LITERARY SPIRIT \ Religion in the media

& quot;After the Apple" by Naomi Harris Rosenblatt (Miramax Books, 261 pages, paperack, $12.95)
This fascinating book invites the reader to take a deeper look at the lives of biblical women: To feel Sarah's guilt and jealousy after arranging for her husband to sire a child with her maidservant. To stand with Eve as she trades perfection in Eden for a chance at knowledge and growth. Following the ancient Jewish tradition of midrash, the book reinterprets stories of the Bible's women in a bid to give readers fresh ethical and spiritual insights. The reader learns the value of a bold approach as the women use their intelligence, guile and sexuality to challenge patriarchal authority and ensure the survival of their family and even their people. We get to know Rebecca and the hard choice she must make; learn what motivates Delilah as she traps the mighty Samson; walk with Abigail as David meets his match; feel the grief of Tamar after she is raped by her half-brother Amnon; and come face to face with the mysterious Queen of Sheba. Their voices ring out with lessons that speak to us today.
& quot;Misquoting Jesus" by Bart D. Ehrman (Harper San Francisco) 242 pages, ($24.95)
Whichever side you sit on regarding Biblical inerrancy, this is a rewarding read. The art and science of determining the authenticity of ancient manuscripts lie at the heart of some important theological debates. This book takes you through what many scholars say they know about the many early versions of the books of the New Testament -- and how they say they know it. To boil it way down, we have many portions of ancient, handwritten versions of the books of the New Testament. Those versions have more differences than there are words in the books. Figuring out which version is most accurate is an academic detective story. Among the passages that evidence suggests were altered by long-ago scribes: Luke 22:43-44 has the writer describing Jesus' bloody sweat at the Mount of Olives. A likely insert, Bart Ehrman says. The New Testament portion of the much-revered King James Bible, he says, is largely based on the Greek version produced by Erasmus, who put it together using a few not particularly good Greek texts.
& quot;The One Year Book of Hope" by Nancy Guthrie (Tyndale House of Publishers, 416 pages, $14.99)
Sometimes it seems as if pain and loss stalk us, waiting until we're not looking to fell us with a one-two punch to the heart. Nancy Guthrie knows what it's like to feel that knife blade of grief, the kind of pain that is all-consuming, that leads us to rail against God and all the injustice it seems he lets slip by. But it is that experience -- the deaths of two babies from a rare metabolic disorder -- that brings her closer to God and gives her the strength to use her loss for others' gain. This book of yearlong devotions is her heartfelt attempt to help others find hope amid suffering. The daily devotions are meant to draw the reader closer to God and the comfort he offers. Guthrie includes Scripture with each passage to help readers dip deeper into God's word. She provides a weekly summary with questions and meditations and prayers to help the reader find peace. The book would be helpful for those in a crisis of any sort.
& quot;Sister-Shout!" by Tasha Douglas (State of Grace Communications, 191 pages, ($14.79)
For women in the church, especially black women, keeping silent is a time-honored -- some would say even biblical -- expectation. In many cases, they live by the credo often taught to children: Be seen, not heard. But "SisterShout!" challenges that theory head-on. Written by Fort Worth native Tasha Douglas, the book examines the many relationships where women have traditionally been silent, and then encourages them -- exhorts them -- to use their spirituality to speak up and speak out. In her debut book, which uses her own experiences and those of a host of friends, she urges women not to be controlled by men, to boldly support other women and to speak.
& quot;The Jewel Tree" by Robert Thurman (Free Press, 272 pages, $14)
Robert Thurman's teaching of a traditional Tibetan text dating to the 17th century was recently published in paperback. Although the text was originally reserved for those who had received initiation into its teachings, Thurman provides an interpretation that is lucid, lighthearted and nonsectarian. The book itself is presented as a guided meditation interlaced with Thurman's commentary on the practice and interpretation of general Buddhist philosophy and history. Though the author is a respected scholar of Tibetan Buddhism, he is also the first American to be ordained as a monk in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. "Jewel Tree" is written not from the dry perspective of a scholar but from that of a faithful practitioner.
& quot;A Seat at the Table" by Huston Smith, with Phil Cousineau (University of California Press, 203 pages, $24.95)
With this book, longtime religion scholar Huston Smith continues efforts to correct a mistake that pervaded his early education and thinking: That indigenous religions, including those of American Indians, don't count because they're seen as primitive and pagan. Indigenous religions provide a solid platform for all modern religions, he now believes. Most scholarship has wrongly concluded that information transmitted orally doesn't constitute knowledge, and that having written texts is inherently superior, he says. Smith's conversations with 10 American Indian leaders, presented mainly in Q & amp;A format, aim to erase such misperceptions and explain the essence of Indian beliefs: that religion is not an aspect of life, it is all of it -- the path that guides all behavior and decisions. Every Indian tradition, the leaders say, rests on belief in a Creator and the interrelated nature of everything in the world.
& quot;Hallelujah -- The Poetry of Classic Hymns" Ann Marlis Burgard, editor; Richard Krepel, illustrator (Celestial Arts, 115 pages, $19.95)
Hymns as many of us think of them have fallen on hard times in places, abandoned to dusty pew racks for the hipper fare of praise and worship music. This book honors the older tradition and gives a sampling of Western Christian hymnody from the Reformation to the present. Each of more than 70 works (texts only) is accompanied by a brief historical note. The earliest is Luther's "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" (1528); the most recent is Cathy Yost's "Prayer for Creation" (2000). The selections are arranged chronologically. It's fascinating to find that hymns as disparate as the Shaker "Simple Gifts" and John Mason Neale's "Good King Wenceslas" are contemporaries.
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