LITERARY SPIRIT \ Religion in the media

"The Faith Club" by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver and Priscilla Warner (Free Press, 304 pages, 25): This is the story of how three New York women of different faiths reached out to one another after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 to try to find meaning in a world gone crazy. Ranya Idliby, an American Muslim of Palestinian descent, worried that Americans' increasingly negative perceptions of her faith would affect her children. What if she could join with two other moms, one a Christian, one a Jew, to write a children's book highlighting miracles from each of the three religions to help foster understanding and peace? Suzanne Oliver, a Christian, and Priscilla Warner, a Jew, accepted her challenge. And the Faith Club was born. This fascinating account shows how the women confront and work through age-old differences among their religions. To promote further interfaith dialogue, the book includes detailed advice for those wanting to form their own Faith Clubs.
"Rhetoric, Religion, and the Civil Rights Movement" by Davis W. Houck and David E. Dixon, editors (Baylor University Press, 1,002 pages, paperback, 44.95): The social revolution that discredited America's laws and traditions of racial discrimination half a century ago has, for better and worse, taken on an aura of transcendent reality. In contrast with the destructive and deadly violence that permeates contemporary wars around the globe, the inspiring struggle of an unarmed and largely nonviolent racial minority to overcome segregation now seems almost mythological and legendary in character. That is the inescapable conclusion to be drawn from this voluminous collection of 130 powerful exhortations from the American civil rights movement. The editors, both scholars of that singular period in our history, have drawn exclusively from tapes and transcripts of speeches, sermons and other forms of public discourse to make their case: that the pen (and tongue) can truly be, in certain magical moments, mightier than the sword.
"A Responsible Life" by Ira F. Stone (Aviv Press, 240 pages, 17.95): America has fallen in love with Kaballah, bringing wisdoms of ancient Jewish mysticism into modern life. On its heels comes Rabbi Ira F. Stone's accessible explanation of Mussar, a life pathway based on ethical ideals. Mussar is the Hebrew word for ethics and morals. The movement of that name deals with pervasive questions of human behavior: If I believe in certain values, why is it so hard to live up to them? What keeps me from doing what is good and right? In a world full of evil, could my own good possibly make any difference? Mussar harks back to the biblical wisdom of Prophets and Proverbs; it blossomed in mid-19th-century Lithuania with formulation of "a series of techniques to help minimize the 'disconnect' so often experienced between our actions and our ideals," according to Rabbi Stone.
"Beyond Prisons" by Laura Magnani and Harmon L. Wray (Fortress, 204 pages. 13): Most Americans are unaware of the crisis in the criminal justice system for two reasons: Administration is relegated to justice professionals (police, courts, prisons), and accused and convicted people are warehoused away from public view. This book seeks to engage a broader segment of the public in a conversation about this situation. The authors represent one of the oldest and most credible prison ministry initiatives in the country, the American Friends Service Committee; the Friends are better known as Quakers, a small but influential religious movement that founded the nation's first penitentiary, in 1790. The book recounts the history of criminal justice in America and describes prison policy and its long-term effect. The authors contend that focusing on punishment rather than rehabilitation has helped expand criminal culture and destroy communities.
"Blessed Are the Uncool" by Paul Grant (IVP Books, 144 pages, 13): The need to appear "cool" is like white noise in our culture: a background conversation that informs much of modern life and serves as the vernacular for Christian youth ministry in many churches. Paul Grant, 31, says "cool" demands closer examination. He delivers that in a short, easy-to-read but thoughtful book. In his surprisingly astute analysis, Grant defines cool as "the private performance of rebellion for rebellion's sake" and traces its roots from black slavery to jazz to its Madison Avenue incarnations. Grant writes that cool confuses cynicism for authenticity and chooses an attitude of superiority over the sweetness of love. Cool cynicism is more about a "cult of insider knowledge" than about real connections. So, can you be a Christian and still be cool? Grant answers with another question: "Why would you want to?"
"God's Troublemakers" by Katharine Rhodes Henderson (Continuum, 247 pages, 24.95): The author has gathered the stories of 21 women who are taking the transforming power of faith into jails and shelters and hospices. Although the information about their personal stories is minimal, there's enough to impress: Henna Hahn discovered the abused Korean wife of an American GI had been wrongly charged with killing her children. Hahn worked to have her released and went on to found a nonprofit organization to address the needs of abused immigrant Asian women. Gretchen Buchenholz was running an errand when she walked through the wrong door and found children inside who were begging for something to drink or eat. She not only got them peanut butter sandwiches but also challenged the news media and social agencies to help them -- and became a leader in helping at-risk children in New York. The book could use a more orderly structure, but Henderson writes with clarity.
"A Day Apart" by Christopher D. Ringwald (University Press, 312 pages, 27): Each of the Abrahamic faiths has a special day -- a holy day -- set aside each week. For the Muslims, it is Jum'a (Friday); the Jews observe the Sabbath on Saturday; and the Christians have the Lord's Day on Sunday. The various faiths see their day apart as requiring study, prayer, worship, rest, reflection and assembly, while prohibiting work in general. Specifically, servile work is not allowed, but exceptions are made for creative work, charity, and work required by, for example, medical emergency. Christopher D. Ringwald beautifully illustrates the three faiths' approaches by following the activities of three families, one Jewish, one Muslim and one Catholic (his family). Though the approaches, activities and understandings vary, all are based upon the creation story in Genesis. The root of the word "shabbat" does not primarily imply "rest"; rather, it emphasizes the cessation from the work of creation that God ended on the seventh day. The Ten Commandments figure prominently in the understanding of our holy days. Though originally given to the Jews, they were accepted by the others, as well.
McClatchy Newspapers