Hill (Utopia and Civilisation in the Arab Nahda), an assistant professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Northumbria University, centers this accomplished study of religious change in 19th-century Syria on diplomat Mikha’il Mishaqa (1800–1888), who served as vice-consul for the United States in Damascus from 1859 to 1870. As Hill points out, Mishaqa lived through nearly a century of upheaval in Syria that included the Ottoman government’s efforts to “centralize and rationalize rule,” Egypt’s occupation, and the increased influence of Western powers. Against this backdrop, Mishaqa abandoned the Greek Catholicism into which he was born for Enlightenment-inspired skepticism at age 18, and converted to evangelical Protestantism at age 48, swayed by American missionaries and religious texts that used “rationalist” approaches—arguing, for example, that certain biblical prophecies had come to pass by citing archaeological evidence. Hill places Mishaqa’s faith journey in the context of a “new religiosity” emerging in Syria that was marked by a burgeoning “public sphere” of newspapers and periodicals in which “controvers[ies] between religious and intellectual standpoints” were discussed, as well as the growing acceptance of faith as a matter of individual choice. Rigorous research buttresses the portrayals of Syria’s sociopolitical climate and Mishaqa’s intellectual life, and Hill includes illuminating excerpts from Mishaqa’s own religious tracts and the texts he was influenced by. Historians of the Middle East have plenty to gain from this. (June)

Reviewed on 05/24/2024 | Details & Permalink

The male-centric nature of modern Buddhism—including the exclusion of women from sanghas and central texts—contradicts the Buddha’s core belief that the genders are spiritually equal, according to this fiery if scattered debut. Combing through Early Buddhist Texts (dating approximately from the first- to fourth-centuries BCE) Trần, cofounder of Cherry Blossom Sangha, a mindfulness community, paints a portrait of a Buddha who believed enlightenment was achievable for men and women. Subsequent male “redactors and authors”reinterpreted the Buddha’s teachings, claiming that only men could reach enlightenment, and requiring nuns to prostrate themselves before newly ordained monks.The author calls on Buddhist institutions, particularly in the Mahāyāna tradition—the most widespread school of Buddhism—to “take a good, hard look” at their beliefs and practices, and work to root out sexist laws and texts. While the author attempts to cover too much ground (she spends several chapters imagining what the Buddha might have to say about gun rights and abortion, for instance), her perceptive textual criticism and willingness to call out bias are refreshing. It’s a valuable contribution to the literature on Buddhism. (Sept.)

Reviewed on 05/17/2024 | Details & Permalink

Khan (The Spiritual Journey of a Muslim Woman), founder of the Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality, an organization dedicated to empowering female Muslim leaders, establishes Muslim women’s religious and moral equality as the foundation for this comprehensive overview. Drawing on the Quran, textual commentaries, and historical examples of Muslim women ranging from the Queen of Sheba to lesser-known Chinese imams, Khan covers free expression (the Quran requires all Muslims to “speak openly about the truth and denounce injustice,” and the prophet Muhammad instructed women to debate with leaders to help build a strong society) and abortion (most Quranic interpretations agree that the practice is permitted to ensure the mother’s health), as well as property ownership, secular education, political leadership, and hygiene. While the personal anecdotes Khan weaves into the account sometimes feel out of place (illustrating how the Quran permits women to own and acquire property, she explains that her own portfolio of rental properties has allowed her to “generate consistent monthly cash flow”), Khan’s methodical textual analysis buttresses her case that Muslim women’s religious equality is enshrined in the Quran, which has been misinterpreted by leaders of oppressive societies to subjugate women. This solid theological guide is worth a look. (May)

Reviewed on 05/17/2024 | Details & Permalink

Prophecy Pros Podcast host Kinley (God’s Grand Finale) unpacks in this strident treatise the “prophetic plan for the end of days” that Jesus is said to have laid out on the Mount of Olives before his crucifixion. Dissecting the biblical text, Kinley covers, among other topics, the chaos prophesied to unfold during the “tribulation,” including Jerusalem’s destruction and an influx of “false prophets” seeking to “captivate the minds and hearts of a panic-stricken populace.” Elsewhere, Kinley characterizes the second coming of Christ as the “most-celebrated, game-changing touchdown in all history,” and contemplates the timing of the end days, describing the war in Ukraine and other ongoing conflicts as the “Braxton-Hicks contractions” rather than the “birth pangs” preceding the end of the world. Unfortunately, tirades against the “demonically driven transgender and drag queen movements of the LGBTQ+ crowd” take things offtrack, as does Kinley’s oddly flippant tone—Jerusalem’s destruction is discussed in a section titled “It’s All Gonna Burn.” All but Kinley’s most devoted fans should skip this. (July)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

Pulitzer winner Griswold (Amity and Prosperity) delivers a riveting chronicle of the fracturing of a progressive Christian church during a period of social and political turmoil. In 1996, “hippie church planters” Rod and Gwen White founded the Circle of Hope church in Philadelphia as an alternative to “hypocrisy, GOP politics, and rote Bible learning.” By the 2010s, they’d expanded into four congregations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. But fissures that developed after the Whites stepped back from day-to-day operations in the 2010s deepened in 2020 as the church’s four pastors grappled with Covid lockdown policies; the disconnect between the church’s antiracism efforts and its struggles to interrogate its own biases; and questions over whether social justice efforts should be linked to political activism. Focusing on each of the four pastors in turn, Griswold artfully teases out the challenges that eventually led to the church’s closure at the end of 2023, including the gap between its utopian vision and its ability to enact it and growing tensions with the Whites, who wanted to keep the institution largely out of politics. It’s a fascinating inquest into the death of a church that doubles as a compassionate case study on the insufficiency of good intentions. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 05/10/2024 | Details & Permalink

Howell debuts with an erratic portrait of his father, Rasta movement founder Leonard Percival Howell (1898–1981), and the Rastafarian community he led near Kingston, Jamaica, from 1940 until it was disbanded in the late ’50s. Howell frames his childhood in the Pinnacle compound as idyllic, and the residents there as good citizens, claiming that the friction between Howell’s followers and other Jamaicans stemmed largely from harassment by colonial authorities who sought to undercut Howell’s influence. Interwoven with the story of the commune is valuable background on Rastafarianism’s origins in Marcus Garvey’s movement for African independence, from which it broke in the early 1930s when Howell designated Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I as “the Living God.” Unfortunately, the author’s alternately defensive and worshipful attitude toward his father yields some questionable conclusions, as when Howell writes of his father’s many romantic relationships, “one could argue Dada loved women too much to respect them, but he was a man of his times.... He was a Victorian gentleman and a lion all in one.” This falls short. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 05/03/2024 | Details & Permalink

Former marine Robichaux (Fight for Us) delivers an uneven account of his aid efforts in Ukraine. Following Russia’s 2022 invasion, Robichaux and his son Hunter headed to Ukraine with Save Our Allies, an organization that aids Americans and allies in war-torn countries. The conflict was “like nothing I’d ever experienced before,” Robichaux writes, describing how he dodged Russian attacks, procured communications supplies, and saw evidence of war crimes, “from mass graves filled with the bodies of women and children to... the use of chemical weapons on civilians.” The author’s harrowing recollections of these atrocities and how he held onto his faith in the face of them are the most resonant parts of the book (“Pain and even death are not permanent,” he writes. “Bad things do happen to good people.... But it’s not the end of the story”). Unfortunately, the impact is undercut by the author’s digressions into such political issues as America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, and by his naive policy suggestions, as when he asserts that “the president of the United States does have the power and ability to swiftly end this war” by demanding a ceasefire and leading NATO humanitarian forces into Ukraine. Despite some moving moments, this misses the mark. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 05/03/2024 | Details & Permalink

Pastor Joyce recounts in this poignant debut memoir how his faith helped him grapple with the emotional challenges of Goldenhar syndrome, a rare congenital craniofacial disorder that caused the left side of his face to be severely underdeveloped. Joyce recaps a childhood spent undergoing countless reconstruction surgeries, getting bullied, and witnessing his parents’ distress over his condition. Meeting his future wife Anna helped him feel “freely chosen” for the first time, but it wasn’t until 2017, when he had a vision of a Jesus with a “face... just like mine,” that he fully understood “no amount of woundedness [is] too ugly for the love of God.” Joyce contends that all people suffer from emotional wounds, and that they can be healed through “the power of God’s love” and the knowledge of the crucified Jesus’s wounds (“To know that God is also broken but not ugly... heals the deepest parts of you”). The author’s at his best when he mixes personal insight and pastoral wisdom in vivid metaphors, as when he writes of the thorn in the apostle Paul’s side: “God’s love and power are made real not because he pulls the thorn out of the flesh but because we find him in the middle of the pierced flesh, which can no longer destroy us.” Sensitive and nuanced, this lingers in the mind. (July)

Reviewed on 05/03/2024 | Details & Permalink

“The spirit of faith” is “in your words,” according to this emphatic sermon from pastor Osteen (Your Greatness Is Coming). Writing that “words are like seeds... every time you say them, they’re taking root and growing,” the author posits that speaking one’s goals into being, or “talking like it’s going to happen,” sharpens personal conviction and attracts God’s favor. Even when nothing appears to change and the goal seems out of reach, readers should keep “professing their faith,” Osteen writes, and take comfort in the knowledge that divine workings are sometimes invisible. His advice for rewriting self-limiting narratives is wise, and despite a tendency to oversimplify—at one point he encourages readers to tune out negative voices by “letting that all go”—his enthusiastic aphorisms will stick with readers (“Tell yourself a new story. You don’t have to figure out how it’s going to happen. All you have to do is believe”). Osteen’s fans will also appreciate the pastoral blessings woven throughout—“I declare that you are blessed with promotion, with good success, with ideas, with creativity.” It’s a rousing ode to the power of belief. (Apr.)

Reviewed on 05/03/2024 | Details & Permalink

Today’s “virus of meanness” must be combated with faith and kindness, according to this impassioned outing from pastor Evans (Kingdom Politics). Reminding readers that God “calls us to love others for the glory of His name,” Evans describes how small, tangible actions like mowing someone’s lawn can cumulatively help to repair a culture dominated by a “me-first mentality.” By practicing such kindnesses on a daily basis, Christians can ultimately shape a world that centers “God’s glory and the advancement of His kingdom agenda” while also reaping divine blessings themselves. Evans brings plenty of his usual charisma to this spirited reminder to do good even when it’s inconvenient, though the profusion of strained metaphors sometimes serves to confuse more than clarify (“Far too many Christians resemble the moon. We enjoy our lit side and want to shine.... But we also have a dark side. The dark side reeks of selfishness, secrets, and scandal. To avoid showing anyone our dark side, we wear a mask”). Still, it’s a solid resource on the challenges and rewards of loving one’s neighbor. (July)

Reviewed on 04/26/2024 | Details & Permalink