Religion Commons^™

Finding God In All Things, Including A Daily Commute: A Review Of Opening To God, Deb Bomgaars

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Using Lectio Divina can transform prayer—not just the doing of prayer, but the loving, trusting relationship with God."

Posting about the book Opening to God from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/finding-god-in-all-things-including-a-daily-commute-a-review-of-opening-to-god/?highlight=finding%20god%20in%20all%20things

The Place For Sacredness: A Review Of Pagans And Christians In The City, Mark Mccarthy

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Smith uses ideas and examples that would be very familiar to a reader knowledgeable of concepts such as Creation, Fall, Redemption, and the idea that all life is shaped by religious beliefs."

Posting about the book Pagans and Christians in the City from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/the-place-for-sacredness-a-review-of-pagans-and-christians-in-the-city/?highlight=the%20place%20for%20sacredness

He Is Strong When We Are Weak: A Review Of Gentle And Lowly, Donald Roth

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"We often view the heart as the center of our emotions, but it meant much more than this in the ancient world."

Posting about the book Gentle and Lowly from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/he-is-strong-when-we-are-weak-a-review-of-gentle-and-lowly/

In The Hands Of The Lord: The Life Of Dallin H. Oaks By Richard E. Turley Jr., John W. Welch

BYU Studies

In several ways, this is not a normal book. But then, it does not cover an ordinary life. It should be read and revisited especially by every Brigham Young University student, faculty member, and alum. After all, no other biography has ever been written about a graduate of BYU (1954) who went on to become a clerk to the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court (1957–1958), a dynamic president of BYU (1971–1980), and also an Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ (1984). I can only imagine that every Latter-day Saint and all readers of BYU Studies Quarterly will …

London Street: A Memoir (Book Review), James C. Schaap

Pro Rege

Reviewed Title: London Street: A Memoir by Jane E. Griffioen . Eugene, Oregon: Resource Publications, 2020. 248 pp. ISBN: 9781725267558.

Congress Overwhelmed: The Decline In Congressional Capacity And Prospects For Reform (Book Review), Jack R. Van Der Slik

Pro Rege

Reviewed title: Congress Overwhelmed: The Decline in Congressional Capacity and Prospects for Reform by Timothy M. Lapira, Lee Drutman, and Kevin R. Kosar, editors. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2020. 334 pp. ISBN: 9780226702575.

Scriptural Reflections On History (Book Review), Keith C. Sewell

Pro Rege

Reviewed title: Scriptural Reflections on History by K. J. Popma. Translated and edited by Harry Van Dyke. Aalten, The Netherlands: Wordbridge Publishing, 2020. 142 pp. ISBN: 9789076660578.

Discerning Doubt: A Review Of After Doubt, Justin Bailey

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Doubters must reframe the way they think of the church, and churches must reframe the way they make space for doubt."

Posting about the book After Doubt from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/discerning-doubt-a-review-of-after-doubt/

Twin Poles: A Review Of Bavinck, David Westfall

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"We would certainly do well to learn from Bavinck’s all-encompassing vision of the gospel’s relevance to every area of life."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the book Bavinck: A Critical Biography from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/twin-poles-a-review-of-bavinck/

Trinity And Monotheism: A Historical And Theological Review Of The Origins And Substance Of The Doctrine, Jason Robert Combs

BYU Studies

The history of Christian beliefs about the nature of God is complex. It would be helpful for Latter-day Saints and other Christians to have a simple, straightforward introduction to this topic. A. Keith Thompson, professor of law and the associate dean at the Sydney School of Law of the University of Notre Dame Australia, who previously worked as international legal counsel for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, set out to write such a book. Motivated in part by his interfaith work and by his own religious beliefs as a Latter-day Saint, Thompson wrote Trinity and Monotheism to …

Watchman On The Tower: Ezra Taft Benson And The Making Of The Mormon Right Thunder From The Right: Ezra Taft Benson In Mormonism And Politics, Roger Terry

BYU Studies

Although I was already fairly well acquainted with the activities and rhetoric of Ezra Taft Benson, a controversial twentieth-century Apostle, what surprised me when reading these two books about him was their relevance to what is happening in the United States today. Historian Matthew L. Harris authored the biography of Benson titled Watchman on the Tower and edited the anthology Thunder from the Right. They help explain not only Benson’s life and times but also political conservatism and paranoia about government conspiracy among American Latter-day Saints today.

Clogs And Shawls: Mormons, Moorlands, And The Search For Zion, Amy Harris

BYU Studies

Born in turn-of-the-century Bradford, Yorkshire, the eight Whitaker sisters were raised as Latter-day Saints, all eventually immigrated to Utah, and all remained members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout their lives. Their lifelong faithfulness was an important cornerstone of their family story, a story Ann Chamberlin, a granddaughter of one of the sisters, situates within a larger narrative about their family culture—both its positive and negative elements and the parts that tipped into becoming family mythology.

Recovering A Grammar For The Soul: A Review Of The Logic Of The Body, Donald Roth

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"We need to not only change the way we think, we need to change what we do, and we need to conceive of what we are doing in a way that fits us into our soli deo gloria identities."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the book The Logic of the Body from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/recovering-a-grammar-for-the-soul-a-review-of-the-logic-of-the-body/

The Shared Virtues Of Science And Faith: A Review Of Why Science And Faith Need Each Other, Channon Visscher

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"The reality is that areas of conflict and tension between science and religion do exist, even if the relationship is not defined by them."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the book Why Science and Faith Need Each Other from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/the-shared-virtues-of-science-and-faith-a-review-of-why-science-and-faith-need-each-other/

Calvin, The Bible, And History (Book Review), Keith C. Sewell

Pro Rege

Reviewed Title: Calvin, the Bible, and History by Barbara Pitkin. New York: Oxford University Press, 2020. 250 pp. ISBN: 9780190093273.

Unsettled Ground: The Whitman Massacre And Its Shifting Legacy In The American West (Book Review), James C. Schaap

Pro Rege

Reviewed Title: Unsettled Ground: The Whitman Massacre and its Shifting Legacy in the American West by Cassandra Tate. Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 2020. 280 pp. ISBN: 9781632172501.

The Inevitability Of Tragedy: Henry Kissinger And His World (Book Review), Jack R. Van Der Slik

Pro Rege

Reviewed Title: The Inevitability of Tragedy: Henry Kissinger and His World by Barry Gewen. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2020. 452 pp. ISBN: 9781324004059.

Burnt-Out Lightbulbs: A Review Of Can't Even, Mike Janssen

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Given the ways in which personal technology and social media amplify burnout, millennials, who came of age as the Internet invaded all aspects of life, are perhaps especially vulnerable to it."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the book Can't Even from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/burnt-out-lightbulbs-a-review-of-cant-even/

Life And Times Of John Pierce Hawley: A Mormon Ulysses Of The American West, Adam Oliver Stokes

BYU Studies

In recent years there has been a growing effort to expand the definition of “Mormonism” within Mormon studies. “Mormonism,” in twenty-first-century scholarship, refers not only to the largest organization in the restoration tradition—namely, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, headquartered in Utah—but also to other branches and movements within the restoration tradition. Joseph Smith’s movement includes the Reorganized Church (RLDS, now known as the Com- munity of Christ), the Bickertonite church (Church of Jesus Christ), the Strangite church, and the Elijah Message church, among others. In large part, this expanded understanding of what qualifies as “Mormon” has come …

Whole Life Worship: A Review Of Work And Worship, Jeremy Perigo

Staff Work

"Kaemingk and Willson’s integration of liturgy and labor is well-researched and creates needed theological and liturgical bridges between work and worship."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the book Work and Worship from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/whole-life-worship-a-review-of-work-and-worship/

A Journey Towards Diversity: A Review Of The Next Worship, John Macinnis

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"It is time for us to dedicate our energy and creativity to connecting across cultures."

Posting about cultural and ethnic diversity in worship from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/a-journey-towards-diversity-a-review-of-the-next-worship/

Understanding Covenants And Communities: Jews And Latter-Day Saints In Dialogue, Bradley J. Kramer

BYU Studies

Organized topically, this book’s sixteen essays provide a wealth of information about Jewish and Latter-day Saint perspectives, scripture, experience, worship, culture, and politics. However, at least for me, the true treasure of these essays is not so much informational as it is relational.

Make Yourselves Gods: Mormons And The Unfinished Business Of American Secularism, Michael Hubbard Mackay

BYU Studies

Borrowing its title from Joseph Smith’s far-reaching Nauvoo theology, Make Yourselves Gods is somehow even more provocative than its title. The average Latter-day Saint reader will chafe under its vocabulary, struggle through its detailed contributions to the study of secularism, and be at odds with its use of queer critique. Furthermore, to the average reader’s disdain, this book will be chewed and discussed for a generation to come. It is not likely to be forgotten.

Documents: The Joseph Smith Papers, Richard E. Bennett

BYU Studies

Almost fifty years ago, my wife, Patricia, and I had the distinct privilege to work for incoming Church Historian Leonard J. Arrington in combing through the archives of the Church History Library in Salt Lake City for source materials long since shelved, considered lost, or otherwise off-limits. Along the way, we also enjoyed working with a team of other dedicated scholars brought in to work under Arrington’s kind and learned tutorship. Among them was a talented archivist/historian named Dean Jessee, who was an assiduous student of the document, particularly the papers of the prophet Joseph Smith Jr. Owning a passion …

The Pearl Of Greatest Price: Mormonism’S Most Controversial Scripture, Richard Lyman Bushman

BYU Studies

The Pearl of Great Price is the least intentional of Latter-day Saint scriptures. When British mission president Franklin Richards pulled together a fifty-six-page assemblage of miscellaneous writings in 1851, he showed no signs of thinking that it prefigured an addition to the canon. He thought the items would be useful for instructing missionaries and members in gospel doctrine. The writings were widely distributed as a pamphlet but not considered scripture until canonization was proposed, almost casually, in 1880, in the same meeting where John Taylor was sustained as Church President. Unlike the Book of Mormon, which arrived as another Bible …

Earthkeeping And Character: Exploring A Christian Ecological Virtue Ethic (Book Review), Jeff Ploegstra

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Reviewed Title: Earthkeeping and Character: Exploring a Christian Ecological Virtue Ethic by Steven Bouma-Prediger. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2020. 198 pp. ISBN: 9780801098840.

From The American Dream To Shalom: A Review Of The Myth Of The American Dream, Erin Olson

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Mayfield’s book is full of stories from her own experiences of living a life of curiosity and seeking justice as she talks about times living in intentional community in both Minneapolis and Portland."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the book The Myth of the American Dream from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/from-the-american-dream-to-shalom-a-review-of-the-myth-of-the-american-dream/

Western Society And Cultural Elites: A Review Of Return Of The Strong Gods, David Westfall

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Reno devotes most of the book to developing an account of what he calls the 'postwar consensus,' which arose out of the west’s revulsion at the horrors of the first half of the twentieth century."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the book Return of the Strong Gods from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/western-society-and-cultural-elites-a-review-of-return-of-the-strong-gods/

Reformed Theology And Evolutionary Theory (Book Review), Tony N. Jelsma

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

Reviewed Title: Reformed Theology and Evolutionary Theory by Gijsbert van den Brink. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2020. 328 pp. ISBN: 9780802874429.

Keep The Hope Alive: A Review Of Imagining Theology, Justin Bailey

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

"Imagining is something that we tend to grasp intuitively, and yet it remains notoriously difficult to define."

Posting about ­­­­­­­­the book Imagining Theology from In All Things - an online journal for critical reflection on faith, culture, art, and every ordinary-yet-graced square inch of God’s creation.

https://inallthings.org/keep-the-hope-alive-a-review-of-imagining-theology/