calling and convention. And in Granny Weatherwax, Pratchett gives us a delightful character–crotchety and resourceful. I look forward to seeing how Pratchett will develop them in future numbers.

Review: The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories

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Cover image of "The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories" by Agatha Christie

The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories

The Harlequin Tea Set and Other Stories, Agatha Christie. William Morrow (ISBN: 9780062094391) 2012 (first published in 1997).

Summary: Nine early short stories, including a Poirot and the title story, an encounter with Harley Quin.

In addition to her longer novels, Agatha Christie published a number of short stories, often in various periodicals. In recent years publishers have compiled these into various collections. This one was first published in 1997. It consists of a number of her very early works. I’ll give you a brief plot synopsis of each and conclude with my thoughts on the collection.

The Harlequin Tea Set. In this title story, Mr. Satterthwaite’s car breaks down in a small village. While waiting for the repairs, he decides to stop in at the Harlequin Cafe. It puts him in mind of an old friend, Mr. Harley Quin. Whenever he turns up, Mr. Quin’s words would trigger decisions and actions that would prove helpful to others. But e hadn’t seen him in some time. Then who should turn up?

The Edge. Claire Halliwell is a single woman in a small town who devotes herself to her dog and to parish life. At one time, she had fallen in love with Gerald Lee, who married Vivien instead. And then Claire catches Vivien in an affair and faces the choice of what to do with that knowledge.

The Actress. Jake Levitt, a seedy journalist, stops by the theare to see a performance of the famous actress, Olga Stormer. He recognizes her as Nancy Taylor and threatens to tell her story. Only he doesn’t recognize who he is dealing with…

While the Light Lasts. George and Deidre Crozier are driving to a plantation in Rhodesia. This was were her husband Tim had died, and the journey recalls many touching memories…and then an encounter with someone she knew.

The House of Dreams. John Segrave dreams of a House. The next day he meets Allegra Kerr. He believes she is that House. But she will not encourage his affections and will not marry. What is the ark thing he saw looking out from the House in another dream? And what did it mean?

The Lonely God. Frank Oliver has returned to London, alone. One day, he visits the British Museum and spies “a lonely god” on a shelf with which he identifies. He returns often, and then encounters a woman, also drawn to this god.

Manx Gold. Fenella and Juan are cousins betrothed to marry. Their beloved and eccentric Uncle Myles dies. He had found a treasure rumored to be hidden on the island. He sets up a competition for his four living relations but gives Juan and Fenella an extra day before the others arrive to search. There are four chests, and the clues to the location of each are not released until the previous one is found.

Within a Wall. Alan Everard is a rising artist. He is married to a socialite, Isobel Loring and they have a daughter, Winnie. As a crowning work, he sets out to paint a portrait of his wife. Technically, it is brilliant, but there is no life in it. By contrast, a discarded sketch, found by a Miss Lempiere, portrays Winnie’s godmother, Jane Haworth, and is full of life.

The Mystery of the Spanish Chest. This is the one Poirot in the collection. Poirot notes a newspaper story on the Spanish Chest Mystery. The mystery is how, during a party with six people at the home of Major Rich, the body of Mr. Clayton ended up stuffed in the chest, discover the next day when a servant spotted a pool of blood beneath it. He asks his secretary to collect all the details of the case. Shortly after, his friend, Lady Chatterton invites him to her house and introduces Poirot to Mrs. Clayton, the widow. It turns out, Major Rich was her lover and she wants Poirot to prove he wasn’t the murderer, even though it was in his house and his chest.

Of all of these, “The Harlequin Tea Set” and “The Mystery of the Spanish Chest” were my favorites. The others reveal Christie’s early efforts as a writer. All are diverting stories, to be sure. Several involve lovers triangles. However, I suspect they will be of greatest interest to Christie fans, like me. Others might just say, “Meh!”