literary spirit \Religion in the media

“University: The Fall of the Evangelical Nation” by Christine Wicker; HarperOne ($25): The author, a former reporter who covered religion and other beats for The Dallas Morning News, throws her best punch with her first sentence: “Evangelical Christianity in America is dying.” The rest is nuance and numbers, woven around compelling anecdotes. The nuance: She defines “evangelical” as what most people would call the religious right. The numbers: Largely using statistics supplied by the groups themselves, she makes a strong case that they represent no more than 7 percent of adult Americans and that the percentage is shrinking. Her premise matters, she says, because evangelicals should not command the degree of power or influence their image has seemed to justify. The book is strongest when she’s laying out her numbers and introducing us to people. Her speculative attempts to enlist sociology, neuropsychology and evolutionary biology to explain the drop in evangelical numbers are less convincing. You need not know much about religion or numbers to appreciate this book.

“Going Up Yonder” by various artists; Time Life: Some songs you just never get tired of hearing. The recent release “Going Up Yonder: The Best of the Gospel Choirs,” from Time Life and BET J digital network, is a whole CD full of such melodies. From the opening title track straight through to the 12th and final song, “Let It Rain,” “Going Up Yonder” keeps you in the mood to sway and pray. The compilation CD of great gospel choirs, including the Dallas-Fort Worth Mass Choir singing “I’d Rather Have Jesus,” is a companion CD to “Voices: The Ultimate Gospel Choir Collection.” It’s just so great to pop in a CD and hear the gospel stalwarts such as Walter Hawkins, Andrae Crouch, the Rev. Clay Evans and others. And songs such as “Soon and Very Soon” and “I Go to the Rock” have a shelf life that almost any churchgoer over age 5 can relate to.

“Choosing Your Faith in a World of Spiritual Options” by Mark Mittelberg (Tyndale, 267 pages, $19.99): The book has a catchy title, addresses a trendy theme, sports an inviting dust jacket, and is just the right length. And it begins well, describing the ambivalence that many people feel about faith and religion. But it dissolves into a very predictable apology for evangelical Christianity, patterned after books that arose during the heyday of rationalism. Mark Mittelberg describes six “faith paths that people characteristically take in order to arrive at their spiritual point of view.” He lists relativism, traditionalism, authoritarianism, intuition, mysticism and rationalism — that is, seeking evidence and using logic. He offers only anecdotes but no evidence (to use his criteria) to support his contention that these are the ways people choose. Five chapters are spent reviewing classic questions, such as “Is there evidence for the resurrection of Jesus?” and “Is the Bible reliable?” Along the way, Mittelberg picks on Mormonism, Islam and Jehovah’s Witnesses, and he’s never fully transparent with his agenda. Some will find the book conducive to communal study, and some will find it a welcome signpost at a confusing intersection on their road to spiritual maturity.

“A Mended and Broken Heart” by Wendy Murray (Basic Books, 304 pages, $25.95): Francis of Assisi is probably the most beloved of all the Catholic Church’s saints. He was a complex man whom scholars have called a madman, a mystery, an ocean. Now Wendy Murray, who has a master’s degree in theology and has written on a number of Christian topics, would have us think his relationship with Clare Favarone, founder of the Poor Clare Sisters, was much closer than we’ve been led to believe. She stops short of saying they had physical intimacy but argues their relationship was rooted in love and that a mutual renunciation “defined the inner landscape of their devotional lives.” Her evidence is scant and her continual efforts to drop Clare into the narrative are a bit jarring. Francis’ story is familiar: the son of a wealthy Italian merchant, a fast-living rake, the months he spent in prison as the result of a battle with another Italian city, the gradual turning to God and a life of penitence. His rebuilding of decayed churches, his embracing of lepers, his life of utter poverty led slowly to others joining him. In the middle of the Fifth Crusade, Francis decided he could bring about peace after a trip to the battleground. The hardened soldiers looked askance at him, but the Muslim sultan realized he was a man of God and gently sent him back to Christian lines. His last days saw the order he had founded split as others wanted a different rule. Francis’ sufferings must have been incredible, and the temptations of the flesh apparently followed him almost to the grave. Francis’ story is a beautiful one, and in the last pages, Ms. Murray drops her thesis and tells it well.

“Spring and Summer” by Jon Foreman (Credential Recordings / EMI): “Spring and Summer,” the concluding EPs in Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman’s seasonal series, showcase an eclectic musical mind with a gift for meaningful, relatable lyrics pulled from some of the best known verses of the Bible, and some much more obscure. With songs ranging from a horn-driven waltz to the country twang of a steel guitar to pared-down indie rock, “Spring and Summer” (two discs packaged together) swing far beyond Switchfoot’s usual sounds, as if Mr. Foreman, freed from the constraints of a rock band, finally allows his imagination to roam. Like “Fall and Winter,” released in January, “Spring and Summer” reflect the moods of the seasons, and both come with some memorable songs — though in this case, Summer often outshines Spring . It’s not that Spring has glaring weaknesses. “Baptize My Mind” beautifully merges buoyant guitar with a springtime theme of rebirth, and “Your Love Is Strong” offers a worshipful retelling of the Lord’s Prayer. Summer seldom stumbles.

McClatchy Newspapers