Andrew C. Smith

Book review: Stephen J. Lind, A Charlie Brown Religion: Exploring the Spiritual Life and Work of Charles M. SchulzA Charlie Brown Religion: Exploring the Spiritual Life and Work of Charles M. Schulz, by LindStephen J.. Great Comics Artists Series. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2015. 294 pp.

would like to see the book removed from the canon. While I do not agree with all of Thomas’s points, it is a necessary conversation, and he cogently makes the case that Revelation is not as different from other books in the NT canon as some would have us think (pp. 15–16). Despite my disagreements, I found this to be an outstanding commentary. It is comprehensive. Thomas and Macchia are excellent writers: both are engaging, thoughtful, and clear. Thomas engages scholars across the social and theological spectrum of apocalyptic studies. It is all that one wants in a commentary. Macchia uses the standard categories common to systematic theology and provides an excellent complement to Thomas. This work is a welcome addition to the study of the Apocalypse and a fitting addition to the THNTC series. Written by two senior Pentecostal scholars, this commentary adds a new voice that the academy must not ignore.

25.00 (hbk). ISBN 9781496804686.

altogether” (p. 160). Therefore, Heilig’s proposed alternative methodology for determining antiimperial subtexts in Paul’s letters deserves careful consideration. It is honestly quite difficult to attribute any weakness to Heilig’s book. It can reasonably be stated that the book succeeds in what it sets out to accomplish. The work serves as a helpful contribution to the discussion, although, as one reviewer has already noted, Hidden Criticism? does “not introduce any new historical data that effectively tips the scales” (p. xiii). Readers may, therefore, find this somewhat disappointing. Of course, it is important to reemphasize that Heilig’s aim is not to present new historical evidence, a point he makes quite clear from the beginning. On the other hand, Heilig’s book is remarkably insightful, especially for those who have very little knowledge or background on this particular issue in Pauline studies. The nature of this book is highly academic, though that is not to say that it is limited in the scope of its audience. His book equips readers with the most recent scholarship, allowing them to attain a healthy overview of the subject. The range of scholarship and Heilig’s engagement with various perspectives, no doubt, demonstrates the strength of his work. Although Heilig tends to affirm the plausibility of an anti-imperial subtext, he is by no means reluctant to acknowledge the problems of the hypothesis. If anything, Heilig effectively argues for Bayes’ Theorem as a methodologically coherent approach as well as demonstrating the current direction the debate is now headed. Heilig’s Hidden Criticism? may prove to be a useful resource for scholars interested in the topic. Concerning the general audience, it is a fascinating book that provides a unique perspective on Paul and his relationship to the Roman Empire. Whether or not one believes that Paul had a hidden criticism against the Empire will ultimately be left up to the reader’s own evaluation of the scholarship. For those compelled to explore the question further, it will be necessary to engage with Heilig’s book.

Book review: Alison Collis Greene, No Depression in Heaven: The Great Depression, The New Deal, and the Transformation of Religion in the DeltaNo Depression in Heaven: The Great Depression, The New Deal, and the Transformation of Religion in the Delta, by GreeneAlison Collis. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2016. 336 pp.

Although Sparky came to Christian faith in a relatively conservative church, Lind outlines how his theological perspective broadened as he aged. Although Lind works carefully to note that Schulz was a Christian throughout almost his entire adult life, he also notes that he was unusually reticent about his faith, rarely speaking even to his children about his beliefs. When a friend suggested to him that he had evolved into a “secular humanist,” Schulz wore the label in public from time to time, causing some observers to assume that Schulz was an atheist or an agnostic. Lind’s purpose in writing this book seems to have been to refute this claim. Although Sparky was a sect unto himself, that sect was a branch of the Christian church. Schulz’s reticence about his own faith and his clear personal preference for isolated insights over systematic thought makes a comprehensive account of his faith difficult to construct. Nevertheless, Lind succeeds in presenting a clear, enjoyable account of Sparky’s religious ideas in which a resistance to over-theologizing, an impatience with formalism, and an allergy to overbearing religious institutions stand as key themes. Lind also notes that Sparky’s methods of including religious themes in his strips and other media tended not to be prescriptive or “evangelical;” Schulz tended to frame biblical quotations and religious references in sparse narrative environments in which the reader must supply at least some of their own meaning. Without ever saying so, Lind seems to offer Schulz’s approach to the tricky question of religion’s place in media as a middle way between enforced secularism and blatant proselytization. As Lind admits, his volume is closely focused on Schulz’s religious life and thought, and pays only passing attention to other aspects of his life. This focus is altogether appropriate, although there are parts of the story that could have been better contextualized. For instance, early in the book Schulz goes with amazing speed from being an unknown cartoonist to being a widely-known celebrity; this change makes Schulz a wealthy man rather quickly. Sparky was committed to philanthropic giving, but Lind does little to explore any connection that may have existed between Schulz’s comfortable circumstances and his spiritual outlook. Lind’s background is in communications, and he seems most comfortable in the field of media studies, the source of most of his historical context and theory. Although Lind’s use of theory is light, it is suitable to the project, making meaningful interpretations of his subject possible. The University Press of Mississippi has published this book as a part of its commitment to publishing scholarly works on comics and comic artists, but students of this field should know that Lind makes little use of this literature. It is impossible to conclude without noting that Lind’s primary research for this book was impressive and exhaustive. In addition to many interviews with people that knew Schulz well, Lind read every Peanuts strip, of which more than seventeen thousand are extant, and coded each one for religious content. This research, in and of itself, must have been a Herculean task. University Press of Mississippi has priced this book at a relatively low

36.95 (hbk). ISBN 9780199371877.

25.00, expecting that it will be of interest to the general reader. They are right. A Charlie Brown Religion is appropriate for general readers with interest in the Peanuts franchise and its relationship to the Christian faith, pastors who may use Peanuts material in ministry from time to time, and scholars who have an interest in media and religion.

Book review: Mary Beth Swetnam Mathews, Doctrine and Race: African American Evangelicals and Fundamentalism between the WarsDoctrine and Race: African American Evangelicals and Fundamentalism between the Wars, by MathewsMary Beth Swetnam. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama Press, 2017. 204 pp.

which Cortez highlights the impact of the incarnation, resurrection, and eschatology on Gregory’s theological anthropology, and how these Christological realities can inform ours as well. Although Cortez’s historical case studies are well done, there are some minor weaknesses that may have resulted from his approach. For example, although the subject of sin is not absent (see the chapter on Julian of Norwich), the lack of a more systematic or dogmatic approach may have resulted in its relatively sparse mention. As well, Cortez does not fully explain why he chose these particular theologians and not other important and rather notable figures from the Christian tradition. For example, why not include Irenaeus or Augustine as representative of the church’s ancient tradition, or perhaps Dietrich Bonhoeffer as a viable more recent option? Still, it should be remembered that this is not intended as the final volume. For those desiring more than what Cortez offers in his method of historical retrieval, he gestures in this direction himself in the final summary chapter, where he attempts to draw some threads together and hints toward another full-length follow-up study focused on his own constructive (and perhaps systematic) Christological anthropology. Until then, Cortez has provided an important book that not only demonstrates good historical method and discipline but also illustrates the embedded and essential Christological thread present within theological anthropology throughout Christian history and tradition.

49.95 (hbk). ISBN 9780817319380.

that has an equally erudite grasp of the historical, economic, and political nuances regarding the notion of class. Readers may therefore find some of the language esoteric. To be clear, though, one will find that some of the language becomes clearer by reading. Defining terms is an important feature of the book. For those weary of the term “class” because of its frequent misuse in political economic debates and its connection to Karl Marx, this book proves to be a helpful lens to see Marxist and contemporary social theory more clearly. An explicit objective throughout the book is to rid the notion of class of the baggage it often carries. Moreover, this volume is more sophisticated than many theology texts in its engagement with social theory post-Marx. Progressive readers reliant on Marxist theory as a dialogue partner with theology will therefore gain access to a wider literature from which to draw for further study and discussion. Baptist readers may be encouraged by references to Walter Rauschenbusch and the Social Gospel movement, particularly in chapter 6. It is considered by many to be a case in point of theological engagements with class and systemic critiques. Perhaps the book’s basic task is to convince readers that it is worthwhile. One might argue that “fresh engagements” on theology and class are no longer necessary (hence the “long silence”). This reader is certain that the issues raised by each author are convincing insights into both the reality of a class system based on power relations and the need to curb its influence at a systemic level. One significant reason the book is successful in its efforts is the variety of voices it employs. The book’s use of such diverse authors, both in academic backgrounds and social locations, is particularly noteworthy. White men have historically dominated the fields of economics and theology (and most other disciplines), and although we are capable of considering issues surrounding power, Rieger notes that gender, racial, and ethnic minorities may be more attuned to the ways in which class and power relationships affect the world around us. Offering more than purely impractical ideology, each author conveys the urgency of continued conversation and action concerning the crisis of the distribution of power within the global economy. At the same time, however, readers searching for a simple Christian prescription for the countless economic issues in our world will want to turn elsewhere. This book, while often normative, is more diagnostic—more theological than ethical. It belongs in the hands of anyone looking for a refreshing conversation on theology and economics beyond the cache of pejorative twitter wars consuming contemporary public discourse.

Book review: D. G. Hart, Damning Words: The Life and Religious Times of H. L. MenckenDamning Words: The Life and Religious Times of H. L. Mencken, by HartD. G.. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2016. xiv + 259 pp. (hbk)

that any member of a diverse audience can accept and understand these claims. This requires the writer to adopt the conventions of the public sphere, which include a persona opposed to the mainstream of society, an appeal to universal sources of authority, and an ability to convey this authority in one’s writings. Joeckel demonstrates that Lewis satisfied these conditions in his works and thus came to prominence because of his success in assuming the role of public intellectual. In the second section of the book, Joeckel exhibits Lewis’s departure from the public sphere. Lewis moves beyond the public sphere by replacing objectivity with subjectivity in the forms of pre-theoretical perspectives that shape one’s beliefs and personal experiences that localize abstractions like grief. This does not signify Lewis forsaking the public sphere. Rather, it reveals Lewis recognizing the necessity of moving beyond the universality of the public sphere in matters outside the scope of rationality. Finally, Joeckel performs a meta-critical analysis of Lewis’s reception over the past seventy years. He shows that a major component of Lewis’s popularity has derived from the creation of solidarity goods: commonly held beliefs to which a community adheres and which, if threatened, evoke a visceral, aggressive response from the community. These solidarity goods led to the appropriation of Lewis’s works by fundamentalist and evangelical Christians in America and by conservative political groups. Joeckel also describes the rise of a “Lewis Industry” in which Lewis receives almost unanimous, though often uncritically conveyed, praise, while harsher critics receive condemnation and exclusion from the community. Ultimately, Joeckel reasons, readers either praise or reject Lewis’s writings because of his role as public intellectual. Samuel Joeckel successfully defends his argument that C. S. Lewis’s writings utilize the conventions of the public sphere in presenting Christian truth claims. The book maintains an objectivity that makes it suitable for anyone with an interest in Lewis and his works. Ironically, in a text that describes Lewis’s ability to translate opaque ideas so that they are clear to a broad audience, Joeckel’s writing is sometimes verbose, thus requiring readers to possess an expansive vocabulary. To those dedicated to the study of Lewis and his writings, however, this is a barrier worth surmounting, for The C. S. Lewis Phenomenon is sure to inspire a new appreciation for Lewis’s brilliance and appeal as a Christian public intellectual.

26.00. ISBN 978-0-8028-7344-6.

“dialectic of the kingdom.” This last phrase refers to his belief that Christian teaching on redemption and creation are mutually defining. Relaxing this dialectic leads either to a denial of the goodness of creation or the naive assumption that it is always obvious. Creation is a gift, Wilson argues, and our role is to receive it as such. In line with this he suggests creation’s destiny is not obliteration but to be made new. The book’s third and final part engages relevant tasks and practices. Here Wilson writes about worship and worldliness, desire and prayer, being persons, and construing the world. Wilson’s book is sorely needed: he is right to point out the deleterious effects of our ignoring this aspect of the faith. On that measure, Wilson succeeds simply because he has written on the subject with learned care and passion. The synthetic character of the book’s constructive theology is richly biblical. Another strength of the book is Wilson’s careful and consistent vocabulary. He unfailingly uses the term “creation” and warns against the imprecision of alternatives. Similarly, his revision of the notions of “natural selection” and the “selfish gene” give his work contextual purchase. This controlled language compliments the actual argument of God’s Good World and deepens the reading experience. Admirably, Wilson can do this without coming off as arcane. It should also be noted that Wilson is aware of relevant scholarship. The book’s notes connect readers to various nodes of the diverse and rhizomatic related literature. Students are prone to label assigned texts “long and repetitive.” They will do this with God’s Good World. Key phrases like “robust and mature doctrine of creation” are overworked. Chapter 6 re-tills similar ground to the previous two, and the biblical commentary in chapter 7 begins abruptly and proceeds ponderously. The book’s third section is underdeveloped. It moves too quickly, skipping from one topic to another without sustained engagement. The final chapter on worship is set up as the point where the book’s various strands could be knotted together. Yet, a mere eight pages later, the discussion ends. These frustrations notwithstanding, the book is a timely contribution. Wilson has provided a wonderful service to groups wanting to explore the doctrine of creation in Christian perspective. This is appropriate because Christianity itself has been blamed for environmental oversights that some have linked events like Alberta’s 2013 flooding. Wilson charts a course that avoids both the denial of creation’s goodness and the promethean assumption that humans can run things. The world is indeed good, and Wilson provides a grammar for affirming this with the nuance necessary to match contemporary challenges with ancient wisdom.

Book Review: Frank Lambert. Separation of Church and State: Founding Principle of Religious LibertySeparation of Church and State: Founding Principle of Religious Liberty, by LambertFrank. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2014. 227 pp.

investigate, providing angles into the history of a group or movement in addition to other targets of historical scholarship (See Peter N. Stearns and Carol Z. Stearns, “Emotionology: Clarifying the History of Emotions and Emotional Standards,” The American Historical Review 90.4 [October 1985]: 813–36). Corrigan’s previous contributions to the discipline include articles in Religion and Emotions: Approaches and Interpretations (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004) and Emotion and Religion: A Critical Assessment and Annotated Bibliography (Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing, 2000), as well as his study of emotion as part of revivalism in Business of the Heart: Religion and Emotion in the Nineteenth Century (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2002). Most recently, he convened a February 2015 conference, “How Do We Study Religion and Emotion?” at the National Humanities Center, which will be the basis of a forthcoming edited volume. In Emptiness, Corrigan examines American religion by looking at the feeling of emptiness described in a range of American Christianities from the colonial era to the present. His study explores five arenas for the feeling of emptiness: emotion, body, space, time, and believers. Each of these arenas provides a context where language and practices cultivate emptiness. Although many aspects of American culture are creating a self or self-identity, American religion contains as part of its expression the value of emptying the self. For Corrigan, this emptying is an expression of the classic via negativa of Christianity—the idea that discovering what something is not stands as a key method of gaining meaning and purpose. The chapter on emotion provides a fine introduction to the broader study of emotion and religion, with ample endnotes that yield a bibliographical update. Corrigan’s chapter on space integrates the history of emotions with explorations of architecture and sacred space. His contention that late-nineteenth-century church architecture often expressed what the architecture critic, Herbert Muschamp called “horror vacui—fear of emptiness,” provides the basis for examining what the baroque, image-filled designs of several urban churches, such as the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in New York, reveal about filling up both geographical and psychic space. Emptiness contributes to the growing study of the history of emotion. The book not only provides an important study of religion and emotion; it also provides a model for historical scholarship to use this approach to examine additional aspects of religion. The book requires a background in American religion that renders it too advanced for an undergraduate’s first study of the discipline. It is suitable for graduate students and specialists in the discipline.

29.00. ISBN 978-0-881-46477-1.

religious behavior and the notion of its biological evolution, parts two through five each address a basic issue on this approach to religious behavior. Inspired by the ethological work of Niko Tinbergen, these four parts address, first, the evolutionary history of a behavior; second, an inquiry into when and how the behavior develops in the life of an individual; third, an attempt to describe the immediate causes of a religious behavior; and, finally, an articulation of the behavior ’s adaptive value for survival. While arguing that religion and religious behavior are the product of evolution, the authors are nonetheless mindful that both are affected by the sociocultural environment in which they have appeared during the long course of evolution. Thus both religion as such and the behaviors associated with it are also the product of social evolution, or, if you like, exemplary of social Darwinism in which the religion and religious behaviors that endure are those that are selected because they improve the prospects of survivability. If one reads this book looking for evidence that religious behavior is the product of biological evolution, there will be disappointment. These essays are exercises in the application of several theoretical approaches to biological evolution as the determinant of behavior, and thus they are interpretive attempts to explain the possible origins of various religious behaviors. Likewise, if one is looking for indications that the biological evolution of religious behavior is but one among other more or less plausible explanations for behavior, one will also be disappointed with this collection of essays. In short, the authors presuppose biological evolution by natural selection as the explanation and bring this perspective to bear on the analysis of behaviors regarded as “religious” by some measure of presence in particular, though not all, religions. While they tend to hint at it, they do not succeed in suggesting that evolutionary biology is the only explanation for religious behavior, though considerable weight is laid on this side of the scale.