The Weekly Wrap: June 7-13

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The Weekly Wrap: June 7-13

Reading Until the Lights Go Out

In one of the articles I selected for this week, the writer recounts noted historian Gordon Wood speaking of recently accomplishing, in his nineties, the goal of reading Proust’s Remembrance of Things Past. Sadly, the life of this bibliophile was interrupted this week when at 92, he was struck by a car.

But the article captures one of my personal aspirations. I want to keep reading, and reading challenging works, until the lights go out, in one way or another.

I recently picked up an edition of the works of Aristotle that runs to 1500 pages. His thought profoundly shaped our civilization, including Christian theology. In reading a work about his influence, I realized that I had never read him.

Then there are several systematic theologies, all long tomes, sitting on my shelves. As one who believes that our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy God forever, this is certainly one way to get a head start on that project!

This year, I have a goal of reading the six major novels of Jane Austen. I’ve finished three. I also have a couple thick books by historian Paul Horgan, highly recommended by David McCullough that I’d love to dig into. And I think I would like to read The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia once more.

Then, as for Proust? I actually have Remembrance of Things Past on my Kindle. I understand it is a challenging read and I’ve not yet seen a compelling reason why I should. Maybe for now, I’ll settle for reading the Thomas Pynchon on my TBR pile.

Of course, none of us knows how long we have, or how long our minds will comprehend the words. All I know is that I want to be like Gordon Wood.

Five Articles Worth Reading

Some of us wonder how far American democracy will make it past our 250th birthday. However, Gordon Wood had reasons to be hopeful. Johann N. Neem discusses these in “What I Learned from Gordon Wood.”

Then there is the article I mentioned, Nic Rowan’s “Gordon Wood’s Proust.” Wood was in conversation with George Will who asked him what book in American history he was reading. His reply? “I’m not reading American history right now,” Wood laughed. “I just finished Proust! I said I would do it before I die, and well . . .” He did.

Susannah Crockford argues in “Against Climate Grief” that Christian-influenced societies often approach climate change in apocalyptic, millenarian terms, leading to unproductive inaction and grief. She argues that this is helpful and hope remains our strongest resource. But the article left me wondering “whence hope?” as well as whether Christian belief might offer in its future hope greater substance for faithful action that anticipates creation’s renewal.

I am a music lover. Though never formally trained, I’ve sung in choirs and enjoy a diversity of music. So “What to Read to Really Understand Music” caught my attention!

Finally, in This Dark Night, Deborah Lutz explores the enigmatic life of Emily Brontë, who like Emily Dickenson, led a secluded life. In “Who Was Emily Brontë? We’ll Never Know” Sadie Stein reviews the book.

Quote of the Week

Charles Kingsley was a novelist, poet, and clergyman, born June 12, 1819, who made this perceptive comment about freedom:

“There are two freedoms – the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought.“

Miscellaneous Musings

We also lost Jane Yolen on June 11 at age 87. She wrote over 400 children’s books. We will always be grateful for one in particular, Owl Moon, describing the special bond and wonder of a father and son who go out “owling” on a cold winter’s night. It was one of our favorite read aloud books when our son was young, I think, because it evoked something of the same bond and wonder in us.

A friend of mine has often sung the praises of Maestro John Demain, the long-time director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra, in Wisconsin. The other day, that friend offered to send me a memoir co-written by him and Greg Hettmansberger titled Working with My Heroes. I was thrilled. Demain grew up in my hometown of Youngstown. I did an online interview with him in 2024 for a blog post I wrote about him and it was an utterly delightful hour.

I’ve spent the past week enthralled with Leif Enger’s I Cheerfully Refuse. It is one of those novels set in a dystopian, climate-changed world. It is the story of a wife, Lark, who runs a used bookstore in a world where no new books are published, and the sailing journey Rainy, her husband takes fleeing Lark’s killers, joined by an abused but resourceful nine-year old, Sol.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Robert Letham, The Eternal Son

Tuesday: Louis Bromfield, Early Autumn

Wednesday: G.G. Renee Hill, Story Work

Thursday: Leif Enger, I Cheerfully Refuse

Friday: Kyle Strobel and John Coe, When God Seems Distant

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for June 7-13.

Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page.

Review: Nothing Can Separate Us

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Cover image of "Nothing Can Separate Us" by Howard Thurman

Nothing Can Separate Us

Nothing Can Separate Us (Plough Spiritual Guides), Howard Thurman, edited by Myles Werntz, Introduction by Vincent W. Lloyd. Plough Publishing (ISBN: 9781636081731) 2026.

Summary: The inner work of transformation through which God works to bring reconciliation, justice, and hope.

Plough Publishing is releasing its latest installment in the Plough Spiritual Guides series in September 2026. In this case, it is a collection of the writings of Howard Thurman. He was a pastor and theologian who mentored civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King, Jr. This guide, like preceding ones in the series offers a brief biography of Thurman followed by a guide to reading him, and then readings from Thurman’s works. Vincent LW. Lloyd, in the latter, observes this distinction between King and Thurman:

“If Martin Luther King, Jr. invites collective struggle to transform the political world, to end racism, Howard Thurman invites interior struggle to transform the self. There is no need for a choice between the two….Thurman demonstrates how we participate in God through struggle, how we struggle against false gods, against those individuals and systems and habits of mind that take themselves to be absolute authorities, and how the struggle within and the struggle without are intimately linked” (p. xxviii).

Lloyd thus offers a précis of the theme connecting the nine selections from Thurman’s writings. These selections, titled in the form of imperatives, offer nine ways we engage with God as we “engage the struggle without.” In “Know Thyself” he invites us to live in the present and in the disarming presence of God that strips us of illusions. Then, in “Love Your Neighbor” he connects our love of God and neighbor. He concludes with the wonder of “being completely and totally understood in the presence of God.”

But what does love have to do with our enemies? In “Love Your Enemies” he identifies three types of enemies the poor and disinherited face. He observes that even enemies are of infinite worth to God. Thus, it is worthy to try to make contact with this imago dei in the person’s life. We do this through forgiveness, leaving vengeance to God. Then, in “Choose Nonviolence” he addresses the nonviolent ethic of Jesus in both personal and national life. He offers the simple axiom that “No one ever wins a fight.” He discusses the choice of violence as the decision to will the non-existence of another.

Instead, we “Learn to Pray.” It is the acknowledgement that we do not want to be left to our own meagre resources. The chapter concludes with a wonderful prayer that models our dependence on God. An example of utter dependence comes from the slave experience and the spirituals that emerged from it. “Wade in the Water” speaks of coming to God in our vulnerability, trusting that God will “trouble the water” in healing. Finally, the road to dependency leads us to “Surrender to God.” Thurman describes in first person terms all the areas involved in full surrender to God.

This inner transformation has outward effects. For example, his call to “Attend to Nature” challenges us to “reverence for all expressions of life.” Likewise it results in an “at-homeness in the world.” Lastly, he calls us to “Live in Community.” He warns us against isolation and of ever thinking of “people” in merely abstract terms.

To devote oneself to seek God’s kingdom and pursue his reconciliation and justice in the world is a lifetime journey. We look for final fulfillment in Christ’s return. The wisdom captured in these nine short chapters from Howard Thurman’s writings capture the inner journey that transforms and sustains us as we seek societal transformation. The danger in any form of struggle against evil is to become like that against which we struggle. Thurman writes of the inner spiritual transformation that guards our hearts and makes reconciliation and healing possible.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: Did Jesus Really Say He Was God?

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Cover image of "Did Jesus Really Say He Was God?" by Mikel Del Rosario

Did Jesus Really Say He Was God?

Did Jesus Really Say He Was God?, Mikel Del Rosario. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514011010) 2025.

Summary: Using methods of historiography, demonstrates that Jesus opponents believed him to be claiming divinity.

Christians believe Jesus was the Son of God, eternally God with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We also believe he assumed a fully human nature, God and man in one person. But did Jesus ever say he was God in those words? The honest answer is “no.” And for some, this leads to the belief that subsequent to his time on earth, the church “made” him God. However, many of us point to statements in the gospels in which Jesus implies his deity in conversation with his adversaries. They believed him to be making a blasphemous claim to deity and Jesus does not deny it. Furthermore, Jesus teaches and acts in ways consistent with a consciousness of deity. But can we trust these accounts to provide us with reliable, historical information?

That is the question that troubled Mikel Del Rosario as he encountered questions similar to those raised above. In this book Del Rosario focuses on two passages from the earliest gospel, Mark, where Jesus makes implicit claims of divinity understood in those terms by his adversaries. He uses historiographical methods to determine the probability of the different elements in these two passages and the overall probability that the implicit claims of divinity are highly evidenced facts. The two passages he considers are Mark 2:1-12, the healing of the paralytic, and Mark 14:53-65, Jesus examination before the Jewish Sanhedrin.

In the first part of the book, he discusses his historiographical methods and the rules of evidence he and other historians use in investigating Jesus. He sets out seven rules of evidence which he will apply: 1. multiple attestation; 2. dissimilarity (from both Jewish sources and subsequent church sources; 3. rejection and execution; 4. coherence; 5. embarrassment (elements that would be embarrassing to the church); 6. contextual plausibility; and 7. inherent ambiguity.

In Part Two, he examines the healing of the paralytic. He identifies five historical facts that he believes are at least highly probable: Jesus reputation as a miracle worker, the core scene, Jesus forgiveness saying, the scribal response, and Jesus authority saying. The conclusion was that it is highly probable, historically, that Jesus exercises divine authority to forgive sin.

In similar fashion he applies the rules of evidence to examine five historical facts in the Jewish examination of Jesus. Firstly, the authenticity of Jesus rejection by Jewish leaders and crucifixion, which he deems certainly historical. Then the remaining four facts are highly probable: the authenticity of the core scene, the authenticity of the high priest’s question, the authenticity of Jesus’ reply, and the authenticity of the blasphemy charge. Again, he concludes it was highly probable that Jesus spoke of himself as the Son of the Blessed. Likewise, it’s highly probable that his adversaries understood this as a blasphemous assertion of deity.

Then, in the final part of the book, he assesses this conclusion against those of Bart Ehrman, Tobias Hagerland, and Daniel Kirk. He found that in terms of plausibility, scope, explanatory power, and the use of less ad hoc, his analysis came out better than each of these. He concludes that Jesus did implicitly say he was God, and there are good historical grounds to believe this. And this was believed by the earliest Christians, not made up in later years.

All this stands and falls on the validity of his historiography. Can the probability of the core facts of these passages be established using the methods he uses? As far as I can tell, he uses methods used by others. I would like more discussion of why others reach different conclusions. I do appreciate the engagement with other prominent scholars. Above all, he gives even firmer grounds for those of us who have used these passages to argue Christ’s deity. He likewise provides a good basis for the conviction that this idea came from Jesus himself. He does all this carefully and methodically. This is a valuable and encouraging study.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: Hard Feelings

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Cover image of "Hard Feelings" by Daniel Smith.

Hard Feelings

Hard Feelings, Daniel Smith. Simon & Schuster (ISBN: 9781982103903) 2026.

Summary: We are inclined to suppress negative emotions but if we listen to what they are saying about ourselves, we gain wisdom.

Daniel Smith received two unusual gifts for his fortieth birthday. One was a 1621 book, The Anatomy of Melancholy. The other was a coffee table book of the strange, lurid art of Hieronymus Bosch. He shelved the books away but couldn’t forget them. He’d wrestled with what one might call “negative emotions” all his life, and most dramatically after his divorce several years earlier, that sent him in a tailspin. But he couldn’t shelve the negative emotions these represented. Neither could he wallow in them. As a therapist, he was coming to understand that the place to begin was to be curious about them and what they were pointing to, perhaps in his own life.

Before he gets into specific emotions he first explores the morality of emotions and theories about emotions. All to often, emotions were divided into good and bad, with the bad being immoral. Then he explores theories of emotions, considering both Basic Emotion Theory and the Theory of Constructed Emotion. The former proposes that we are wired to respond in certain ways to different experiences, the latter, that how we respond is shaped by our interpretation of experience. Smith favors the latter and believes we need to “understand the complex structures and patterns” that underlie our emotions.

In the remainder of the book, in two parts, he considers six emotions we might consider negative. Part Two considers annoyance, shame, and envy. Then Part Three looks at boredom, regret and despair. Smith combines autobiographical material with research to tease out what each of these emotions. Annoyance points to boundaries transgressed that could lead to anger. Smith realized the choice he faces to internalize the annoying–to become annoyed–and that he may choose not to. He discovers that shame feeds on hiding and is lessened with self-exposure. Then there is envy, which may point to a neglected desire, fueled by comparisons with others. Interestingly, he spends a lot of time discussing his wife’s struggle to not have others envy her!

One of the strengths of the book is Smith’s candor. For example he honestly describes his own boredom in parenting a young child. Yet he sees boredom as the underside of a life “pregnant with meaning.” Then, he explores the addictive element of regret that poisons our steps into the future. Finally, despair is the curving inward in which one luxuriates in one’s helplessness rather than accept help, to look beyond oneself. In the author’s case, this meant daily studying a linden in a nearby park.

Perhaps the greatest wisdom here is to acknowledge and listen to all our emotions for what they are trying to show us. Smith’s self-deprecating autobiography models that posture. However, at points, this felt meandering. I didn’t always feel that his discussions “landed.” But perhaps that is also the point. He and all of us are in a process of making sense out of our lives, one that doesn’t progress in neat, linear fashion. He is not one of those who has arrived. Rather, he is still on the way, a way he has illuminated with humor, honesty, and substance.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program.

Review: Love in a Time of Climate Change

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Cover image of "Love in a Time of Climate Change" by Sharon Delgado

Love in a Time of Climate Change

Love in a Time of Climate Change (Revised edition), Sharon Delgado. Fortress Press (ISBN: 9798889837206) 2026, first edition 2017.

Summary: Uses the Wesleyan Quadrilateral to discern a faithful Christian response to the realities of climate change.

Sharon Delgado is a United Methodist pastor who seeks to help those with whom she ministers to connect their personal faith with their advocacy, including advocacy around concerns of climate change and climate justice. Delgado provides an overview of the facts about climate change and its impacts. But what is unique about this book is how she draws on John Wesley’s use of scripture, tradition, reason, and experience as tools for discerning and acting upon Christian truth. These four elements are sometimes known as the Wesleyan Quadrilateral. What is delightful is to see how she follows Wesley in walking readers through this process. She focuses on two ideas, creation and justice, and then ties these together with the love of God and neighbor.

In Part I of the book, she offers an overview of information about climate change. Then she turns to Wesley use of the Quadrilateral and explains each aspect.

Part II is on the theme of “Honoring Creation.” First, in looking at scripture, she looks at God’s love for the groaning creation as well as our role in it. Then, under tradition, she summarizes Wesley’s teaching and that of contemporary Wesleyan theologians. She focuses on his theology of grace and how people nurtured in grace join God in nurturing his creation. But science and scripture have sometimes been seen in conflict about creation. Under reason, she focuses on the use of reason to draw from both in common sense action. Finally, under experience, she discusses a sacramental approach to the world that practices God’s presence as we care for creation.

Part III turns to the theme of “Establishing Justice.” Much of the focus on scripture is an extended reflection on the Jericho road. She explores what it means to move beyond individual acts of compassion (i.e. “the Good Samaritan”) to recognizing systemic injustices and the need for transformation. Then, on tradition, she begins with Wesley’s ideas on social holiness which led him to address the slave trade and relates it to contemporary theologies of liberation. Under reason, she challenges climate denialism and “cap and trade” strategies as traditional market strategies and argues for alternatives to keep fossil fuels in the ground. Finally, under experience, she profiles those working on the front lines where climate change is deeply impacting lives, such as extraction zones, those affected by extreme weather, and on the lands of indigenous peoples.

The final chapter pulls thinking about creation and justice together around love of God and neighbor. She reminds people of the spiritual nature of the work and urges people to work in community. This community extends to others around the world working to protect creation.

I wrestle with the hopefulness that reason and right action will save the day. Apart from a radical transformation, I think we are determined to go down the path of destruction. Honestly, I don’t think we will act apart from catastrophic consequences, and maybe not even then, in a united fashion. That does not mean that Christians don’t pursue the care of creation and justice. We choose to pursue mercy and justice no matter the outcome. And perhaps in that context, the template of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral offers a good process to think Christianly about how we ought live faithfully. Delgado provides supplemental resources for study and action groups to use. I welcome this Wesleyan perspective on creation care.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: What Grows in Weary Lands

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Cover image of "What Grows in Weary Lands" by Tish Harrison Warren

What Grows in Weary Lands

What Grows in Weary Lands, Tish Harrison Warren. Convergent Books (ISBN: 9780593728840) 2026.

Summary: Lessons for the weary from the desert fathers and mothers on practices that cultivate resilience and renewal.

One of the hard things I’ve seen in my Christian journey are others with whom I travelled give up, often in mid-life. While some have been because of “church hurt,” others are just tired. The demands of life combined with their own waning energies are part of it. Another part is that the faith of their twenties isn’t working anymore. The God who once seemed so real is distant. Some, out of habit, keep showing up, perhaps with a faint glimmer of hope that something will break through. Others just walk away. Sunday brunch is so much more inviting.

To look at her from the outside, Tish Harrison Warren was the model of the vibrant Christian. A gifted writer, she had reached the rarefied air of writing a weekly op-ed for The New York Times after a string of well-received books and articles. She was also an Anglican priest, who had returned to her home town of Austin, and the mom of three children. But her life mirrored that of many in mid-life: in the “sandwich,” harried, distracted. In reality, she felt like she was in a desert–weary and parched.

In this book, she describes turning to a weird bunch of saints from 1700 years ago, the desert fathers and mothers, the progenitors of monasticism. Yes, they did some strange things lie sit on pillars. But they also understood that the desert is part of the spiritual journey. They named the condition and the tendencies to “flame out” or “numb out.” Instead, they wrestled what it meant to go on with God through the desert times.

After this introduction, Warren, in a series of pithily titled chapters reflects upon and passes along their wisdom. “Stay in Your Cell” focuses on the temptation of acedia, to flee to ease or new distractions, and the wisdom of stability, of staying true to one’s people and one’s spiritual practices. We meet John of the Cross, who learns to set aside the longing for feeling or insight to simply be with God in his cell, even when there is no sense of his presence. “Pledge Your Body to the Walls” draws on Benedicts insights about gyrovagues who moved from one monastery to another. Warren explores all the ways we are gyrovagues from relentless moves to church switches and the challenge of letting our roots sink deep in a place.

“Wait in the Womb” explores how stability that waits and perseveres becomes a place where God develops and transforms us. She quotes C.S. Lewis’s counsel to ” ‘continue seeking with cheerful seriousness,’ knowing that unless God ‘wanted you, you would not be wanting Him.’ ” Then, “Relax the Bow” draws on a story of Antony with a hunter, asking him to draw a bow more and more until the hunter protests that it will snap. So it is, Antony says with God’s work. Warren writes about learning the gift of days of delight and sabbath and the grace of confession as ways to relax the bow. Likewise, “Let the Silt Settle” invites us to silence and solitude.

Throughout the book, Warren is both hopeful and yet honest. There are no quick fixes or shortcuts out of the desert. This is a book about going through desert lands, about how to keep going, cultivating resilience. “Brace the Wall” addresses the realities of doubt and disorientation in our desert journeys. We have questions and don’t see clearly the way forward. And sometimes we doubt that God can be trusted. She writes of working through the Psalms and how “yelling at God about our anger, our doubt, and our complaints is perhaps one of the most faithful moves we can make.”

Finally, “All Smoke, All Flame” speaks to “the culmination of Christian resilience.” The title comes from the counsel of Abba Joseph to Abba Lot, who recites his practices and asks “what else can I do?” Abba Joseph “stretched his hands toward heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him, ‘If you will, you can become all flame.” We cannot force fire by our efforts, which are just smoke. But by grace through our stumbling practices of faithfulness, we slowly progress. And one day God will set us ablaze in glory.

There is a lot of wisdom as well as earthy humor in Warren’s rich prose. The gist of it all is to not give up, flaming out or numbing out. It is not to chase after spiritual quick fixes. It is to stay put and keep going deeper in the inexhaustible world of prayer and scripture, of sacrament and community. I’m past those perilous middle years. But Warren speaks to my senior years as well. It’s so easy to settle in. I need her call to persevere all the more. And, I’m compelled by the vision to become all flame. By grace, may it be so!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

The Weekly Wrap: May 31-June 6

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The Weekly Wrap: May 31-June 6

Why I Still Read

I see many stories about the eclipse of reading. I’m not sure what to believe about all that. What I am sure of is that I’m going to keep reading.

First of all I’m still able. Neither the mind nor the eyes have failed. So let’s read while we can.

Also, you could argue that it is a habit. And that would be right. Reading has enriched my life for over 65 years. Why stop?

“Because I think I am making progress.” That’s what famed cellist Pablo Casals said in his eighties when asked why he still practiced for hours a day. I think that is true for me as well. I think I’m a better reader than five years ago. I carry more from what I’ve read before into what I read now.

I’m still curious. I still long to understand more of God, the world around me, human history, and even baseball. Actually, it’s humbling, because in all of these things, the more I read, the more I grasp how little I understand.

I also read to resist everything from AI to the bombardments of our visual and social media that would turn my mind to mush. Longform writing challenges me to focus, to see the connections of one idea to the next, one event to the next. None of us sees the totality of the big picture. But I don’t want to settle for memes, slogans, and nostrums.

Finally, did I mention what a pleasure this all is? Not the quick, evanescent pleasure of a snack but the slow, savoring pleasure of a multiple course dinner at a top end restaurant, where each bite is savored.

Five Articles Worth Reading

Persepolis was a ground-breaking graphic story, depicting an Iranian girl’s life during the Iran-Iraq War. Sadly, Marjane Satrapi, once that girl, died June 4 in France. “Marjane Satrapi, creator of Persepolis and acclaimed French-Iranian artist, dies aged 56” reports that death, offering a retrospective on her life and work.

We celebrated our 48th anniversary this week. Count me in as a believer in marriage. But marriage isn’t easy, nor is it the institution it once was. Stephanie Coontz has a new book title For Better and Worse, reviewed by Honor Jones in “How to Save Marriage.” The article portrays how our cultural landscape has changed and why.

The Man Who Read Everything is a literary biography of Harold Bloom through his correspondence. Barry Schwabsky introduces us to Bloom and the book in “The Critic’s Loves.”

Reaction continues to come in to Magnifica humanitas, Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical on AI. In “Should the Lion Lie Down With the Electric Lamb?” Anton Barba Kay argues the encyclical doesn’t recognize the greatest threat of AI. He writes:

“The letdown is not that Magnifica humanitas is too moderate or that we are called on to ‘embrace’ technology ‘with gratitude and realism,’ it is that the Church and the pope have not yet discovered what technology is or how it recomposes us—have not realized what it would truly mean to articulate the disagreement they have with Big Tech.”

Finally, I’ve long been a fan of Ann Patchett, both as a writer and a bookstore owner. Her latest novel was published this week and is reviewed by Helen Schulman in the article “Ann Patchett’s Latest Will Engage Your Mind and Warm Your Heart.”

Quote of the Week

Joe Hill, the son of Stephen King and an accomplished writer as well, was born June 4, 1972. He observed:

“You think you know someone. But mostly you just know what you want to know.“

Miscellaneous Musings

Did you ever feel you were reading a book the author wasn’t ready to write? That was my feeling about a book I just finished. It had some great insights, but it just didn’t feel “ripe” to me.

I agreed to review a book from an e-galley in .pdf format. It’s from a very small publisher and I understand their financial constraints. But the experience reminded me how I prefer physical books in reviewing. They allow me to easily flip back and forth. This did not even have any hyperlinks, so it meant lots of scrolling of a 400 page book.

Today the Allies landed on the Normandy beaches 82 years ago. I’ve read several histories of that day as well as watched Saving Private Ryan. One can’t but celebrate the heroism of those who fought and those who died. It also sobers me to remember that they were resisting in Nazism a tyrannous, expansionist, nationalist, and white supremacist regime.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Tish Harrison Warren, What Grows in Weary Lands

Tuesday: Sharon Delgado, Love in a Time of Climate Change

Wednesday: Daniel Smith, Hard Feelings

Thursday: Mikel Del Rosario, Did Jesus Really Say He Was God?

Friday, Howard Thurman, Nothing Can Separate Us

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for May 31 – June 6.

Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page.

Review: Mrs. McGinty’s Dead

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Cover image of "Mrs. McGinty's Dead" by Agatha Christie

Mrs. McGinty’s Dead

Mrs. McGinty’s Dead (Hercule Poirot, 29), Agatha Christie. William Morrow Paperbacks (ISBN: 9780063376915) 2025, first published in 1952..

Summary: Superintendent Spence doesn’t think the man he helped convict in Mrs. McGinty’s murder is guilty and asks Poirot’s help.

“Mrs. McGinty’s Dead.” In this case, real life follows the nursery rhyme. But everyone thinks they know who killed her. Specifically, all the evidence was against James Bentley, her out-of-work, depressive lodger who was behind on his rent. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. But Superintendent Spence, who collected the evidence that helped convict him is still not sure. Bentley doesn’t fit the profile of other murderers observed by the experienced Spence. So he asks his friend Poirot to investigate to see if any reason can be found to stay the man’s execution.

Poirot goes to Broadhinny, the village where Mrs. McGinty had lived. His plan is to put it about that new evidence suggests someone else murdered Mrs. McGinty, to see if the murderer will show his or her hand. He stays with the Summerhayes. The family goes way back but the current occupants have no idea how to run a guest house. This provides an element of humor as Poirot has to put up with inedible food and a chaotic and messy house. However that mess will later provide key clues–the missing murder weapon and a photo that had not been in a drawer when Poirot previously tidied it.

As Poirot goes through Mrs. McGinty’s effects, he discovers a newspaper with part of a page clipped out from three days before the murder. The story was about four women suspected of but never convicted of murder, accompanied by pictures of them. Furthermore, Mrs. McGinty had purchased ink to write a letter. Poirot concludes she believed one of the women, under a different name, lived in Broadhinny! She’s seen one of the photographs.

It turns out that Mrs. McGinty did domestic work for a number of the families. Guy and Eve Carpenter are wealthy and he is running to become a Member of Parliament. Eve’s background, however, is one she wants to keep quiet. The Weatherbys have manipulated their step-daughter Deidre, who is independently wealthy to stay with them. Robin Upward, a budding playwright seems to fawn over his adoptive mother Laura. Dr. Rendell’s wife seems quite nervous. All employed Mrs. McGinty, and all seem to have something to hide.

Twice, during his investigations, Poirot meets Bentley, who does nothing to help him. He believes he has no friends. Poirot believes otherwise. But it becomes clear someone else connected to the newspaper story is the real party of interest when another murder occurs. Who that is emerges in a climactic scene with the leading villagers.

The other humorous element in all of this is Ariadne Oliver, who happens on the scene because she is working with Robin Upward, the playwright. As always, she thinks she will “help” Poirot with her mystery-writer skills. And she does help sell the reason for Poirot’s visit. But it is Poirot alone who exposes the real murderer.

This one had just the right mix of humor and suspense and red herrings. Most rankings of Christie’s novels don’t rank this one at the top. While not among the very best, I would put it in the category of “very good” with a great setup, setting, and plot twists.

Review: Nicaea for Today

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Cover image of "Nicaea for Today" by Coleman M. Ford and Shawn J. Wilhite

Nicaea for Today

Nicaea for Today, Coleman M. Ford and Shawn J. Wilhite. B & H Academic (ISBN: 9781430091547) 2025.

Summary: The history, meaning, and contemporary significance of the Nicene Creed and how it may be used in churches today.

Why is a theological statement, a creed formulated 1700 years ago still important for the life of the church? That is the question Coleman M. Ford and Shawn J. Wilhite address in Nicaea for Today. The year 2025 marked the 1700th anniversary of the creed that emerged from an ecumenical council of bishops called by Constantine, meeting in the town of Nicaea, in Asia Minor. The authors argue that the Nicene Creed and its expansion, the Nicene-Constantinople Creed in 381 are not simply for those with an interest in early church history but of continuing value for the church, articulating shared essential beliefs grounded in the scriptures. At the same time, these beliefs serve as a guide for how we read the scriptures, particularly in understanding the person and work of Christ.

First, the authors unpack this historical context leading to Nicaea. They elaborate the challenge posed by Arius as a popular teacher in the church who asserted of the Son that “There was a time when he was not.” In other words, he was asserting that the Son was not co-eternal with God the Father and did not share the Father’s divine nature. Meanwhile, a huge transformation was taking place in the Roman empire with the ascent of Constantine to power and the new status he bestowed on the church. As the controversy with Arius grew, Arius and his followers appealed to Constantine, who called for the ecumenical council to meet.

In the next two chapters (3 and 4), the authors show how Nicaea addressed both the divinity and full humanity of Jesus. Pertaining to divinity, the Son was eternally begotten of the Father, not created, and he was consubstantial with the Father, of one substance. In other words, the Son is eternally generated by the father, a description not of beginning but relationship. As the Son, he was God’s agent in creation. That is, through him, all things were created.

Then the creed discusses how the divine Son became human, the Incarnate Son, adding a human nature to his divine nature in one hypostatic union (although this was not fully clarified until 451 at Chalcedon). Crucified, he bodily arose and ascended, from which he will return in judgment and victory. The authors include the seven two-fold patterns associated with Christ from Cyril’s Catechetical Lectures: two advents, two generations, to descents, two cloth coverings, two different postures, two announcements, and two judgments.

Chapters 5 and 6 then focus on salvation and sanctification in the creed. Only the Incarnate Son could save. He was both fully human standing in our place. And since only God could save, his work was fully effective to save. And because he arose, Jesus is our trophy over death. By participating in the life of the risen Christ, we are transformed increasingly into the likeness of Christ. The final transformation will be our resurrection.

Finally, chapters 7 and 8 address how we might use the creeds in our churches today. They address their use in baptism, eucharist, and the catechism of new believers. They also touch on use in personal devotion, corporate worship, and preaching. Lastly, they discuss reading the Bible Nicenely. That is, they serve as a faithful guide for exegesis. The authors elaborate this further in what they call partitive exegesis, using Philippians 2 as an example.

I appreciated the history and clear explanations of the issues at stake theologically for the Councils. In addition, each chapter opens with a pithy summary of the chapter’s relevance, “Thinking Nicenely Today.” Each chapter concludes the theological discussion with a “Biblical Connections” section and “Conclusion” that served as a brief chapter summary. The authors also provide reading lists of primary and secondary source material.

The authors succeed in their aim to show the relevance for the Nicene and Nicene-Constantinople Creeds for the church today. They offer clear explications for the value of the creeds for articulating core Christian beliefs. They show how the creeds can guide our reading of scripture. And they show how to fruitfully implement the creeds in our practice. This is a valuable resource for seminarians, pastors, liturgists, and adult educators.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop.

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Cover image of "The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop." by Robert Coover

The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop.

The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop., Robert Coover. New York Review of Books (ISBN: 9798896230182) 2026 (first published in 1968).

Summary: An accountant creates a fantasy baseball league that takes over his life.

Before modern fantasy baseball leagues. Before the invention of Sabremetrics to analyze every possible baseball statistic. In 1968, Robert Coover introduced us to J. Henry Waugh, sole proprietor of the Universal Baseball League. It is a league created in Waugh’s apartment. But no one else knows about it. He named the eight teams after early pro teams. He filled the rosters with players who he named, who took on lives of their own. Games were played by the role of three dice. Waugh had created an elaborate system for each possible dice combination.

As the book opens, the league is in its fifty-sixth (LVI) season of 84 games. But something is wrong, both with the league and with Henry. The league just doesn’t seem to have the same excitement. Yet it is taking over more and more of Henry’s life. His day job is as an accountant with a big accounting firm. Then he ran the league in the evening and weekends. His only social life is trips to the local dive bar, his friend Lou from work, and Hetty, his neighbor and “friend with benefits.” A local grocer delivers his food.

But it gets worse. Not only does he play the games, and keep records of all the statistics, promote rookies, and retire veterans. He also has allowed the players to occupy his mind with their lives–their off the field escapades and tragedies. There are long passages of imagined bar scenes with bawdy songs (including one with a rape). And as the league occupies more of his head space, his work suffers and his job is at risk. Sometimes, fantasy dialogue leaks out in real life conversation.

By Season LVI, star players have sons in the game. For example, Damon Rutherford is a rookie pitcher who looks like he will follow in the steps of his Hall of Fame Father Brock Rutherford. The book opens with him in the middle of pitching a perfect game. And Henry realizes that Damon hold the hope of a revitalized league. And then, in the next game it all changes with one roll of the dice that come up 1-1-1. That unlikely combination means a batter hit by a pitch that kills him. And who is at the plate when this unlucky role comes up? Damon Rutherford.

With that, it all spirals downward, for Henry and for the League. He even lets Lou help him with a game, letting him in on his secret obsession. It doesn’t go well. As his job hangs by a thread, he considers winding it all up and getting his life in order. But will he?

Robert Coover invents a character with an unusual fantasy obsession that holds up a mirror to our obsessions and addictions. With the advent of online sports betting, we hear more and more stories of those who have wrecked their lives and their families’ finances with their obsession. But Coover uncovers a more profound truth. What does Henry have to live for that is better than his personal fantasy league?

This is an adult book with adult language and sexual material, some of which may be triggering. But it also explores the adult obsessions and addictions with which we fill our lives when nothing greater and better does. It’s both fascinating and painful. But the life you save may be your own.