literary spirit \Religion in the media

“The Spirit of New Orleans” by Liz McComb (GVE): Liz McComb was born in Cleveland, made her name — and part-time home — in Paris and now has released a jazzy gospel CD that is all New Orleans. Many of the songs on the 12-track project are, for the most part, old-time gospel standards such as “Just a Closer Walk With Thee,” “I Know It Was the Blood,” and “You’ve Got to Move.” But all of the songs are, indeed, recorded in the true musical flavor of the Crescent City with its thick jazz underpinnings. “When you talk about jazz music, you have got to go to New Orleans,” McComb said. “And you can’t just go to the jazz spots, you’ve got to visit the churches — where people bring their instruments right on inside.” She released the CD in Europe in April 2001 to wide acclaim there but was concerned how her jazz approach would be accepted in her native United States. She shouldn’t have worried. While some gospel purists might take issue, McComb indeed captures the “spirit” of New Orleans, and few true music fans — gospel or otherwise — can argue with that.

“Poets on the Psalms” with Lynn Domina, editor, (Trinity University Press, 216 pp, $19.95 trade paper; $45 hardcover): This collection of essays by 14 contemporary poets grapples with the magnificent poetry of the Book of Psalms as it speaks to the modern reader. Ranging from scholarly analysis to the deeply personal, the essays show the power of the Word in the creative process as revealed in the Psalms. The Book of Job and the Book of Psalms have in common the genre of poetry and the praise, petition and lamentation of a human speaker to God. The poets attempt to gain the ear of God through language that has become embedded in our modern sensibilities. Poet Madeline DeFrees shows how she incorporated the beginning words of the Psalm known as De Profundis in her own poem “Skid Row”: “Out of the depths have I cried, O Lord/ Where the lean heart preys on the hardened crust,” linking the despair of the Psalmist with the misery of the down and out. Another essayist in the collection, poet Pattiann Rogers, is glad to have the Psalmist “singing to her from long ago,” and, like Ms. DeFrees, weaves references to the Psalms into her own poetry. “Poets on the Psalms” is a meditation on the power of the Word at its most beautiful to reach across the centuries. Like the poet of the Psalms, the poets of today seek to make plain the agonies and ecstasies of our life on earth and its link to the creator.

“The War on Terror; How Should Christians Respond?” by Nick Solly Megoran (Inter-Varsity Press, 190 pages, $15): That “the War on Terror is no different from other wars” is a basic thesis of Nick Solly Megoran’s uplifting study of how Christians should respond to this war. He first asserts that war was, has been, and will be a context in which Christians must obey the command of Jesus Christ to love their enemies, pray for those who persecute them, and become peacemakers. Then in each chapter he invites readers to understand one aspect of how the Bible shapes a Christian understanding of war, its sources, and possibilities for both fidelity to Christ and hope in God during wartime. Megoran is cognizant that the war on terror is not merely an American concern, so he seeks to raise the discussion of a Christian response to terror above merely participating in partisan politics or assigning blame. Three study guides at the end of the book introduce readers to a range of positions on the definition of terror and appropriate Christian responses to war. Grounding his work in the core teachings of the Bible makes for a book that is refreshingly accessible to readers from a range of traditions, whether Catholic, mainline or evangelical. Those wishing to engage in a serious theological and spiritual exploration of Christian faith in a time of war and terror will find this one of the best guides available.

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