The following books, listed by author and title, have been recommended by members of CTA Olympia. They are not all specifically oriented on church reform, but also deal with modern theology and a broad range of other topics on Christianity and spirituality. Most are by Catholic authors, but in keeping with CTA's move toward inclusion, many are not. All are worthy of your consideration.
If you have a favorite book, especially one that is new or relatively new, please let us know and we will add it to the list. As we prune the list from time to time (to keep it down to a manageable number), we will be looking first at reader enthusiasm for each book, and second for currency. In general, we will try to eliminate those which have been around for more than 10-15 years, but will not exclude some we feel are of particular interest just because they have been in circulation for a while.
by Kathleen Fischer.
". . . A luminous glimpse into the meaning of life after death, Fischer offers a rich exploration of elusive queations that haunt us all.... Each chapter concludes with beautifully wrought possibilities for prayer and reflection. This multifaceted look at death and beyond will offer comfort and fresh insight to the dying themselves, to those who love them, to caregivers, and to all persons who consciously deal with their own mortality." Kathleen Dyckmann,SNJM
"Kathleen Fischer understands clearly that theology cannot establish faith, but can display its plausibility and intelligibility. And she does exactly that with remarkable intuition on a topic as loaded and puzzling as life after death. Her work mingles (but does not mix) the theological and poetic as she references a large world of experience. Her accessing of Jewish, Buddhist, and Hindu sources, novels and poetry, the social sciences and cosmology - these never overtake her primary concern with Christian belief in resurrection all that might mean." Bernard J. Lee, SM Assistant Chancellor, St. Mary's University.
"I want to HIGHLY recommend this superb new book by Kathleen Fischer who is wife of Tom Hart and author of Transforming Fire, Autumn Gospel, Women at the Well and with husband Tom, Christian Foundations. They have collaborated on a ministry of counseling and spiritual direction here in the Seattle area for a number of years. Pat Callahan
Vows of Silence : The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II
by Jason Berry and Gerald Renner.
Review not written.
Silence on Fire: The Prayer of Awareness
by Jason Berry and Gerald Renner.
Review not written.
by Marcus J. Borg.
This well-known book from acclaimed Oregon State University professor Marcus Borg is considered his major book on the historical Jesus. Professor Borg, a member of the "Jesus Seminar" of prominent Jesus scholars, incorporates all the modern scholarship about Jesus in this fully revised and updated edition. Highly recommended.
by Marcus J. Borg.
Readers of Borg's other books know that his personal faith journey led him to question, and ultimately reject, the beliefs of his childhood that many call "mainstream Christianity". This book offers reflection on the real meaning of those beliefs, like "being born again", and "the kingdom of God", which Borg has re-cast in ways that have helped revitalize Christianity for him. It is an excellent read, the thoughtful work of a man who writes with great clarity.
Jesus,
Uncovering the Life, Teachings, and Religion of a Religious Reolutionary
by Marcus J. Borg.
Review not written.
In Search of Belief
by Joan Chittister.
Review not written.
by Donald B. Cozzens.
Donald Cozzens, president-rector of Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Cleveland, gives us an insiders look at the priesthood. His personal, subjective views are truly insightful, especially since he is able to support those insights by marshaling facts and figures that underscore how the character of the priesthood has changed since Vatican II. He examines the important shift from an almost completely authoritarian priesthood to one that has seen a major shift toward the servant-leader model called for by Vatican II. He also provides illuminating insights into priestly celibacy, homosexuality, and sexual abuse. An excellent book by a master of his subject.
by Donald Cozzens
One has to wonder why the great institution that is the Roman Catholic Church meets almost every perceived threat, scandal or crisis in the same manner with silence and denial. How can an institution which represents faith, hope, love, and Jesus behave in such a manner? When families habitually act this way psychologists are quick to label them dysfunctional, and the first step in the therapeutic process is to try and discover the deep, underlying problems that produce such behavior. This kind of dysfunctionality, uncorrected, is ultimately destabilizing and destructive within families and that does not augur well for the church. Cozzens probes the idea that the simple answer to what ails the church is that it is afraid, that underneath all the current scandals and public problems lies fear that the authority of a still-feudal church may not be able to prevail against post-modern scientific and scholarly ideas that threaten long-established religious belief. The greater the fear becomes, the more the church's pursuit of control becomes obsessive; hence, the silence and denial. Definitely a thought-provoking book.
by John Dominic Crossan
Here is an antidote to Mel Gibson's film, The Passion, written by a giant among theologians. Professor Emeritus at DePaul University in Chicago and co-director of The Jesus Seminar, this is one of many books Crossan has written about Jesus. Its organization is simple. The chapters go from a survey of history and prophecy, to a look at crime in Palestine at the time of Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate, to the details of Jesus last hours: Arrest, trial, abuse, execution, burial, and resurrection, with a chapter for each. He concludes with a final chapter on history and faith.
Crossan works at a level of scholarship that is truly astonishing. No matter how well you know the story and even if you saw the movie reading this book will delight you with its detailed descriptions and insights into what happened in Jerusalem during that Passover period two millenia ago. You will come away enriched.
The Coming Catholic Church : How the Faithful Are Shaping a New American Catholicism
by David Gibson
Journalist David Gibson gives us a sweeping assessment of the Catholic Church in America today. He examines a church that is defensive, controlling, and silent about its problems. He probes how an institution that is rooted in the past can survive in a world that is no longer just "modern", but is passing into what is being called the post-modern stage. His sense is that the laity understands that the scandals that beset the church today are but the tip of an iceberg that threatens to destabilize the church completely. He concludes that what the church needs is to undergo revolution from below, accompanied by transformation at the top
The
Rule of Benedict
by David Gibson
Review not written
A Church In Search of Itself
by Robert Blair Kaiser
Review not written.
The Catholic Church : A Short History
by Hans Kung.
Hans Kung, an intellectual giant and the preeminent German theologian of the 20th Century, could undoubtedly have written a multi-volume history of the Church. That he chose instead to write this slim historical account, and that he could pack so much into a book that is a mere 207 pages, speaks volumes about his ability. This is a masterpiece work: fair, authoritaritative, and remarkably easy to read. It is fascinating history that will captivate even those who don't think the past is interesting or important, and it provides an important theologian's assessment of where the Church stands now and what needs to happen next.
by Paul Lakeland.
Review not written.
Liberation
of the Laity
by Paul Lakeland.
Review not written.
Life
Abundant: Rethinking Theology and Economy for
a Planet in Peril
by Sallie McFague.
Review not yet written.
From
Sand to Solid Ground, Questions of Faith for Modern Catholics
by Michael Morwood.
Review not yet written.
A When Jesus Became God: The Struggle to Define Christianity During The Last Days of Rome
by Richard E. Rubenstein.
Shortly after Roman Emperor Constantine embraced Christianity in the early 4th Century he rescued it from second-class status and raised it up to become the religion of Empire. A few years later, after he had moved from Rome to Byzantium for the purpose of consolidating his hold over the vast Roman Empire, Constantine became aware that if Christianity was to grow and flourish it needed to better define itself. Intending to put a stop to the internecine squabbling that was rife among far-flung followers of ts still unsettled tenets of faith, he invited all of the Bishops of the church to his home in Nicea, a "suburb" of Byzantium, and charged them to come up with a creed that would settle all the arguments for once and all. The rest, as they say, was history. Well, not exactly, for Constantine only thought his Bishops settled everything with the Nicean Creed they had created. In fact, it was not long after Constantine's death when believers once again began arguing openly about what beliefs defined a "true Christian". Many listened to the charismatic priest Athanasius, who believed that Jesus was God Himself in human form. Others followed the lead of a rival priest, Arius, who agreed that Jesus was holy, but argued that he was not God. Rubenstein tells the story of the controversies, the political infighting, the power struggles and the violence that ensued. Fascinating stuff. Reads like a novel.
A New Christianity for a New World : Why Traditional Faith is Dying and How a New Faith is Being Born
by John Shelby Spong.
Review not written.
Liberating the Gospels: Reading the Bible With Jewish Eyes
by John Shelby Spong.
Review not written.
Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism: A Bishop Rethinks the Meaning of Scripture
by John Shelby Spong.
Review not written.
Why Christianity Must Change or Die: A Bishop Speaks to Believers In Exile
by John Shelby Spong.
Review not written.
Jesus in the New Universe Story
by Cletus Wessels.
Review not written.
Papal Sin: Structures of Deceit
by Garry Wills.
Extracts from the dustcover: "Papal sin in the past was blatant, as Catholics themselves realized when they painted popes roasting in hell on their own cathedral walls. Surely, the great abuses of the past the bastards, bribes, and wars of conquest no longer prevail; yet, the sin of the modern papacy, as revealed by Garry Wills in this penetrating book, is every bit as real as before and perhaps even more destructive because of its subtlety. Wills describes a papacy that seems steadfastly unwilling to face the truth about itself, its past, and its relations with others. The refusal of the authorities of the Church to admit that they could err or do wrong to others has needlessly exacerbated their original mistakes. Even when the Vatican has tried to tell the truth for example, about Catholics and the Holocaust it has ended up resorting to distortion, evasion, and blindness. The same is true when the papacy has attempted to deal with its record of discrimmination against women, or with its assertion that "natural law"dictates its sexual code. . . . Wills traces the rise of the papacy's stubborn resistance to the truth, beginning with the challenges posed in the nineteenth century by science, democracy, scriptural scholarship, and rigorous history. The legacy of that resistance, despite the brief flare of John XXIII's papacy and some good initiatives in the 1960's by the Second Vatican Council (later baffled), is still strong in the Vatican. Finally, Wills reminds the reader of the positive potential of the Church by turning to some great truth tellers of the Catholic tradition Saint Augustine, John Henry Newman, John Acton, and John XXIII. In them, Wills shows that the righteous path can still be taken, if only the Vatican will muster the courage to speak even embarrasing truths in the name of Truth itself."