Book reviews
Faith, public life and ideas worth examining. Reviews by Brandon Burley.
Dwelling in Christ: Discover the Threefold Path of Spiritual Transformation
Jonathan R. Bailey · 4/5 stars
Dwelling in Christ: Discover the Threefold Path of Spiritual Transformation The central argument of Jonathan R. Bailey's Dwelling in Christ is deceptively simple: Spiritual transformation is usually much slower than we want it to be. Bailey begins with his own experience of what he calls “transactional Christianity”—the expectation that a prayer, commitment, spiritual discipline, emotional moment, or increased effort should produce an identifiable result. His alternative is the historic Threefol…
One Nation over God
Wes Crawford · 5/5 stars
Wes Crawford’s One Nation over God asks a question that is easy to answer badly: When does patriotism become idolatry? Crawford approaches the subject through the idea of American civil religion—the collection of national stories, rituals, symbols, sacred places, revered figures, and appeals to Providence that help create a shared American identity. His argument is not simply that patriotism is bad. In fact, one of the book’s more useful distinctions is that civil religion can perform a construc…
A Mission Held in Trust: Stewarding the Church-Related University (Advances in Church-Related Higher Education)
Todd C. Ream · 5/5 stars
A Mission Held in Trust: Stewarding the Church-Related University An institution's mission is not something the current generation simply owns. It is something leaders inherit, steward for a period of time, and eventually hand to someone else. Edited by Todd C. Ream, Jerry Pattengale, and Christopher J. Devers, this collection brings together Catholic and Protestant educators and institutional leaders to examine what that means through governance, law, lobbying, communication, finance, worship, …
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