| Letters from 30
January to 5 February 2012
Like all letters to the editor everywhere, these letters express the opinions
of the writers and not Anglicans Online. We publish letters that we think will be of interest to our readers, whether we agree with
them or not. If you'd like to write a letter of your own, click here.
All
the letters below refer (or we think they do) to the
question we raised in a recent front-page essay.
Don't
go pre-nuclear; try Fred
A
reader has to be non-defensive and open-minded about
considering Christian religious ideas in the first place,
one supposes, before offering him or her any particular
volume. My experience is that it is a mistake to urge
on a fledgling inquirer any of the orthodox apologias
written in the pre-nuclear age, and also a mistake to
start with anything written more recently that puts more
emphasis on either political, social, or economic change
and the proper role of the church, or on traditional
or innovative theological formulations, than on how one
person may be changed, perhaps even feel renewed, by
faith in God.
Frederick
Buechner's 'Wishful Thinking' and 'Peculiar
Treasures' are highly recommended for inviting inquiring
hearts and minds to begin to understand and share Christian
perspective.
David
Lewis
Zion Episcopal Church
Manchester, Vermont, USA
30 January 2012
A
not-new book is fine, but the Holy Spirit rocks
The
book that would draw me in and start a convincing dialogue
would be:
- Really
well written. (Not a polemic, not a hail-fellow, not
for a six-year-old with pictures).
- Clear
about what the particular group of Christians believe
and more important what they DO about being Christians.
- Give
good examples of real Christian behavior in our present
life circumstances.
- New
books are not needed. C S Lewis and other towering writers
of our glorious past, Augustine, Desert Fathers, Julian
of Norwich, Dag Hammarsjkold, and others too numerous
to mention, are there. Just open them.
Most
folks I know, trying to be "good" today, have turned,
as have the Scandinavians, to humanist means to convey
good will. Take care of here and now and don't concern
yourself with a next world. It works too.
To
be convinced by anyone else of a God, especially a benevolent
deity, is nearly impossible. I was a totally happy and
convinced atheist until my spirit was directly approached
by the Holy Spirit who said 'I want YOU'.
A
wonderful book to answer questions about a religious
persuasion is great, but it takes direct apprehension
to convince.
JC
Eriksen
Grace-Calvary, Cartersville, Georgia
Blairsville, Georgia, USA
30 January 2012
Apologia
okay, not so much argument
What
might sort of book might work as an introduction
to Christianity? How would it be structured?
I
suggest that a book based on testimony or experience
would be more effective than one based on argument. It
could be written by someone who found faith and, on the
way, thought reasoned, inquired and experienced until
'Surprised by Joy' (as CS Lewis has it in his famous
title).
The
cathechumenate works well because it is a way for enquirers
and mentors to experience together the life of faith
in Jesus, as they learn, discuss, serve and — eventually
— worship.
Could
this experience be replicated in a book? Possibly, if
the book guided the enquirer through experiences and
actions, as well as arguments.
Brian
McKinlay
St Philip's O'Connor
Canberra, ACT, AUSTRALIA
30 January 2012
Dan's
trumpet call
Publishing
and the visual fine arts have been my whole world for
many years. I love the idea of a "WONDERFUL" book about
our faith. The
kind of book AO's front-page letter suggests is quite
detailed. I can see that the author has a clear picture
in their mind, of a volume which is both aesthetically
compelling and contentually stimulating. He speaks of
excellence as well as intellect. He even defines a general
market for such a book — one that describes his
own psychographic. But the challenge is that we live
in a global community wherein exist countless tribes
and sub-tribes, each with their own set of values and
interests. No single book could possibly do what the
author of the article is suggesting. Such a "book of
wonder" would require not one book, but
many books, each from its own tribe.
Though
I share the same "bland-book fatigue" as the article's
writer, I know we are all wishing for what could never
be accomplished in a single book. That should NOT discourage
us, but show us that there are vast possibilities for
the making of wonderful books, from the simplest and
most "childlike" forms to the most sophisticated and
erudite.
What
I suggest is that artists and writers of faith begin
RE-thinking their works and how those might be published.
What they will contribute, and who they would like to
collaborate with — others who can add value and
vision to their own.
It
is not so much the fault of publishers that great books
are not produced; publishers are just trying to make
a buck — and that spoils both aesthetics and content
in hopes that the largest swath of the public will purchase
the book. Publishers publish NOT because they love books
or long for great literature, but because they make a
living from it. That is not wrong or sin. It is just
life. Profit is king.
The
responsibility for making great books is the purview
and responsibility of artists alone. Only WE can make
what has never yet existed. This is a sacred calling
for artists. I say put out the call, proclaim the
challenge, throw down the gauntlet, and dare artists
to make their best art into books. Then
after we cull through the mounds of esoteric junk that
will inevitably be belched up from the egocentric realms
of the kitsch and grandiose, we will find a few of those
pearls of great value for which we are longing.
Artist,
can you hear this call? Make something worth looking
at, worth reading, worthy of the story you are telling.
As for the writer of the article, quit complaining and
make the book you described. If you can see it so clearly,
then do it. That is YOUR calling, and no one else's.
But thanks for the subject. I heartily agree with you.
Dan
Emmanuel Anglican
Seattle, Washington, USA
useyernoodle@hotmail.com
31 January 2012
Well,
perhaps surface tension would work
Great
Scott! For years I have been saying, and still do, "So
many books, so little time".
There
is a ton of stuff out there about the "Emerging Christianity".
Read Cynthia
Bourgeault, Karen King, Karen Armstrong,
Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, Dinesh D'Souza, Albert
Nolan, and one of my favourites, Lecomte
Du Noüy. The discoveries at Nag Hammadi, e.g. Gospels of Mary
Magdalene and Thomas and Philip. Try
Ward and Lynn Baumann.
If
you want to really get your eyes opened go to "thegreatstory.com" and
then read Michael
Dowd's and Connie Barlow's "Thank God
For Evolution". And of course the old standby "The Bible",
still a best seller, I understand. This is for openers.
When you get through that come back and I'll add some
more. I'm not big on fundamentalist Christianity, but
there is a ton of that out there also. So little time.
David
T. Brown
St. John the Divine, Courtenay
Fanny Bay, British Columbia, CANADA
diggerb@telus.net
31 January 2012
Reginald
wants your ideas
I
absolutely love Anglicans Online and find it so very
useful in many ways.
My
parish, with several others in the Piedmont area of North
Carolina, has begun broadcasting on the internet the
Church Broadcasting Entity (http://www.the-cbe.org/).
Currently it is mostly music and also morning, noon, and
evening prayer. We are working to develop content to
include perhaps literature readings, commentary, sermons,
skits, humorous stories and heaven only knows what else.
I would like to add it to the links on AO. I am also
interested in any ideas for content, both serious and
fun, from our Anglican/Episcopal view of life on this
planet.
Thank
you for any comments or suggestions you may have.
Reginald
Boland
St. Luke's Episcopal
Salisbury, North Carolina, USA
imperialghia@netscape.net
2 February 2012
When
you meet the Buddha in a bookshop
I
think there are some very good books out there. Archbishop
Rowan
Williams' 'Tokens of Trust' comes to mind immediately.
Also good (although a bit more conservative) is Stanley
Grenz's 'What Christians Really Believe and Why'.
I
agree that brick and mortar bookstores (especially in
the US) are pretty bad about stocking high-calibre Christian
books. I think their selection of Buddhist and Jewish
materials is usual better. Wonder what that means?
Barry
Vaughn
St. Alban's Church
Birmingham, Alabama, USA
2 February 2012
Küng
can crumble walls
Your
front-page letter raises an
interesting question. Although it runs a little over
200 pages, I would happily recommend Hans
Küng's 'On
Being a Christian' as a wonderful introduction to our
faith. As I recall, it has the great powers of 'wall-crumbling'
that you seek in such a book.
Time
spent at this site is always richly rewarded. Blessings
to all for your work.
Nigel
Russell
Cathedral Church of St. James
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
3 February 2012
About
a book
One
of the ingredients of this book is a biography of the
remarkable Reverend Shapurji Edalji, thought to be the
first South Asian to become the incumbent of an English
living. I hope your readers will be interested: Roger
Oldfield, 'Outrage:
The Edalji Five and the Shadow of Sherlock Holmes',
Vanguard Press
Shapurji's
name has however been world-famous for over a century
for other reasons. His son George was convicted of wounding
a pony in the Edaljis' home village of Great Wyrley in
Staffordshire in 1903. When Sir Arthur Conan Doyle campaigned
to have George declared innocent in 1907 it appeared
that Sherlock Holmes was on the trail, and this inspired
a fascination with the lives of the Edalji family around
the world. Julian Barnes's novel 'Arthur and George'
has spurred renewed interest.
It
is my contention that the writings of Conan Doyle and
Julian Barnes overlook the achievements of an important
Church of England pioneer. For more on Shapurji's life,
and details of 'Outrage', see www.outrage-rogeroldfield.co.uk.
Roger
Oldfield
Stafford, England
roldfield@btopenworld.com
4 February 2012
Sermon
on the Mount, Emmet Fox edition
The
agnostic may be introduced to Christianity in any number
of ways. I suggest "The Sermon on the Mount" by
Emmet Fox.
Frank
Pinchak
St Peter's Episcopal Church
Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
5 February 2012
The
kettle's on the boil, And we're so easily called
away
Perhaps
one of the best approaches (though ostensibly written
for teenagers) is in the 'Uncle
Albert' books by Russell Stannard, which approach apologetics from a science background.
Maybe not the complete answer, but surely part of it
Peter
and Jean Kershaw
Church of Scotland
Winchburgh, SCOTLAND
5 February 2012
Earlier letters
We launched our 'Letters to AO' section on 11 May 2003. All published
letters are in our archives.
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