Review: The Man Without a Face

The Man Without a Face by Holland Isabelle

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

The Man Without a Face is about a 14 year old boy named Charles who, while spending the summer at his family's beach house, asks the local recluse (Justin McLeod) to tutor him. McLeod is nicknamed by the local kids, the "man without a face" because he was terribly burned in a car accident a number of years before. The story is told from Charles' viewpoint, and explores the complicated relationships within his family, and eventually, with McLeod. Charles is struggling to deal with his a absence of his father, his fear of friendship and love, and his resentment of all the women in his life.

I saw the movie (starring Mel Gibson) a number of years ago, and remember liking it a lot. There are some significant differences between the book and the film, and I have to say, this is one of those rare occurrences when I preferred the movie version.

Isabelle Young is purportedly writing for young adults, but I think a lot of the story's subtleties would be lost on younger readers. Additionally, there's some stranger parts, and a lot of ambiguous sexuality that may be confusing for younger kids.

UPDATE: I went back and re-read a couple of sections in the book, and I think I might be more confused now than when I read it the first time. The relationship between Charles and McLeod is sexually ambiguous. Unlike the movie, there are a series of scenes that seem to blur a healthy relationship (father-son type of relationship) and a sexual one, and one scene in particular that seems to imply that something happened between them. What's disturbing is that quite possibly, the intention of those scenes seems to be to "wonder" if sexual attraction between a man and a boy is a "normal" aspect to any father son (or mentor) relationship. The answer is: "no." Pedophilia is not normal, or appropriate, and I'm very surprised this book has made itself onto recommended reading lists for young adults. I'm not a book banner by any stretch, but I would never give this novel to a child, fearing it could dangerously distort their idea of what healthy, safe relationships with adults look like.

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Book Review: Clergy Killers

Clergy Killers: Guidance for Pastors and Congregations Under Attack by G. Lloyd Rediger

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Clergy Killers is a book about antagonists in the church intent on destroying pastors. The great strength of the book is in documenting the pervasiveness of the problem - with case studies and statistics detailing the abuse clergy receive at the hands of antagonistic members. (FYI: Rediger also has a chapter on Killer Clergy, who destroy their congregations).

I've seen just enough of this in the lives of pastors I know to understand this is a real danger. The long-term retention rate for pastors in their vocation is not very good, and clergy killers are one of the reasons. Rediger makes clear that there is normal conflict in any church, even healthy churches. But he goes on to discuss unusual and abnormal conflict: resulting from people either with some kind of serious problem (in some cases mental, most often spiritual). Perhaps the saddest reality is the collateral damage (harm done to the pastor's spouse and children). It's sad when anyone has problems at work, and a child may see their father suffer and come to hate their dad's workplace. How much worse when what they hate is the church (and sometimes, by extension, God).

What worked: Rediger does a pretty good job laying out the problem, or at least establishing that there is one. And also presenting the case that most of us are unprepared for it (pastors, churches, and denominations).

What didn't: I was severely underwhelmed by his prescriptions for dealing with the problems. He relies heavily on strategies for intervention and basic psychotherapy techniques for mental wellness. It seemed pretty sterile, and frankly, not all that helpful. What I would have liked to have seen were basic strategies for a pastor to practice self-care: a detailed discussion on spiritual disciplines, healthy living practices, and encouragement to build a healthy family life and close friendships. All these things get mentions, but aren't fleshed out with any real thoughtfulness.

Additionally, this book begs for a healthy discussion of the role of the elders in shepherding the pastor. How does an elder board or session care for and protect its pastor? A large discussion of Matthew 18 is needed and wanting in this book, as well as discussions about the importance of church discipline and how to practice excommunication, when needed.

Rediger does talk about exorcism a good bit - literally the casting out of evil. This is normally a term used for casting out demons, but he uses it more broadly here to mean dealing with evil of any kind. These sections were helpful, and I need to do a good bit more thinking about this.

Read it if: you can't find any other good books on conflict in the church. Elders may want to read it to think about how they can better care for their pastors.

There's got to be better books out there on this subject. Can anyone make some recommendations?

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Book Review: Brave New World

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Aldous Huxley published Brave New World in 1932, a dystopian fantasy written as a counterpoint to H.G. Wells' optimistic view of the future presented in Men Like Gods. Perhaps what's most amazing about Brave New World, is that Huxley wrote it before WWII, when the prevailing attitudes about the future were overwhelmingly positive.

Brave New World is set in London in the year 2540. After years of war, a single World State is in control providing community, identity and stability for all of society. Sounds pretty good, until you hear what's been given up in order to get it. Reproductive technology and sleep-learning make this society possible. People no longer live in families. There are 5 castes of people all "hatched" and grown in "factories" of a sort. Alphas (the highest caste) are allowed to develop naturally and, to some extent, experience a kind of individualism. The other 4 castes are tampered with at some point in fetal development to limit intelligence and physical growth. All people are bred for certain jobs. These jobs aren't a prison, however, because the breeding also happens at the level of desires. They only could want to do these specific jobs. "Sleep-learning" is a kind of conditioning that keeps each caste in its place, and also creates in them consumer desires that keep the economy running smoothly. Additionally, the world population is strictly kept to 2 billion assuring there are enough resources for everyone.

Much of the plot revolves around describing this society. The critical event is the recreational visit two Alphas take to an Indian reservation in New Mexico. They go to see the "uncivilized savages" who are not apart of the world society. They end up taking John Savage and his mother Linda back to London, to introduce them to civilization. This is where the title of the book comes from, a direct allusion to Shakespeare's The Tempest, where Miranda (living as a slave on an island) first encounters other people. She exclaims "O brave new world! That has such people in it!" It's an ironical title, as John Savage is not at all impressed with Civilization, and eventually tries to flee from it.

What works: Huxley's fears, as it turns out were well-founded. Neil Postman, in Amusing Ourselves to Death compared Brave New World with George Orwell's 1984, and he contends (rightly) that Huxley's fears were closer to the mark (at least for modern Western society):

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. Orwell feared those who would deprive us of information. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and egotism. Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of the feelies, the orgy porgy, and the centrifugal bumblepuppy. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny "failed to take into account man's almost infinite appetite for distractions." In 1984, Orwell added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure. In short, Orwell feared that what we fear will ruin us. Huxley feared that our desire will ruin us.

The most poignant parts of the book are discussions about the World State's decision to exchange the noble, the true, and the good for absence of pain and easy happiness.

What didn't work: While necessary to set the stage, some of the factory tours in the first 6 chapters of the book were laborious to read. The book's entertainment value increases drastically from chapter 7 on.

Read it if: you like dystopian novels, or are interested in cultural critique of Western society.

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Book Review: Planets in Peril

Planets in Peril: A Critical Study of C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy by David C. Downing

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

David Downing has written a first class treatment of C.S. Lewis' Ransom Trilogy. His burden is to classify the trilogy as "theological fantasy" and show how some of Lewis' own biography find their way into the books. Downing does a fantastic job situating the books in Lewis' own life, placing it among his other works, and explaining the many, many literary and theological allusions in the series. Downing also makes an effort to asses the series on its merits, interacting with the reviewers and criticial essayists who have come before.

If you like the series, then this book will help you appreciate all the nuances of Lewis' ingenius writing. If you're just going to skim, make sure and read chapters 1-2 and 6-7.

Table of Contents:
1 - "Transfiguring the Past": Lewis' Reading of His Early Life
2 - "Smuggled Theology": The Christian Vision of the Trilogy
3 - The Recovered Image: Elements of Classicism and Medievalism
4 - "Souls Who Have Lost the Intellectual Good": Portraits of Evil
5 - Ransom and Lewis: Cosmic Voyage as Spiritual Pilgrimmage
6 - Models, Influences, and Echoes
7 - The Achievement of C.S. Lewis: Assessing the Trilogy
Appendix: "The Dark Tower"

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Book Review: That Hideous Strength

That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I wish I had time to give this a little longer review, because there's so much packed into this final story in the Ransom (or Space) Trilogy. Perhaps the most interesting thing is the way Lewis blurs genre throughout the series. You can call the whole series "science fiction," but that's not quite accurate. It best describes the first book Out of the Silent Planet , which Lewis writes as science fiction in the vein of H.G. Wells, but with the intention of communicating a medieval cosmology. The second book Perelandra reads more like a myth. In many ways it's a re-imagining of Milton's Paradise Lost, except in this case, Paradise Retained. That Hideous Strength is a fairy tale, or romance. It's full of academic satire, Arthurian legend, and a critique of scientism and theological liberalism.

It's the longest of the three books (longer than the first two combined), and it starts rather slowly. But it's worth trudging through the first 50 pages or so to get into the plot. The characters are thin (that's pretty normal for a fairy tale), but the focus is not in character development, but in ideas and ideologies and the battle between good and evil.

Recommended for anyone interested in theology, medieval worldview, Arthurian legend, fairy tales for adults.

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Book Review: Perelandra

Perelandra by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The second in Lewis' Space Trilogy, Perelandra tells the story of Dr. Ransom's journey to Venus and back again. This sci-fi adventure is a theological meditation on sin and temptation. In many ways it's a re-telling of the first three chapters of Genesis, with a twist. What would it be like if the world were unspoiled, if sin had never entered in, if the first parents had resisted the serpent's temptations? In Perelandra Ransom is sent to young world to help the first woman battle against the temptations of the Evil One.

I highly recommend this book. Easily the best in the trilogy, and I rank Perelandra among Lewis' best books (along with Mere Christianity, 'Till We Have Faces, The Screwtape Letters, and The Magician's Nephew).

Read it if you have a pulse. (And especially if you want to think more about the first few chapters of Genesis)

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Peril and Peace

Peril and Peace: Chronicles of the Ancient Church by Mindy Withrow

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Peril and Peace is a brief introduction to the early church aimed at children ages 8-12. The style is narrative (dramatic even), interspersed with some historical reflections on martyrdom, the formation of the canon, early creeds and councils, etc.

Chapters include stories about Polycarp, Justin, Origen, Cyprian, Constantine, Athanasius, the Cappadocians, Ambrose, Augustine, Chrysostom, Jerome, Patrick, and Benedict.

This could be a helpful supplement to a child's education. In particular, it might make for good summer reading for a Christian child in public school (unlikely to be exposed to this aspect of church history).

That said, as an adult, it wasn't a great read. Was ready to be done with it.

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King's Cross: Short Review

King's Cross by Timothy Keller

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

King's Cross is a series of reflections on the life of Jesus based on the Gospel of Mark. In fact, the book is really a re-working of some of Keller's sermons on Mark over the years at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. It's broken down into two main sections reflecting the organization of Mark's Gospel. Part One: "The King" attempts to give the reader an understanding of who Jesus is. This is seen in Jesus' teaching, but also in his interactions with people, his answering of critics, as well as his miracles. Part Two: "The Cross" tells the story of what Jesus came to do. Namely, he came to die. And through his death, Keller argues, the deepest issues of the world find their meaning and resolution.

Keller's great strength is in his unique ability to address the believer and the skeptic at the same time. He does this again, arguing that the story of the world finds its meaning in the story of Jesus Christ.

I only wish this book came out before I preached through the Gospel of Mark at my church. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to reflect and meditate on the life of Jesus, or is just curious about the significance of Jesus' life.

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Book Review: The Monster in the Hollows

The Monster in the Hollows by Andrew Peterson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the third in Andrew Peterson's award winning fantasy series The Wingfeather Saga. The Monster in the Hollows tells the story of the Wingfeather children hiding from Gnag the Nameless in the Green Hollows, one of the few places in the land of Aerwiar not overrun by the Fangs of Dang.

It's a story about the children attempting to assimilate into a new culture and figure out how to do life (simple things like make friends, go to school, survive bullies, etc.). It's also a story about Kalmar's battle against guilt and shame, and Janner's struggle to protect his little brother. There also is a wonderful side story about Sarah Cobbler and the rebellion at the Fork Factory.

Of the three Wingfeather books, this has the least "laugh out loud" passages (there were many in the first two books). However, what it lacks in laughs, it more than makes up for in suspense. I read the majority of the book in two nights. I'd finish a chapter and not be able to put the book down because I simply had to know what was going to happen next (this rarely happens for me; I almost always choose sleep over resolutions in plot lines). There also were a few tear jerker moments, beautifully written and wonderfully woven into the plot line.

Fairy tales are great because they create for the reader (especially in kids) a moral imagination. You can't learn compassion or sacrifice or courage from definitions. We need to see examples in great stories. The Monster in the Hollows is one of those great stories that helps to form the good, the noble, and the beautiful in our minds and hearts. Peterson may very well be a better novelist than he is a songwriter (and that's saying something). I can't wait to read these books to my daughter.

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Book Review: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Mystery novel by recently deceased Swedish writer, Stieg Larsson. The story behind the book's publication is almost as interesting as the novel itself. Larsson died when The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and the final two books in the trilogy had been sent off to a publisher. After his death, a battle ensued between his long time live in girlfriend of 30 plus years (a common law marriage almost anywhere else) and his brother (whom he was not close to) for the rights to the work (and the proceeds). As it stands, I don't think the girlfriend is getting much of anything, but she is writing a book of her own about what life was like with Stieg Larsson.

The book itself is a mystery. A financial journalist gets drawn into a decades old investigation of a missing (and presumed murdered) 16 year old girl. Complicating matters is the history of the family: a rich industrialist clan whose members largely hate each other. On the day of the girl's disappearance there was a car accident that closed down the only accident to Hedeby Island. Where could the girl have gone? If she was killed, where is the body? There was a limited number of people on the island that day, and yet they all seem to have an alibi.

The murder mystery plot is quite good. I want give you any spoilers. But rather than just fun, the subtext of the story is violence against women - indicated both in what is uncovered as the story goes along, and Larsson's section headings (all of which list statistics about violent crimes against women in Sweden). In addition to wanting to write a page turner, Larsson wanted to raise awareness of a very real issue in Swedish culture.

Why only three stars? While I thought the plot was great (especially about 200 pages of the 620 pages in), and the dialogue was interesting, I never really connected with the characters. Perhaps they weren't sympathetic enough. Perhaps I operate from too different a worldview. I never felt like I understood where the main characters were coming from, or why they would decide what they would decide. It was still interesting, but it left me with a disconnect to the book.

Additionally, there were several depictions of violent rape in the story. While I'm sure Larsson included this in an attempt to call attention to how heinous these crimes are against women, I found these pages terribly uncomfortable to read. I believe the fierceness and the horror of the crimes could have been depicted by describing the long-term affects on the victims and their families without a blow by blow account of the attacks themselves. This I'm sure is a point of debate, but I'm writing the review - so there's my opinion.

Not sure if I'm sufficiently motivated to read the next two novels.

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Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl - Short Review

Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl: Wide Eyed Wonder in God's Spoken World by N.D. Wilson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Imagine a Rob Bell book, but with longer sentences and better theology. I suppose that's mean. Fans of Bell will think I'm taking a swipe at him (which I suppose I am). Fans of Wilson will think I'm dragging him down by comparing him to Bell (which isn't my intent). Okay, let's start over.

I read a review this morning talking about Francis Chan's book Erasing Hell. Chan's book is a response to Rob Bell's controversial Love Wins. The reviewer said of Chan's attempt, "right time, wrong book."

Trevin Wax: "Bell’s book is troublesome, not because it is a thoughtful representation of [his position]... It’s troublesome because it is seeking to make inclusivism beautiful. Bell succeeds at “dressing up” falsehood. Meanwhile, his evangelical critics aren’t even bothering with the wardrobe. We are Nixon, and he is Kennedy. From a purely rhetorical, debating standpoint, we win. But Bell understands the medium."

Wax goes on to suggest that reformed types do great exegesis and historical theology and win the substantive battle every time. But folks like Bell and William Young (author of The Shack) continue to craft great stories. "We grasp the issues, but others grasp the medium." So true.

That's where Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl comes in. It's hard to classify what this book is: philosophical musings, spiritual memoir, travelogue. It has something of all of these. But mostly, it's just beautiful writing. Wilson gives us a great example of robust theology artistically expressed. He grasps the issues and the medium. I can't recommend this book highly enough. And you also ought to check out the hour long DVD (a bookumentary of sorts - trailer below).

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Out of the Silent Planet

Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My least favorite of the trilogy, but an important set up to the other two. The main character, Ransom, is kidnapped and taken to the planet Malacandra, where he discovers that the rest of the universe is in harmony with God - that is, everywhere except earth (the silent planet).

There's some great nuggets in this book - on the nature of sin and temptation, as well as reflections on epistemology and cosmology. I wasn't crazy about the dialogue, and I had often had trouble picturing what Lewis was describing in Malacandra (though that may owe to my own lack of imagination).

It's worth the read, if for no other reason than to prepare you to read the second book in the series, Perelandra.

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Church Planter

Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission by Darrin Patrick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The worst thing about this book is the title. "Church Planter" is about much more than church planting, or what qualifies one to plant. It's a book that all kinds of church leaders should read, and churches in all stages (pre-planting, new plant, established church, church revitalization) can benefit from.

Darrin Patrick is the pastor of The Journey in St. Louis, a multi-campus, growing church in the Acts 29 Network. Most folks familiar with the reformed church planting culture will find that most of Patrick's ideas in this book can be found elsewhere (especially in Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, and Richard Lovelace). But even so, "Church Planter" is helpful because of the way Patrick distills and communicates information.

The book is divided into three main categories: The Man, the Message, and the Mission. The chapter breakdown looks like this:

1 - A Rescued Man
2 - A Called Man
3 - A Qualified Man
4 - A Dependent Man
5 - A Skilled Man
6 - A Shepherding Man
7 - A Determined Man
8 - A Historical Message
9 - Salvation-Accomplishing
10 - Christ-Centered
11 - Sin-Exposing
12 - Idol-Shattering
13 - The Heart of Mission: Compassion
14 - The House of Mission: The Church
15 - The How of Mission: Contextualization
16 - The Hands of Mission: Care
17 - The Hope of Mission: City Transformation

A big hurdle for some will be Patrick's complementarian understanding of manhood and womanhood - particularly his conviction that the office of elder should be reserved for men alone. He anticipates this and provides an excellent defense in the Preface. Still some will be turned off, but my hope is that wherever you stand on this issue, you'd still give the book a hearing. It's worth it. And certain chapters are worth copying and getting everyone in your church leadership to read (esp chapter 3 - the best succinct exegesis of Biblical texts on qualifications for church leaders I have read).

Read this if you are a church leader of any kind - especially if you are involved in church planting.

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Short Review: Practicing Affirmation

Practicing Affirmation: God-Centered Praise of Those Who Are Not God by Sam Crabtree

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A helpful book on the ministry of affirmation (or encouragement). The premise is this: every good thing comes from God. When we see a good thing, we ought to affirm it. When we don't, we actually pass over something good God is doing, therefore demeaning or undervaluing his work in the world or in other people. So this is a vertical issue (how we praise God), but it's also a horizontal issue (there are tremendous benefits in affirming other people).

To the first point: we need to affirm good things God is doing in others - this a helpful corrective to cynics (who see only negatives), and to the "high truth" people (who think all encouragement is fluff). To the second point: affirming others helps to build up other people. Commending what is commendable tends to reinforce good behavior in others. It helps encourage folks when they make strides in their walk with the Lord. It generally makes you a more pleasant person to be around (contra the quarrelsome person who is like Chinese-water torture). And it is a great way to gain hearing with people (so that you have the opportunity to say hard and corrective things at other times).

Perhaps the most practical lesson in the book is Crabtree's mention of the "Affirmation Ratio." Basically he argues that there is a proportionality that needs to happen with our words - we must affirm much more than we correct. This helps us see well, believe the best, have open eyes to God's work in others, and create space to be heard when we do correct. This is especially important in marriages and with children. How many relationships are in crisis because communication is primarily negative (see Proverbs for warnings about this)!

I gave this book three stars, not because the content was bad, but because it was highly repetitive. It easily could have been boiled down to a long article (20 pages or so). Chapters 2-3 are the most helpful, and could give you the essentials of the whole book. John Piper's Foreword is also worth reading.

Read this if you are a parent.

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Review: Instruction in Faith by John Calvin

Instruction in Faith by John Calvin

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I love Calvin. I not only think the Institutes of the Christian Religion has stood the test of time, but is one of the most accessible systematic theologies available. Instruction in Faith, however, is not nearly as useful. Written as a short, summary of the faith (33 short chapters, 90 pages) I'm sure this was extremely useful in the 16th century when there hadn't been many Protestant faith summaries circulated. But since then, there have been many, and I'm not sure this is one worth reprinting.

The best parts are that Calvin is succinct and tends to do a good job of pressing the reader to think about Christian doctrine as it applies to both head and heart. It may be a bit weaker when it comes to Christian living (much better in the Institutes). For my money, the reformed catechisms are more useful (esp Heidelberg and Westminster, and even Luther's shorter catechism). More recently, Berkhof's Summary of Christian Doctrine or Packer's Concise Theology are more helpful.

Not a waste of time (because it's so short), but this book has generally outlived it's usefulness. Read it if you are interested in the development of Calvin's thought.

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Short Review of Genesis 1-4 by C. John Collins

Genesis 1-4: A Linguistic, Literary, And Theological Commentary by C. John Collins

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Helpful, and I'm sure I'll go back to it as I preach through the early chapters of Genesis. But it's not at all an easy read, especially in the portions where Collins labors to explain how the text should be divided up into pericopes.

Perhaps the most controversial aspect to the book is his view of creation days. Collins takes the "analogical days" perspective, which I was familiar with from the PCA's position paper (this is considered an orthodox view, according to our denomination's General Assembly). But up until reading Collins, I always thought this was the weakest of the 4 orthodox views. He does a good job defending it, however, and while I was not convinced, I am much more open to that reading of Genesis 1-2, and seeing the structure of the creation account as God's Work Week (i.e. communicating the truth of God's creative activity within the analogy of the human work week).

Read this if you're studying Genesis (esp for pastors preaching on the early chapters). I don't think it's a book you'll want to read cover to cover.

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The Gospel in Genesis by Martyn Lloyd-Jones

The Gospel in Genesis: From Fig Leaves to Faith by Martyn Lloyd-Jones

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm frustrated because I just wrote a lengthy review that got deleted. So I'm going to be much more brief. Martyn Lloyd-Jones ("the Doctor") was the minister at Westminster Chapel in London for 30 years. His influence in the Reformed evangelical world is hard to overestimate. He's know for his Biblical preaching and his ability to push the text to affect the minds and hearts of his hearers.

Crossway has done the church a great service in publishing previously unavailable sermons from Lloyd-Jones. The Gospel in Genesis is a collection of 9 sermons on Genesis 3-12. Lloyd-Jones argues that these chapters are important, first, because the whole story of the Bible can be seen in the first few chapters of Genesis (at least in seed form). He also argues that the story of the world makes sense when we view it through the lens of Genesis. And lastly, Genesis makes sense of your life personally: who you are, who you want to be, your pain, struggles, and obstacles.

Chapter 4 "Where Art Thou" is the most powerful sermon. Lloyd-Jones challenges the reader to consider how God is pursuing you, like he did Adam and Eve in the Garden. And also to consider how you may be trying to evade him.

Read this book if you're a pastor planning to teach from the early chapters of Genesis, or a lay person looking for a devotional based on the exposition of Biblical texts.

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Book Review: Religious Nuts, Political Fanatics: U2 in Theological Perspective

Religious Nuts, Political Fanatics: U2 in Theological Perspective by Robert Vagacs

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have the same feelings about this book that I have for the movie "Million Dollar Hotel" that Bono wrote and Wim Wenders directed. Great idea. Great setup. Not so hot with the execution.

Robert Vagacs is a theological student at the University of Toronto, and a huge U2 fan. This is true of his mentor, Brian Walsh as well. In the foreword, Walsh narrates his own experience of encountering God at a U2 concert. Walsh almost didn't go to the show, as the daughter of close friends lay in a hospital bed on the brink of death. But at the suggestion of one of his students, Walsh and friends decided to go to the concert anyway, feeling a little guilty at the prospect of enjoying such a spectacle of entertainment while their friends suffered just down the road at the hospital. What Walsh found at the concert, however, was not mere entertainment, but a worship experience. As U2 sang about life and love and death and pain, Walsh was intermittently transported to a place of lament and then prayer and ultimately to a place of joy and hope. This was no mere concert. It was a worship experience.

Unfortunately, Vagacs' writing cannot match that of Walsh, and thus the book goes down hill from there. Vagacs does an admirable job, however, of applying Walter Brueggeman's hermenuetical framework to the U2 catalog. Brueggeman (in Psalms and the Life of Faith) argues that one can see the Psalms through the lens of "orientation - disorientation - reorientation." "Psalms of orientation would include wisdom psalms where everything in creation is in order. God is sovereign, the righteous are blessed, and the wicked are dealt with according to their crimes (e.g., Psalms 104, 127, 128, 131, 133, 145)." Psalms of disorientation include psalms of lament (Psalms 88, 42, 44 among others). These psalms cry out in pain for the present circumstances and long for another time and place. And lastly there are psalms of reorientation. These picture not just a return to the "good old days," but picture a new, hopeful, and imaginative reality. What once was impossible is now possible: "Grace makes beauty out of ugly things."

This idea is not just a way to classify the psalms, but also a way to understand spiritual journey. For example, one can read the great Pilgrim's Progress through the lens of orientation - disorientation - reorientation. And, so argues Vagacs, you can understand U2's poetry through this lens as well.

Vagacs makes mention of U2's early work, but he really begins with The Joshua Tree. This is an album of orientation. This is protest poetry, giving the listener a clear picture of the world as U2 sees it -- the good, the bad, and the ugly. Songs like "Bullet the Blue Sky," "In God's Country," and "Mothers of the Disappeared" are both descriptive and offer critiques of Western culture (and particularly the United States). But there is also a longing for something more in the record, an eschatological quality. Bono sings about a longing for the kingdom of God to come in its fullness. This is something they have yet to see ("I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For") but expect to come ("Where the Streets Have No Name").

The 1990's were U2's period of disorientation. The trilogy of albums Achtung Baby, Zooropa, and Pop are much darker than U2's earlier work. The songs are filled with doom, gloom, irony and satire. Vagacs argues that in these albums U2 is describing the "Babylonian state of Zooropa." "Zooropa is the anti-matter of 'Where the Streets Have No Name'... [It] offers no fulfillment, no certainty, no hope, no compass, no map, no religion. Zooropa is hell on earth." "Love is Blindness" is a funeral procession, depicting the hopelessness of a loveless world. "The Wanderer" might serve as the archetypal song for all three albums. Bono sings of "a city without a soul, under an atomic sky, where the ground won't turn, and the rain it burns...Love is clockworks and cold steel." Vagacs explains, "This city robs its citizens of any semblance of community. Identity is comprised of slogans. This city is the opposite of 'Where the Streets Have No Name.' Instead of hope, there is consumerism. Instead of shalom, there is conformity. Instead of life, there is only numbness. Welcome to the new and improved Babylon...Welcome to the wasteland called Zooropa."

Zooropa leaves The Wanderer feeling less than human, as in "Numb" and "Lemon." And since there is little purpose or destination to his travels, self-indulgence seems to be the way to go in "Playboy Mansion" and "Mofo." But this ultimately leads to dissatisfaction and despair, questioning if God exists or, if He does, whether He cares in "Wake Up Dead Man."

Vagacs misses a great chance here to elaborate on this period of disorientation by analyzing the Zoo TV and Discoteque tours. He mentions them briefly, but a chapter talking about the gluttony of Zoo TV and the long hangover of Discoteque would have been appropriate. After all, the irony and humor of Bono singing "Desire" to himself in a mirror while wearing a gold suit, and dressing as MacPhisto and throwing copies of The Screwtape Letters into the crowd, and playing the part of Judas while singing "Until the End of the World" would really have bolstered Vagacs' argument.

Lastly, Vagacs places U2's next two albums, All That You Can't Leave Behind and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb in the category of reorientation. (The book came out before U2's most recent release, No Line on the Horizon). Vagacs cites Salmon Rushdie "recalling a meal in Bono's home in Killiney, south Dublin, when German film director Wim Wenders 'announced that artists must no longer use irony. Plain speaking, he argued, was necesary now. Communication should be direct, and anything that might create confusion should be eschewed.'" This is exactly what U2 did with their next two albums.

Bono himself has said that the theme of All That You Can't Leave Behind is "joy." And on the Elevation tour he shouts "It's all about soul!" What a contrast to move from "Wake Up Dead Man" to "Beautiful Day." The lyrics also intimate a move from "the wanderer" to "the sojourner." Now there is a destination. The cover art suggests this as the band stands at an airport in front of gate J33-3, a reference to Jeremiah 33:3 -- "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know." Bono has referred to this verse as "God's telephone number."

"Walk On" speaks of the journey to a better place and "In a Little While" seems to answer the timing questions to songs like "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "40". "Vertigo" consciously juxtaposes the trials of Christ in the wilderness with the disorientation of life in this time, but both records ultimately are hopeful in God's providence and the coming of His kingdom ("All Because of You" and "Yahweh" are most obvious in making this point).

It's hard for me to admit that I didn't really like this book. Especially because I agree with Vagacs' premise, and I LOVE U2. But the book didn't do much for me. I found the book wanting because, after the first chapter, Vagacs mainly strings together U2 lyrics that seem to support his point. I was hoping for more than that. More reflection, more biographical sketches and anecdotes about the band, more engagement with their performances as well as their lyrics.

In some ways, this book suffers from the same deficiency as Mark Pinsky's The Gospel According to the Simpsons. The premise is good, but it is workman-like from thereon out. A book about The Simpsons ought to be more than descriptive. It ought to be funny. And Pinsky's book wasn't. And a book about U2's poetry ought to be more than insightful. It ought to be beautiful. And this book wasn't.

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Short Review: Unbroken by Laura Hillebrand

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. Laura Hillenbrand (author of Seabiscuit) tells the story of Louie Zamperini. A colorful character in his youth in California, Zamperini becomes a track star, even making it all the way to the Olympics in 1936 in the 5,000 meters. The mile was his specialty, however, and he seemed poised to be the first person to break the 4 minute mile. He was on track in his training to do just that, and then the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Louie entered military service as a bombadier. After flying several missions in the Pacific, he was shot down and lost at sea for 47 days. Eventually he was picked up by the Japanese, and spent the next two and half years experiencing the closest thing to hell on earth - internment at 4 different Japanese prison camps. He was experimented on, savagely beaten, and made the personal "project" of a sadistic guard.

But he survived - "unbroken" as Hillenbrand says. Well, not actually. Like so many who experience war, Zamperini was traumatized. His captors haunted his dreams. He coped by drinking. His behavior became more erratic. His marriage seemed on the verge of ruin. His only hope was revenge - he needed to kill th sadistic guard who tormented him all those months and ruined his life.

I'll stop there, because you'll want to read the last chapters for yourself. Or at least, you can stop reading here. I'll give away the ending in the next paragraph. But before I do that - let me say that Hillenbrand is a great writer. She has tremendious sense of pacing, giving the reader plenty of detail to fill out Zamperini's experiences, while pushing the story forward to its climax. This is a really good book. I'm not sure I've read a more well-written biography - EVER!

Here comes the Spoiler:
Okay, so Zamperini is on the brink of despair. His wife is about to leave him, along with his young daughter. He can't keep it together. No money. No hope. And then he goes to a Billy Graham crusade and hears the gospel. His life is transformed almost immediately. His marriage is repaired. He speaks evangelistically around the country and works for a Presbyterian church in Hollywood. And Zamperini even goes back to Japan to proclaim the gospel, even having the opportunity to share his faith with some of the former guards.

I've been told this is going to be made into a movie in the near future. The only surprise there, is that Zamperini's life hasn't already been portrayed in film. I highly recommend Unbroken. It's one of those rare times when an extraordinary writer gets to write about an extraordinary life.



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Short Review: Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas

Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010), 542 pages plus end notes

Summary
A splendid and thorough biography of German theologian and pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Metaxas might be best known for his biography of William Wilberforce (which spawned the movie, Amazing Grace). But many Christians will have come across his work without knowing it - as he wrote for a number of years for Veggie Tales.

Most know the basics on Bonhoeffer. German theologian-pastor who taught briefly at Union Theological Seminary in New York, and pastored churches in Germany, London, and Spain. Bonhoeffer is best known for his involvement in the Confessing Church movement, opposing the Nazi-controlled Reich church. Bonhoeffer directed an underground Seminary, which led him to write Life Together, a great little book about the community and Finkenwalde. His most famous book, The Cost of Discipleship, had a huge impact on me in college when I first began to consider what the Christian life ought to look like. It also was prophetic, as Bonhoeffer was soon called on to live what he preached. He stood with the Jews in Germany, counted the cost, and involved himself in the conspiracy to kill Adolf Hitler. Bonhoeffer was found out, imprisoned, and executed just weeks before the end of World War II.

What Worked
I wasn't sure what I was expecting when I came to this book. I've read most of Bonhoeffer's books, took a class on his theology while at Seminary, and read a biography written by his friend, Eberhard Bethge. Despite an extensive background in Bonhoeffer, I learned a lot from Metaxas' treatment of his life. In particular I was struck by Bonhoeffer's commitment to piety, Bible reading, and prayer. I was challenged by the excerpts from Bonhoeffer's journal detailing his rich devotional life.

I was surprised Bonhoeffer's pastoral side, and his commitment to people. To read his books (often very heady), you'd expect him to be a cool academic. But far from it. Bonhoeffer was brilliant. But he was thoroughly committed to his work as a pastor and, like the apostle Paul, was deeply involved in the lives of a wide range of people. I especially enjoyed reading about Bonhoeffer's tenure as a Sunday school teacher, working with teens in a working class neighborhood.

Historians and scholars are often not very good writers. Sometimes bad writing even seems to be a badge of honor - as if boring prose somehow proves the biographer's diligence in research. But Metaxas writes beautifully. And because of it, the book is an easy read, and sometimes feels more like a novel than history.

What Didn't
Cries of hagiography are nothing new to religious biographers. And Metaxas has been getting his fair share of those criticisms. In particular, critics have claimed that Metaxas seems to re-shape Bonhoeffer into an American evangelical. While it is obvious that Metaxas greatly admires Bonhoeffer, I didn't get the sense that he massaged Bonhoeffer's theology to make it more palatable to theological conservatives. Rather, I think this book is a helpful corrective.

In Letters and Papers from Prison, Bonhoeffer speculates about "religionless Christianity." Liberals have attached to this and a few other spurious statements and have claimed Bonhoeffer is one of their own. But Metaxas rightly points out that you cannot interpret the whole of Bonhoeffer's theology through the lens of these statements made in personal letters at the end of his life. For one thing, he didn't mean most of these for publication. Rather than mature statements, they were musings made to close friends and family. Second, some of the letters were written in code, intentionally innocuous because Bonhoeffer knew that his correspondence was being reviewed by the Gestapo. And third, he was under intense duress in those last days. Martin Luther says some curious things in his Table Talk, especially during those years where he suffered chronic pain. His legacy shouldn't be determined by those statements and neither should our view of Bonhoeffer be shaped by these statements in his letters. Taken as a whole, Bonhoeffer's work suggests that while Bonhoeffer probably shouldn't be classified as an evangelical, he certainly is orthodox.

Grade
Four out of five stars ****

Read it if
...you are interested in Bonhoeffer, World War II, or historical theology.