Jesus, Interrupted: Revealing the Hidden Contradictions in the Bible (And Why We Don’t Know About Them)
by Bart D. Ehrman (HarperOne, 2009; 292 pages; $25.99, hardcover)
Bart Ehrman would be a fascinating character in a novel. When he first left home to study the Bible, he was a teenage fundamentalist on his way to the conservative Moody Bible Institute. He is now a middle-aged, liberal, agnostic academic.
He’s become the “go-to” guy for secular media — NPR, CNN, even The Daily Show with John Stewart — when they want the serious scholar’s view on Jesus or the New Testament.
Obviously, he is controversial.
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See all the Media Picks book reviewsBut his latest book, Jesus, Interrupted, is an example of why he should not be ignored even by those who disagree with him. The book is, essentially, an examination of the schism between what mainstream pastors are taught in all major universities and seminaries and what they pass along to the congregations they eventually lead.
He asks why it should be news to millions of Christians that scholars do not believe, for example, that Paul actually wrote all the books attributed to him, or that the Gospels could not have been written by people who actually knew or lived with Jesus. If this is indeed “the standard and widespread view” — and has been for 200 years — wouldn’t it be helpful for Christians to at least know about it?
Ehrman strives to assure readers that such openness about academic study does not automatically lead to disbelief. As he documents in one of his previous books, God’s Problem, he became an agnostic not because of inconsistencies in the Bible, but because of his concerns on a separate issue — that of why an all-powerful, good God would allow suffering.
Jesus, Interrupted, as a book, struggles a bit with a sense of identity. Is it a book illuminating and exposing contradictions in the Bible for people who do not already know about the questions that exist? Or is it a call to already informed pastors to be more honest with their congregations? It seems to be trying to be both and perhaps because of that does not entirely succeed at either.
Nevertheless, anyone who takes the Bible seriously should be able to appreciate the seriousness with which Ehrman studies the New Testament. His work is always eye-opening and authoritative.
—Beverly Bartlett
Beauty by God: Inside-Out Secrets for Every Woman
by Shelly Ballestero (Regal, 2009; 268 pages; $15.99, paper)
 No one who has checked out the anti-wrinkle cream, spent more than they really want to admit on an Easter dress, or routinely “invests” in hair maintenance can come to this book with an overly critical eye.
Sure, the title sounds a little like a gimmick. (Women of faith may care for their skin in the exact same way that other women care for their skin, but saying so wouldn’t define your book as well in the crowded beauty section of the bookstore.) On the other hand, there are issues of faith that can come up in the course of making choices about personal appearance. Overeating is surely a sin in a world where so many do not have enough. And the ethical questions about how our clothes and makeup are produced and tested are significant.
So I came to the book with an open mind and was heartened at first by the discussion of secular images of beauty and how they subtly serve to demean women. Ballestero, a beauty consultant and personal trainer, cites a Dove survey that indicates that 67 percent of women withdraw from life in some way because of insecurities about their looks, some avoiding working out, going to the doctor even stating their opinions because of how they feel about their appearance.
Still, all you have to do is open the book at random points to see why it also might leave a person of faith feeling queasy. On page 69, for example, silk pillowcases are recommended (as being less likely to leave “a mark” on your face). I’ve got nothing against silk pillowcases, but I’m not sure that this becomes “Christian” advice just because other tips on the same page include mentioning the benefits of joy and gratitude. (To your skin!)
The book does show people how to improve their looks without spending a lot of money or buying into the “beauty industry.” Surely, using a little oatmeal and fruit to whip up a face mask in your kitchen represents a relatively harmless way of improving your looks.
Ballestero writes with an engaging, friendly, supportive style, and her beauty advice appears to live mostly in the healthy world of sleep well, eat well, drink lots of water and get a hair cut that emphasizes your best features.
The advice might be sound, but it was difficult to see what part of the advice would be different if writing for a secular audience. If you’re really wanting a how-to-guide for looking good, this is fine. But if you’re longing for a more philosophical, religious take on these issues, you’ll have to wade through lots of spa recipes to find it.
—Beverly Bartlett
Thinking about youth ministry
Sustainable Youth Ministry: Why Most Youth Ministry Doesn’t Last and What Your Church Can Do About It
by Mark DeVries (InterVarsity Press, 2008; 225 pages; $16, paper)
 Mark DeVries’ book, Sustainable Youth Ministry, is a short, easy-to-read introduction to youth ministry management.
DeVries, who is a long-time youth minister at First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tenn., and a youth ministry consultant, sets out to identify common problems in designing and managing this important piece of congregational outreach.
He aims his book not only at current youth ministry leaders, but also at heads of staff and lay leadership involved in youth ministry oversight. Using specific examples gathered from his work with congregations, DeVries offers up time management skills, ways to defuse conflicts among leaders, and outlines for long-term ministry development.
Sustainable Youth Ministry is not a how-to-do-youth-ministry book, it is a how-to-think-about-doing-youth-ministry book. While some subjects are treated simplistically, it remains a book that can start important conversations in congregations that want to take youth ministry seriously.
—Anitra Kitts, a writer and occasional preacher living in Northern California, and a certified candidate for the ministry of the Word and Sacrament under care of Cascades Presbytery |
