Arlington Group: Many members selected this book as the best of the year. Members from all three faith traditions felt strongly that it brought a lot Arlington Group: Many members selected this book as the best of the year. Members from all three faith traditions felt strongly that it brought a lot to our understanding and stimulated an excellent discussion. It helped provide a springboard to explore concepts related to forgiveness, universal love, ultimate judgment and sin. One measure of a good DoA book might be the frequency with which it comes up in future discussions and by that measure, this book is a success. Yancey uses many personal stories to exemplify both the meaning of grace and its absence from some Christian practice and preaching today. While the book covers a heady topic that could be seen as dry or academic, Yancey really puts it firmly on the ground in our lives and the lives of people who might be feeling guilt, shame or a failure to live up to perceived standards of the divine eternal. Yancey really does help to answer the question posed in the title and it has enriched our group....more
Mystery series that shows the life within convents in the Middle Ages. The series is a good one for times when your group needs something lighter to rMystery series that shows the life within convents in the Middle Ages. The series is a good one for times when your group needs something lighter to read. This one involves a Jewish character. ...more
How do self-educated women come to discover some of the earliest known manuscripts of both Jewish and Christian history? Find out in this book. It is vHow do self-educated women come to discover some of the earliest known manuscripts of both Jewish and Christian history? Find out in this book. It is very detailed, and not all the details are equally interesting. That is a general problem with a comprehensive work about people who did such specialized research on old texts in old languages. I learned a lot about Syriac (a language) and about old manuscripts. I learned a lot about the time when Darwin, the Rosetta Stone, and these document finds were changing the way Christians were looking at their scriptures and their world. I also learned how academic politics were played and how these ladies held their own with the best of the best in their field.
This is a book about everyday American Christianity. The story takes space in a small rural town. The dispute is about whether to develop the mountainThis is a book about everyday American Christianity. The story takes space in a small rural town. The dispute is about whether to develop the mountain. This is an environmental book dressed up like a novel. The environmental themes are pretty heavy-handed, so many members didn't like the book. read by Cambridge 1....more
This is science fiction based on a Jesuit exposition to find the civilization making beautiful music in space. What they find is an advanced civilizatThis is science fiction based on a Jesuit exposition to find the civilization making beautiful music in space. What they find is an advanced civilization and truths about the human condition. It's about faith, and social power, and personhood....more
The lives of women from 1650-1730 are hard to recreate, since there is so little written information about them. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich uses a few avaThe lives of women from 1650-1730 are hard to recreate, since there is so little written information about them. Laurel Thatcher Ulrich uses a few available diaries, court transcripts, and house inventories. Clever technique and good history. But the writing is lifeless, to some, in many places. I skimmed this and learned a good bit. The book was structured to use Christian scripture to preface the three sections. We talked about that only briefly. Some of the members knew more about American Christianity and were able to explain the different groups who settled in New England (the book didn't really explain this.) We mostly discussed the roles and work of women in our traditions, our mothers, and our selves....more
If you liked Travelling Mercies, you'll like Plan B. Anne Lamott has her own style of Christianity that is deep and reverent, but she tells about it iIf you liked Travelling Mercies, you'll like Plan B. Anne Lamott has her own style of Christianity that is deep and reverent, but she tells about it irreverently. ...more
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