AAR Reading Religion Book Review: Christian Practical Wisdom: What It Is, Why it Matters
One new monograph of interest within practical theological circles is Christian Practical Wisdom: What It Is, Why It Matters, by Dorothy C. Bass, Kathleen A. Cahalan, Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore, James R. Nieman, and Christian Batalden Scharen. Today we are sharing Dustin D. Benac’s book review as featured on the Reading Religion book review website.
Reading Religion (RR) is an open book review website published by the American Academy of Religion (AAR). The site provides up-to-date coverage of scholarly publishing in religious studies, reviewed by scholars with special interest and/or expertise in the relevant subfields. We are grateful for their permission to re-post sections of selected reviews.
Christian Practical Wisdom: What It Is, Why It Matters
Dorothy C. Bass, Kathleen A. Cahalan, Bonnie J. Miller-McLemore, James R. Nieman, Christian Batalden Scharen
Reading Christian Practical Wisdom: What It Is, Why it Matters is like going to the symphony. With the turn of the first page, the lights go down, the curtain rises, and the symphony begins to play! Multi-layered, complex in composition, containing a diversity of scholarship, and balanced by harmonic and independent reflections, the five authors of Christian Practical Wisdom offer a virtuosic work that articulates “a more expansive epistemology” by presenting Christian practical wisdom as “a kind of knowing that has been part of the Christian tradition though not readily recognized or emphasized” (277-78). Even as the authors provide a model for scholarly collaboration, their work also invites ongoing reflection about the sources and practices that are constitutive of Christian practical wisdom.
Please follow the link to the Reading Religion website for the full review.