Let's be honest, this issue does not have a light summer reading list! There are two things one say can about that. One is that if we don't highlight some of these books for you, we're pretty sure no one else will. The other is that there is increasing evidence that mainline Christians are looking to go deeper in their faith – and that ultimately means exploring theology.
Because whether it's ultimately spending more time with scripture or with contemporary spirituality, some exploration and grasp of theology is crucial because it gives one the means to assess various points of view and to understand better where a particular author is coming from.
The trouble with theology these days is that it is perceived by clergy and laity alike to be either inscrutably inaccessible (masquerading as deep or academic) or vacuous, like some recent books highlighted in the media suggesting warm feelings to the left of Svend Robinson are as religious as anyone should be.
Good theology is neither. At its heart, theology is the articulation about how we conceive of God. That happens every time we pray, for instance. How we view God, whether as a judge to be feared, as a disciplinary parent, as a friend who will hold us to account or as a nebulous good principle, will affect what it even means to us to pray.
Theology is also involved each time we encounter the Bible. The “plain meaning” of scripture one occasionally hears references to is simply the one based on our unexamined prejudices. Scriptural studies are in part about trying to minimize the reader's prejudices and assumptions while discovering what we can of the prejudices and assumptions of the writers and editors who are the human vehicles of God's word.
The challenge for most of us, I suspect, is to find ways to reflect on the mystery of the divine and see how that forces us to re-evaluate our prejudices and, as a result, change the way we live.
To that end, I'd like to propose three books for your summer reading list. They are from quite different perspectives, so you can choose to play to your strengths or weaknesses in your choices.
Kathleen Norris is an extraordinary poet and writer. Several of her books have been New York Times bestsellers. Norris has led a varied life and her writing is from the perspective of a person firmly grounded in reality, with all the struggles and heartaches as well as the joys that life brings. She was not involved in the church for many years, but eventually joined the Presbyterian church in Lemmon, South Dakota, where her grandmother had been a member for 60 years. I recommend Dakota: A Spiritual Geography. If you want a more directly theological book, though, you could try Amazing Grace.
Anne Lamott found Jesus in St. Andrew's Presbyterian, Marin City, Calif., which she later joined. Just a few years older than Norris, Lamott too has written several books about life and faith. “Witty,” “irreverent” and “highly provocative” are words that have been used to describe her gritty writing. While Norris's style reflects her time spent in an abbey, Lamott is at the other end of the spectrum, wrestling with God like Jacob did. Traveling Mercies, a collection of autobiographical essays on faith would be a great summer read.
Lastly, for those who feel left out of discussions about the church because they are not represented by the extremes the media gravitate to, Diana Butler Bass's latest book is just the ticket. Butler Bass is a scholar who has written widely in the popular media on religion. Christianity for the Rest of Us: How the Neighborhood Church is Transforming the Faith arises from three years of research. As a bonus, if you live in the Toronto area, reading this book will prepare you for Bass's appearance in the spring of 2009 at Rosedale Presbyterian and Knox College.
