Patience with God: Faith for People Who Don’t Like Religion (or Atheism) by Frank Schaeffer
Frank Schaeffer is the son of Francis and Edith Schaeffer, the icons of modern Christian fundamentalism. This book is not really a memoir as much as a baring of his thoughts about God and how he struggled with some of the things he was taught growing up. At first you might be tempted to dismiss him as one of those people who claim to be “spiritual but not religious” but he is now a part of the Greek Orthodox Church, which I found particularly fascinating after experiencing Russian Orthodoxy here. Though I imagine Orthodoxy looks different in the States (probably conducting services in English). Even more fascinating was his telling of how when he married his pregnant girlfriend, his mother gave him a sex book that talked about how to achieve simultaneous orgasm. I just thought, ‘The atheists might be surprised to read this, but the Christians won’t. Christians are especially hypersexual when giving wedding gifts.’
The Good, the Bad and the Difference by Randy Cohen
This book grew out of the author’s “The Ethicist” column in New York Times Magazine and is formatted with ethical dilemmas posed by readers and his answer as to what the ethically correct action would be. I have to say I agreed with him on most points even if I didn’t want to. (Sometimes revenge sounds so much more fun!) The format of the book makes it easy to put down and pick up again after an interim of reading a second book if you’re the sort of person who likes to tackle a couple books at a time.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
You will learn something from this book, whether it’s how corn procreates, how cows and chickens can form a symbiotic relationship on the farm, or that organic isn’t necessarily better. Pollan follows three different meals from crop to table and in the process exposes the evils of the industrial food complex. This book will change the way I eat when I return to the States if only that I choose grass-fed beef and buy locally produced food as much as possible. Reading about what happens to corn-fed cows (and how much more susceptible they are to disease and the subsequent injections of antibiotics and chemicals) should make you angry.
Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw
Not what I expected, which is good. The point is that Jesus would make a terrible presidential candidate and that American Christians need to lose their nationalistic attitudes and their false ideas that God’s church works through politics. I actually wrote an essay touching on this subject once, basically stating that when Jesus was on earth he didn’t circulate petitions or lobby Congress. He didn’t come to be a political leader. I really like the stance the authors take on military and that probably, a Christian can’t serve in the military. Because when you think about it, a soldier’s job is to kill. Pacifism is a very unpopular idea among many Americans who have fallen for the “God Bless America” propaganda of the Republican Party/Religious Right. The authors emphasize that our identity in Christ is our only identity and it should wipe away all others based on race, nationality, etc. One of my favorite passages talks about how the authors once attended a church that didn’t display a cross because they thought it would make people uncomfortable, but the church did fly a giant U.S. flag out front to show support of families of soldiers. The authors suggested an Iraqi flag be flown as well to show their sympathy for the families of the one million Iraqi civilians that our war machine has killed. How shameful for the Church to be embarrassed by the cross and proud to display national loyalty ahead of loyalty to God. The American soldier is not our brother or sister. Christians of every nation, including Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine are our brothers and sisters. I’m not sure if I agree that all soldiering is wrong; it’s something I’ll have to think about some more. But certainly the culture of war we’re nurturing in America is making our society sick.
It’s interesting to note that both Jesus for President and The Omnivore’s Dilemma quote Wendell Berry. I’ll have to read him sometime.