Book Reviews
Book Review: Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God, edited by Craig Detweiler
Dominic J.S. Mejia, MDiv Candidate at the BU School of Theology, recently reviewed Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God, edited by Craig Detweiler. Find the full review below. Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God, edited by Craig Detweiler. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010. 248 pages. $25.00. Faith and Video Games: A Brief Survey and Response Summary Halos and Avatars: Playing Video Games with God edited by Craig Detweiler[1] – This volume, written in 2010, is a compilation of standalone essays that seeks to introduce theology as a methodology by which video games might be assessed.[2] The first of three parts offers... More
Dr. Stephanie Arel organizes Syndicate Symposium
Dr. Stephanie Arel (STH Practical Theology '14), an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, recently curated a Syndicate Network Symposium engaging Humanity in God's Image: An Interdisciplinary Exploration by Claudia Welz. Arel introduced Welz's work, highlighting Welz's approach to dignity. Arel writes,"In Humanity in God’s Image: An Interdisciplinary Exploration, Claudia Welz interprets the theological notion of the imago Dei. She does this with innovation and grace, leading the reader through a multidimensional interpretation of what it means to be made in God’s image. Designed in a four-part sequence, Welz’s book questions not only how the state of being... More
Church Planting in Post-Christian Soil: Theology and Practice (Homiletic Book Review)
Nelson Cowan, a doctoral candidate in Liturgical Studies at BU School of Theology, recently reviewed Church Planting in Post-Christian Soil: Theology and Practice by STH Practical Theology alum Dr. Christopher James. Please see the beginning of Cowan's review below and visit the Homiletics website for the full review Homiletic is a scholarly forum in homiletics and a review of publications in religious communication. It is a freely accessible, peer-reviewed journal. Homiletic is sponsored by the Academy of Homiletics. Christopher B. James. Church Planting in Post-Christian Soil: Theology and Practice. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. 368 pages. $34.95. Review Excerpt Forecasts of church decline coupled with the rise of the “nones”... More
A Pursued Justice: Black Preaching from the Great Migration to Civil Rights (Homiletic Book Review)
Jackie Blue, a doctoral candidate in Practical Theology at BU School of Theology, recently reviewed A Pursued Justice: Black Preaching from the Great Migration to Civil Rights by Kenyatta Gilbert. Please see the beginning of Blue's review below and visit the Homiletics website for the full review Homiletic is a scholarly forum in homiletics and a review of publications in religious communication. It is a freely accessible, peer-reviewed journal. Homiletic is sponsored by the Academy of Homiletics. Kenyatta R. Gilbert. A Pursued Justice: Black Preaching from the Great Migration to Civil Rights. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2016. 224 pages. $39.95. Review Excerpt What does it mean to preach prophetically? This is... More
A Puerto Rican Decolonial Theology: Prophesy Freedom (Perspectivas Book Review)
Yara González-Justiniano, a doctoral candidate in Practical Theology at BU School of Theology, recently reviewed A Puerto Rican Decolonial Theology: Prophesy Freedom, by Teresa Delgado. Please see the beginning of González-Justiniano's review below and visit the Perspectivas website for the full review. Perspectivas is the online peer-reviewed multilingual (Spanish, Portuguese and English) subscription journal of the Hispanic Theological Initiative. A Puerto Rican Decolonial Theology: Prophesy Freedom, by Teresa Delgado. Palgrave McMillan, 2017. xv + 204 pages. $99.99. Additional formats available from Palgrave MacMillan. Review excerpt Teresa Delgado’s book, A Puerto Rican Decolonial Theology: Prophesy Freedom, is a contribution to liberation and decolonial theology, but above all it is an invitation to further the... More
Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics (AAR Reading Religion Book Review)
Kathryn House, a doctoral candidate in Practical Theology at BU School of Theology, recently reviewed Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics by R. Marie Griffith. Please see the beginning of House's review below and visit the Reading Religion website for the full review. 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. Moral Combat: How Sex Divided American Christians and Fractured American Politics. New York, NY: Basic Books, December 2017. 416 pages. $32.00. Hardcover. ISBN... More
Human and Divine Being: A Study on the Theological Anthropology of Edith Stein (AAR Reading Religion Book Review)
Sang-il Kim, a doctoral candidate in Practical Theology at BUSTH, recently reviewed Human and Divine Being: A Study on the Theological Anthropology of Edith Stein, by Donald Wallenfang. Please see the beginning of Kim's review below and visit the Reading Religion website for the full review. 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. Human and Divine Being: A Study on the Theological Anthropology of Edith Stein, by Donald Wallenfang, Eugene, OR: Cascade Books , April 2017. More
Lived Theology: New Perspectives on Method, Style, and Pedagogy (AAR Reading Religion Book Review)
Matthew Beal, doctoral student in Practical Theology at BUSTH, recently reviewed Lived Theology: New Perspectives on Method, Style, and Pedagogy, edited by Charles Marsh, Peter Slade, and Sarah Azaransky. Please see the beginning of Beal's review below and visit the Reading Religion website for the full review. 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. Lived Theology: New Perspectives on Method, Style, and Pedagogy, edited by Charles Marsh, Peter Slade, and Sarah Azaransky New York, NY: Oxford University Press, November 2016. 288 pages. $29.95. More
AAR Reading Religion Book Review: Practical Theology and Qualitative Research, 2d ed.
John Swinton and Harriet Mowat's 2006 Practical Theology and Qualitative Research is a well-known resource on practical theology bibliographies. This updated second edition includes one new chapter and an appendix exploring themes related to analysis. Below, you can read the beginning of Jane M. Curry's review of this second edition. Be sure to visit the Reading Religion website for the full review. 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. Practical Theology and Qualitative... More
AAR Reading Religion Book Review: Anatomy of a Schism
Today we are featuring STH doctoral student Matthew S. Beal's review of Eileen R. Campbell-Reed's Anatomy of a Schism: How Clergywomen's Narratives Reinterpret the Fracturing of the Southern Baptist Convention. Below is the beginning of Matt's review, and be sure to visit the Reading Religion website for the full review. 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. Anatomy of a Schism: How Clergywomen's Narratives Reinterpret the Fracturing of the Southern Baptist... More
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... More
The Uncontrolling Love of God: An Open and Relational Account of Providence, by Thomas Oord
Please see Vaughn Baker's review of Thomas Oord's The Uncontrolling Love of God: An Open and Relational Account of Providence. The pieces is available here: The Uncontrolling Love of God. Thomas Oord has generously made the audiofiles of The Uncontrolling Love of God available for free.
Collective Courage: A History of African American Cooperative Thought and Practice
Review by Len Krimerman: http://geo.coop/story/collective-courage-celebratory-review
Faith in Objects: American Missionary Expositions in the Early Twentieth Century, by Erin L. Hasinoff
Please see the review by Dr. Dana Robert entitled "Performing World Missions in 1911," Harvard Divinity Bulletin (Winter/Spring 2015):84-87.
Learning in a Musical Key: Insight for Theology in Performative Mode, by Lisa M. Hess
Review by Sang-il Kim, PhD Student in Practical Theology, Boston University School of Theology may be found in: Religious Education: The official journal of the Religious Education Association, Volume 109, Issue 2, 2015.
Turn It and Turn It Again: Studies in the Teaching and Learning of Classical Jewish Texts, edited by Jon A. Levisohn and Susan. P. Fendrick
Review by Sang-il Kim, PhD Student in Practical Theology, Boston University School of Theology may be found in: Religious Education: The official journal of the Religious Education Association, Volume 110, Issue 2, 2015.
Exploring Prosperity Preaching , by Debra J. Mumford
Review in Homiletic by Song Bok (Bob) Jon, Ph.D. candidate, Boston University, Boston, MA may be found by clicking here.
The Celtic Way of Evangelism, by George Hunter
Book review submitted by Christopher B. James, Ph.D. Candidate in Practical Theology, Concentrations: Evangelism and Church & Society. Review originally appeared on jesusdust.com
Moral, Believing Animals, by Christian Smith
Book review submitted by Christopher B. James, Ph.D. Candidate in Practical Theology, Concentrations: Evangelism and Church & Society. Review originally appeared on jesusdust.com
American Evangelicalism, by Christian Smith
Book review submitted by Christopher B. James, Ph.D. Candidate in Practical Theology, Concentrations: Evangelism and Church & Society. Review originally appeared on jesusdust.com