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2008 Book Discussion Group

Here are the books we have read and discussed in 2008. If these interest you, consider joining our group for the 2009 selections.

January 27, 2008

The Golden Compass is Part I of The Dark Materials Trilogy by Philip Pullman. According to Booklist, "Pullman has created a wholly developed universe . . . , much like our own but different in many ways--a world in which humans are paired with animal 'daemons' that seem like alter egos, only with personalities of their own. The story begins at Jordan College in Oxford, where young Lyra Belacqua and her daemon, Pantalaimon, are being reared and educated by the Scholars. Although a lackluster student, Lyra possesses an inordinate curiosity and sense of adventure, which lead her into forbidden territory on the night her uncle, Lord Asriel, visits. . . . Filled with fast-paced action, the plot involves a secret scientific facility, where children are being severed from their daemons; warring factions; witch clans; an outcast armored bear, who bonds with Lyra; and more."

February 24, 2008

Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know--And Doesn't" by Stephen Prothero "combines a lively history of the rise and fall of American religious literacy with a set of proposed remedies based on his hope that 'the Fall into religious ignorance is reversible.' He also includes a useful multicultural glossary of religious definitions and allusions, in which religious illiterates can find the prodigal son, the promised land, the Quakers and the Koran" (Susan Jacoby, The Washington Post).

March 30, 2008

Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time by Karen Armstrong, is a portrayal of the prophet of Islam. According to the Library Journal, it "will captivate and enlighten general readers with a newfound understanding of modern events in the Middle East. Armstrong, a former Roman Catholic nun, has shown much insight and sensitivity in her well-researched biography. She interweaves sections on the Western response to Islam and the controversy over Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses within her detailed account of Muhammad and the monumental, unifying religion that he introduced to the backward tribal Arabia of the seventh century. The book was first published in Great Britain in 1991 under the title Muhammad: A Western Attempt To Understand Islam."

April 27, 2008

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakhauer, is a "chilling tale of violence and fanaticism that strikes at the very heart of religious faith in America.

"The centerpiece of the story is a grisly double murder committed in 1984 by Ron and Dan Lafferty, Mormon fundamentalist brothers who claimed to have killed at God's direct command. In Krakauer's expert hands, the bizarre details of this brutal crime play out against the equally bizarre history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and its subsequent splintering into fundamentalist sects over the issue of polygamy -- a sacred doctrine put forth by Mormon founder Joseph Smith in 1830.

"Discarded decades ago in the Mormons' steady march toward the American religious mainstream, polygamy has become a touchstone for fundamentalist dissenters, who seek to return the church to its original vision…at any cost. Krakauer investigates the violent legacy of this single article of faith, explores the link between fundamentalism and the Mormon tradition of personal revelation, and draws a direct line between the religious fervor of a God-fearing community and the religious fanaticism that inspired the Lafferty brothers to kill in the name of the Lord.

"Storytelling at its most compelling, Under the Banner of Heaven is a gimlet-eyed look into the blood-soaked history of the fastest-growing religion in the Western Hemisphere and a sober examination of the nature of faith in America" (Anne Markowski, Barnes & Noble Review).

June 1, 2008

In The God Delusion, scientist Richard Dawkins, "whom Discover magazine recently called 'Darwin's Rottweiler' for his fierce and effective defense of evolution, now turns his considerable intellect on religion, denouncing its faulty logic and the suffering it causes. He eviscerates the major arguments for religion and demonstrates the supreme improbability of a supreme being. He shows how religion fuels war, foments bigotry, and abuses children, buttressing his points with historical and contemporary evidence. In so doing, he makes a compelling case that belief in God is not just irrational, but potentially deadly" (book publisher).

June 29, 2008

According to Publisher's Weekly, The Subtle Knife, the second volume in His Dark Trilogy" more than fulfill[s] the promise of The Golden Compass. . . . And where the first book hinted at a defective cosmology, this work develops that theme in terms of Judeo-Christian theology."

The Amber Spyglass, the final volume of the trilogy is described by Publisher's Weekly as "what may well be the most controversial children's book of recent years. Pullman's exuberant work stays rigorously true to its own internal structure. Stirring and highly provocative."

July 27, 2008

Mere Christianity by the late Oxford professor C. S. Lewis makes "theology an attractive, exciting, and fascinating quest. The point about reading C. S. Lewis is that he makes you sure, whatever you believe, that religion accepted or rejected means something extremely serious, demanding the entire energy of mind" (Times Literary Supplement).

The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith by Marcus J. Borg, "offers a practical guide to thinking about God, Jesus, the Bible, faith and Christian practice. He shows how faith in God and Jesus has never really been about believing certain propositions but rather about a dynamic relationship. He shows that being 'born again' is at the centre of Christian life and that the 'kingdom of God' is a matter of transforming society into real world values of justice and love. And that the Christian life is essentially about opening one’s heart—-to God and to others" (Barnes & Noble synopsis).

August 24, 2008

In Out of Egypt and The Road to Cana--Books 1 and 2 of the Christ the Lord Series--novelist Anne Rice--"leaves the gothic behind and explores the mysteries beneath the childhood of Jesus. . . . Although the historical and cultural details [of Out of Egypt] are authentic and well done, it is the character of Jesus that drives this novel. . . . The story is told from Jesus's point of view, and the strength of the book weighs heavily on Rice's ability to make him believable both as a child and as the son of God. . . (School Library Journal).

The Road to Cana, Book 2 of the series, takes its title from the New Testament miracle at the wedding at Cana in which Jesus turned water into wine at the beginning of his ministry. In this "sequel to 2005's Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, however, the wedding miracle is in fact the culmination of an intimate family saga of love, sorrow and misunderstanding. As the novel opens, Yeshua (Jesus) struggles with a sense of restlessness of purpose and a deep love for a comely kinswoman. Waves of isolation sweep over him as he comes to understand that serving the Lord's will takes precedence over the desires of his own heart. . . . [The book], imagining the 'lost' young adulthood of Jesus, offers wise and haunting speculation where the Bible is silent. And the final chapters, which pick up the story with the New Testament's accounts of Jesus' baptism, temptation and early miracles, manage to be soulfully insightful even while faithfully tracking the Gospels" (Mar., Publishers Weekly).

September 28, 2008

In The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief, medical geneticist Francis Collins says that for him "the experience of sequencing the human genome, and uncovering this most remarkable of all texts [what President Clinton in announcing completion of phase one of the Genome Projects called 'the language of God'], was both a stunning scientific achievement and an occasion of worship." The book is both a personal account of Collins' own faith and a discussion of such topics as evolution. Converted from atheism largely by reading of C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity, Collins understands God as both transcendent and personal. He say this God is not inconsistent with a scientific view of the world, including evolution.

October 26, 2008

Herbert Mason's translation of Gilgamesh interprets this ancient Babylonian epic in a beautiful and moving style, bringing to life its timeless themes that challenge us to see this ancient civilization as well as our contemporary world in fresh ways.

November 23, 2008

Desire of the Everlasting Hills, one of the seven volumes of Thomas Cahill's Hinges of History series, shows us the world into which Jesus was born, lived, and died. We see him through the eyes of the people he knew and in the context of the Roman rulers who sought to impose their worldview on their subjects. Cahill pictures the loving itinerate preacher and quiet revolutionary. He traces the role of the gospel writers and of Paul's letters in developing Christianity, giving us a multidimensional view of the Jesus of Christians and Jews.