Nearing home : life, faith, and finishing well

 by Billy Graham. "I never thought I would live to be this old." In this moving narrative, Billy Graham once again takes up the pen not only to share his personal experience of growing older but also teach us some important lessons on how to view our time here on Earth. He says that the Bible makes it clear that God has a specific reason for keeping us here. So what is His purpose for these years, and how can we align our lives with it? How can we not only learn to cope with the fears and struggles and growing limitations we face but actually grow stronger inwardly in the midst of these difficulties? In what may be his most powerful message of the last decade, Billy Graham speaks to all on this side of Heaven as he covers the importance of four key areas: Building strong foundations and understanding the gift of years *Facing life's transitions, including the passing of years, retirement, and when loved ones die *Making wise decisions *Understanding our glorious hope. "In this book I invite you to explore with me not only the realities of life as we grow older but the hope and fulfillment and even joy that can be ours once we learn to look at these years from God's point of view and discover His strength to sustain us every day. I pray that you and I may learn what it means not only to grow older, but, with God's help, to grow older with grace." --Summary (Check catalog)

Justice : what's the right thing to do?

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by Michael J. Sandel. Sandel, a Harvard law professor, effortlessly integrates common concerns of individuals with topics as varied as abortion, affirmative action, and family loyalties within the modern theories and perspectives on freedom. He reviews philosophical thought from the ancient to more modern political philosophers, including Immanuel Kant and John Rawls. Sandel critiques three ways of thinking about justice: a utilitarian perspective that seeks the greatest happiness for the greatest number; the connection of justice to freedom with contrast between what he calls the laissez-faire camp that tends to be market libertarians and the fairness camp with an egalitarian slant that acknowledges the need for market regulation; and justice tied to virtue and pursuit of the good life. Although the last is generally associated with the cultural and political Right, he exposes connections across political lines. Sandel reveals how perspectives on justice are connected to a deeper and reasoned analysis, a moral engagement in politics, and a counterintuitive conclusion in modern politics. Whether or not readers agree with Sandel's conclusions, they will appreciate the encouragement to self-examination on the most mundane topics. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

The color of rain : how two families found faith, hope & love in the midst of tragedy

 by Michael Spehn. There are easier circumstances under which to build a blended family. Michael Spehn and Gina Kell both lost their young spouses to cancer. Both couples were attractive, young, vital, giving, loving, with loving families and adorable young children. These assets alone might be enough to bring widower and widow together to build new lives of happiness and bliss, but not necessarily. What this book makes so apparent is the importance of appreciating the significance of every moment while managing life's toughest parts with compassion sometimes only afforded by faith. In simultaneous journals kept before and after both family tragedies, the Spehns convey the preciousness of human connection and the gifts of grace offered by family, friends, and a strong faith community. Healing their wounds, the Michael and Gina married and created New Day Foundation for Families, a nonprofit that helps families of young children who have lost a parent to cancer. This is a well-written tale of sheer goodness turning the tables on tragedy. --Booklist (Check catalog)

Beyond religion : ethics for a whole world

 by the Dalai Lama, XIV. In this kind of sequel to his Ethics for the New Millennium, the Dalai Lama delineates some of our global challenges and suggests a nonreligious yet ethical mode of thinking that might help us. Although the note of exhaustion has been sounded-the Dalai Lama has spoken of retirement and begins this book by saying "I am an old man now"-his nonreligious ethics still have a strong and perhaps welcome Buddhist flavor. VERDICT The Dalai Lama's gentle and sensible messages of focus, peace, and mindfulness may not be heeded in a divided world but will be very welcome to seekers of all faiths. --Library Journal (Check Catalog)

The Screwtape letters ; with, Screwtape proposes a toast

 by C.S. Lewis. Lewis's satire is a Christian classic. Screwtape is a veteran demon in the service of "Our Father Below" whose letters to his nephew and prot‚g‚, Wormwood, instruct the demon-in-training in the fine points of leading a new Christian astray. Lewis's take on human nature is as on-target as it was when the letters were first published in 1941. John Cleese's narration is perfect as he takes Screwtape from emotional height to valley, from tight control to near apoplexy. This will be a popular in most libraries. --Library Journal (Check catalog)

Religion in human evolution : from the Paleolithic to the Axial Age

by Robert Neelly Bellah.  Bellah (sociology, emeritus, Univ. of California, Berkeley) examines the genesis of religion in human culture, artfully demonstrating how play, myth, and ritual developed during the Paleolithic era into the essential components that are still recognizable in religion today. He then examines the Axial Age (c. 800-c. 200 B.C.E.), with which we are more familiar: great philosophers in Greece, Israel, China, and India put forth ideas that were based on both the natural world and the spiritual plane; they effectively married the two. Bellah's book is an interesting departure from the traditional separation of science and religion. He maintains that the evolving worldviews sought to unify rather than to divide people. Poignantly, it is upon these principles that both Western and Eastern modern societies are now based. What strikes the reader most powerfully is how the author connects cultural development and religion in an evolutionary context. He suggests that cultural evolution can be seen in mimetic, mythical, and theoretical contexts. Ultimately, Bellah contends that our society is especially informed by our lengthy biological past. VERDICT This is an academic work recommended for specialists in the field of religion and sociology. Most lay readers, even if compelled by the subject, will find it heavy going, but the intrepid ones may well want to take it on and will marvel at Bellah's approach. --Library Journal (Check Catalog)

Peace be with you : monastic wisdom for a terror-filled world

 by David Carlson. Carlson (religious studies, Franklin Coll.), a scholar of monasticism, Orthodox-Catholic relations, and adult faith development, here offers an idiosyncratic mixture of spiritual autobiography and interfaith study. After 9/11, Carlson embarked on a long journey, interviewing more than 30 abbots, nuns, monks, and other religious leaders in an attempt to articulate new ways that Christianity and Islam, despite their apparent differences, might find a rapprochement. Carlson embraces, with some pain, the idea that Christ is found in the "woundedness" of the world, and that the only way forward is for all faiths to live more fully in their own faith, with compassion. VERDICT Carlson's moving personal journey reaches far beyond his own identities as a male, Christian, and academic, to address the questions many have asked over the past ten years; both individuals and church groups should benefit. --Library Journal. (Check catalog)

Where the hell is God?

 by Richard Leonard. Leonard, an Australian-born Jesuit who writes on Catholic approaches to film (Movies That Matter), has authored a brief, acute, and touching book on theodicy. For Leonard, guided in part by his own experience with a sister left disabled after an auto accident, and in part by the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, God does not directly will or send pain, suffering, natural disasters, or punishments. We can approach God through these experiences and learn from them, but God is not their "author" in the simplistic sense many espouse. While Leonard's God may feel more remote than the personal deity many have embraced, his liberation of God from personal evil is a breakthrough. VERDICT An explosive and progressive message in a small wrapper, Leonard's book may frustrate Catholic and non-Catholic conservatives, but it will be a tonic for liberal Christians and seekers of all faiths. --Library Journal (Check catalog)

Sanctuary of the soul : journey into meditative prayer /

 by Richard J Foster. This plainspoken book by bestselling author Foster (Celebration of Discipline) addresses the problem of listening for God (Jesus) in a world of noisy distractions. Dividing his work into three parts, Foster describes how God longs to communicate with each of us, how we can become present and surrendered to God, and how we can cope with common obstacles in our quest for communion with the divine. After each section, Foster recounts a story from his own life to demonstrate how one might practice meditative prayer in a real-world situation. At the end of the book, he answers typical questions about prayer. Foster leans heavily for guidance not only on his Quaker heritage but also on classic Christian mystics, including Brother Lawrence, Teresa of Avila, and Julian of Norwich, and he is not afraid to mention Satanic opposition. His quiet writing style models the listening stillness he wishes to impart. Amid many books on meditative prayer, Foster's stands out for its clarity, simplicity, and focus. --Publishers Weekly. (Check catalog)

The journey : walking the road to Bethlehem

 by Adam Hamilton. It is undoubtedly a challenge to bring a fresh perspective to biblical texts that many Christians have heard in church and read countless times. But Hamilton (24 Hours That Changed the World), founding pastor of the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kans., brings careful research, the perspective of an experienced minister, and an eye for detail to his work that will appeal to many. Beginning with the Gospel reading appropriate to his meditation, he draws on historical information as well as his own travels to take the reader on a spiritual walk, beginning with the angel Gabriel's annunciation to Mary that she will bear God's son and ending with the birth of Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem. Threaded with the stories of people he met along his way, and of others who have represented God's purposes in his own life, Hamilton also attempts to separate biblical facts, from a Protestant point of view, from traditions he appears to consider more speculative. While the writer doesn't break much new ground, the book serves as an inviting window into familiar texts that many Christians may be at risk for taking for granted-always a helpful exercise. --Publishers Weekly (Check Catalog)