For each quarter of the academic year (fall, winter, spring)
President Plantinga chooses a book to be read and discussed by the entire
seminary community - students, staff, and faculty. The chosen books are
provocative, appealingly written, and inexpensive. "We might not
agree with nearly everything in the books," says President Plantinga,
"but they would help us see God, the world, and ourselves with new
eyes."
We encourage your community to join us by creating your own reading
groups. Enjoy your discussions!
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Barnes, M. Craig
Searching for Home: Spirituality for Restless Souls
(Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, Baker Book House, 2003)
One translation of Dante's Divine Comedy opens with the
words, "Midway along the journey of our life, I woke to find
myself in a dark wood, for I had wandered off from the straight
path." Many of us can identify with this confession. We might
be pressing on bravely in the search for paradise, moving from better
job to new town to bigger house, but the truth is that we are lost.
M. Craig Barnes draws on Dante's pilgrimage as a parallel to our
own search for paradise. Never sidestepping the difficult truth
of our situation, Barnes begins with the disconcerting news that
paradise is lost and we can't go home again. Our great comfort and
hope, however, is that we are never lost to God; in fact, he travels
with us in our sojourning and all roads belong to him. Barnes, a
compassionate pastor, shows how we can move from being transient
nomads to pilgrims who are at home with God.
Lecture:
September 30, 2004 - "Searching for Home: Spirituality for
Restless Souls", M. Craig Barnes
Lecture:
September 30, 2004 - Panel Discussion - Themes of the Book, M. Craig
Barnes |
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Bass, Dorothy C.
Receiving the Day: Christian Practices for Opening the Gift of Time
(San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass, 2000)
A spiritual reconsideration of our frantic approach to life, Receiving
the Day invites readers to embrace the temporal landmarks of
our lives as opportunities for a deeper relationship with God and
one another. Bass explores what the Christian faith tells us about
time, and offers her rich insights to those who wish to confront
the issue from a theological or practical perspective. As a part
of the Practices of Faith series, this book is intended
for both investigators to the faith, and believers who wish to grow
in their relationship with God. |
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Breslin, Jimmy
The Short Sweet Dream of Eduardo Gutierrez
(New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, 2002)
Breslin, a news columnist from New York City, tells the story
of a young Mexican man coming to Brooklyn to follow the American
dream. Through the story, Breslin exposes "broader issues of
municipal corruption and America's deadly and controversial border
policy." |
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Brooks, Geraldine
March: A Novel
(New York: Penguin Group, 2005)
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Buechner, Frederick
Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale
(New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1977)
Buechner writes, "Let the preacher tell the truth. Let him
preach this overcoming of tragedy by comedy, of darkness by light,
of the ordinary by the extraordinary, as the tale that is too good
not to be true because to dismiss it as untrue is to dismiss along
with it that 'catch of the breath, that beat and lifting of the
heart near to or even accompanied by tears,' which I believe is
the deepest intuition of truth that we have." This book explores
preaching as telling the truth about life, through all of its tragedy,
comedy, and unbelievable truth. |
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Buechner, Frederick
Peculiar Treasures: A Biblical Who's Who
(New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1979)
In this second book of his popular lexical trilogy, Frederick Buechner
profiles more than 125 of the Bible's most holy and profane people
- and one whale. In his lively and witty prose, Buechner brings
to life such moments from scripture as Adam's pangs of regret for
a remembered Eden, Delilah's last glimpse of Samson as they dragged
him away, and Lazarus' first impressions upon rising from the dead.
To read Peculiar Treasures is to realize that many of these
legendary figures are not who we thought they were. But they are
- in their human dreams, ambitions, and imperfections - very much
like us.
Lecture:
April 22, 2004 - "Peculiar Treasures", Frederick Buechner
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DeBoer, Kathleen J.
Gender and Competition: How Men and Women Approach Work and Play
Differently
(Monterey, CA: Coaches Choice, 2004)
DeBoer writes, "Males and females are psychologically different.
For most of my life, it seemed that everybody but me already knew
this." In this book, she describes the differences between
the competitive natures of men and women, using anecdotes from her
own athletic and coaching experiences. DeBoer also uses this analysis
to give hints for both men and women on how to better work with,
play with, and understand each other.
Lecture:
January 6, 2004 - "Gender and Competition: How Men and Women
Approach Work and Play Differently", Kathleen DeBoer
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Levitt, Steven D. and Stephen J. Dubner
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
(New York: HarperCollins, 2005)
In Freakonomics, economist Steven Levitt and journalist co-author
Stephen Dubner ask peculiar questions such as "What do school
teachers and sumo wrestlers have in common?" In this unorthodox
study of economics they set out to discover the hidden truths surrounding
everyday life — and sometimes not-so-everyday life as well. |
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Lischer, Richard
Open Secrets: A Memoir of Faith and Discovery
(New York, NY: Broadway Books, 2001)
In Open Secrets, Lischer tells not only his own story,
but the story of New Cana and its inhabitants. It's an awkward marriage
at best: a young man with a Ph.D . in Theology, bursting with ideas
and ambitions and determined to improve his parish and bring it
into the tweny-first century. and a community that is 'as tightly
sealed as a jar of home-canned pickles'. This masterful memoir brings
to life the clash of cultures and personalities that marked Lischer's
pastoral tenure, and the ways in which the inhabitants of New Cana
opened their arms to him. |
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Lynch, Thomas
The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade
(Penguin, 1998)
"Every year I bury a couple hundred of my townspeople."
So opens the singular testimony of the poet Thomas Lynch. Like
all poets, inspired by death, Lynch is, unlike others, also hired
to bury the dead or to cremate them and to tend to their families
in a small Michigan town where he serves as the funeral director.
In this wholly unique collection of essays, the two vocations meet
as Lynch shows himself to be a competent functionary of mourning-dispensing
comfort and homespun wisdom to the grief-stricken-as well as a poet
poignantly tuning language to the right tones of private release.
In its homages to parents who have died and to children who shouldn't
have, its tales of golfers tripping over grave markers, portraits
of gourmands and hypochondriacs, lovers and suicides, The Undertaking
displays an impressively wide vocal range, from solemn, nostalgic,
and lyrical to acerbic, sprightly, and unflinchingly professional.
(From the back cover).
Watch the presentation
Lynch gave at Calvin Theological Seminary on December 1, 2005 |
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Paterson, Katherine
Jacob Have I Loved
(New York, NY: Harper Trophy, 1980)
In Jacob Have I Loved Sarah Louise Bradshaw describes
her twin sister as 'The pretty one' ... 'The talented
one' ... 'The better sister,' the one who now seemed
to be taking everything - Louise's friends, their parents' love
and her dreams for the future. It is time for Louise to be the special
one. However, this means that Louise must first figure out who she
is, and then find a way to make a place for herself outside her
sister's shadow. |
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Paterson, Katherine
Bridge to Terabithia
(New York, NY: Harper Trophy, 1977)
Jess Aaron, of Bridge to Terabithia, longs to be the
fastest runner in the fifth grade. After a summer of practicing,
he can't wait to see his classmates' faces when he beats them all.
But, on the first day of school, Leslie Burke, a new girl, boldly
crosses over to the boys' side of the playground and outruns everyone.
Despite this seemingly unpromising start to a friendship, Jess and
Leslie become inseparable. Together they create a magical kingdom
named Terabithia where they reign as King and Queen. Then one morning,
tragedy strikes. Only when Jess is able to come to grips with this
tragedy is he able to understand the strength and courage Leslie
has given him.
Lecture:
October 09, 2003 - Discussion of Katherine Paterson's books, Gary
Schmidt
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Paton, Alan
Cry, The Beloved Country
(New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 1948)
Cry, the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of
the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son Absalom, set against
the background of a land and a people riven by racial injustice.[it]
is a classic work of love and hope, courage and endurance, born
of the dignity of man. |
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Robinson, Marilynne
Gilead: A Novel
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004)
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Schmidt, Gary
Lizzie Bright and the Buckminister Boy
(New York: Clarion, 2004)
Although technically classified as a work aimed at a young reading audience, Schmidt's work transcends such boundaries by telling a story that is freighted with deep insights into life, lyric vignettes of love and friendship, and pointed lessons on those facets to society — including Christian society — that tear at the fabric of our common humanity. The story centers on Turner Buckminster, a pastor's son who has to adjust to life in a small town where his father recently accepted a call to become pastor of a church in Phippsburg, Maine. Turner's friendship with Lizzie Bright, a young black girl from a nearby island, provides much of the book's drama and pathos. Professor Schmidt won two coveted prizes for this work: the Newbery Medal and the Printz Book Award. Lizzie Bright and the Buckminister Boy is an indelible work that will stay with the reader long after the last page is (regrettably) turned.
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Taylor, Barbara Brown
Speaking of Sin
(Boston, MA: Cowley Publications, 2000)
In Speaking of Sin, Barbara Brown Taylor brings her fresh
perspective to a cluster of words that often cause us discomfort
and have widely fallen into neglect: sin, damnation, repentance,
penance, and salvation. She asks, 'Why, then, should we speak of
sin anymore?' And yet abandoning the language of sin will not make
sin go away; it will simply leave us speechless before its effects
and increase our denial of its presence in our lives. Ironically,
it will also weaken the language of grace, since the full impact
of forgiveness cannot be felt apart from the knowledge of what has
been forgiven. |
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Timmer, John
God of Weakness: How God Works Through the Weak Things of the World
(Grand Rapids, MI: Faith Alive Christian Resources)
"Why does God allow the poor to be exploited and the innocent
to suffer?" "If God holds so much power, why does he not
assert himself more?" Timmer responds to these and other similar
questions in the chapters of God of Weakness. He argues
that although God is all-powerful, he often disguises his power
in weakness to achieve his purposes. |
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Tutu, Desmond M.
No Future Without Forgiveness
(New York: NY: Image Books, Doubleday, 1999)
The establishment of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission
was a pioneering international event. Never had any country sought
to move forward from despotism to democracy both by exposing the
atrocities committed in the past and achieving reconciliation with
its former oppressors. At the center of this unprecedented attempt
at healing a nation was Archbishop Desmond Tutu, whom President
Nelson Mandela named as Chairman of the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission. Archbishop Tutu offers a remarkable account of the process
in No Future Without Forgiveness, and reflects on the insights
he has gained by helping South Africa move through this painful
experience. |
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Winner, Lauren F.
Girl Meets God: A Memoir
(Random House, 2003) |
