2010 Book of the Year -- Top 10 List

There have been many wonderful books published in 2010, not all of which I've had the opportunity to read and consider. Some good books are still sitting on my pile, and some are still being read, and still others I'll never get around to reading.  Among those books that I have had the opportunity to read, deciding which ten books made my own top ten wasn’t easy. I left several books off this list that I found tremendously important – books by Brueggemann, Dunn, Crossan, and Moltmann. But, a choice had to be made, and so I made it.  A caveat here -- every list such as this is a matter of the reader's judgment and sense of importance, as can be seen in the great variety of choices made by "listers."  But this is my list!    

Book of the Year:


Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell, American Grace: How Religion Unites and Divides Us. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2010. 

First among the books that I read this year, the book that stands out above the others, is American Grace. I knew from almost the start that this would be my book of the year, because I believe that it holds important lessons for the future well-being of the nation and its religious communities. It is a word of hope that carries with it warnings. Despite the seeming dividing lines – red state and blue state – we’re a pretty open country. In large part this is due to a changing of generations and the development of social networks that bring people of different theological/religious backgrounds into contact with each other. Putnam and Campbell, both sociologists review the data – some of which they collected and some collected by others – interpret it and weave it into a story that takes us to various places in the nation. This isn’t a short book, but it is a must read book.

I've yet to write a full review, but I have been writing comments as I've gone through the book, and will continue to do so in the days to come.  Some of those postings can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.      

Remainder of Top Ten List, in alphabetical Order:

Philip Clayton with Tripp Fuller, Transforming Christian Theology for Church and Society, Fortress Press, 2010.   I didn't write a regular review, but instead put up a series of chapter by chapter postings, so I'm just giving one link, to begin the journey.  

John Gallagher.Reimagining Detroit: Opportunities for Redefining an American City. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2010. Review essay forthcoming from Congregations.

Stanley Hauerwas. Hannah’s Child: A Theologian’s Memoir. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2010.    Reviewed here.

Martin E. Marty. Building Cultures of Trust. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2010.   Reviewed here.

Diarmaid McCullouch. Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years. New York: Viking, 2010. Review forthcoming, but this massive study of the history of Christianity is both readable and comprehensive. 

Carol Howard Merritt. Reframing Hope: Vital Ministry in a New Generation. Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2010. Reviewed here.

Thomas Jay Oord. Defining Love: A Philosophical, Scientific, and Theological Engagement. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2010; and The Nature of Love: A Theology. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2010. I’m honoring these two books as a piece, because they’re so closely related. I will be reviewing them together once I’m finished reading The Nature of Love.

William Placher. Mark: Belief -- A Theological Commentary. Louisville: WJK Press, 2010.  Review is forthcoming at another site.

Ferdinand Schlingensiepen. Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906-1945: Martyr, Thinker, Man of Resistance. New York: T & T. Clark, 2010. Reviewed here.

The Closing of the Year 2010

At the stroke of midnight tonight a year will end, and a new year will begin.  We will, I'm sure, during the course of the day contemplate the things that have happened over the year -- the vacations we took, the roofs we put on our houses, the elections we participated in, the movies we viewed and the books we read and perhaps wrote.  We will ruefully think of missed opportunities and rejoice in the great things that got accomplished.  We'll remember the big November election that shook up the political establishment and remember that it was a year in which we lost Mr. Cunningham (Tom Bosley) and Mrs. Cleaver (Barbara Billingsley).  Oh, I can't forget the biggest event of my year, something I've waited all my life to see -- the San Francisco Giants won their first World Series in San Francisco and first in franchise history since 1954. 

Looking backward, each of us will have something different to share, even as we look forward to the next year, wondering what to make of it.  What opportunities will present themselves this coming year, a year in which we observe the anniversaries of the commencement of the Civil War, the publishing of the King James Version of the Bible, and 9-11. 

As we think about all of this and share our memories, which I invite you the reader to do, maybe it's appropriate to keep in mind the words of the Teacher from Ecclesiastes 1 -- just to keep things in perspective:

The words of the Teacher,* the son of David, king in Jerusalem.

2 Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher,*

vanity of vanities! All is vanity.

3 What do people gain from all the toil

at which they toil under the sun?

4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,

but the earth remains for ever.

5 The sun rises and the sun goes down,

and hurries to the place where it rises.

6 The wind blows to the south,

and goes round to the north;

round and round goes the wind,

and on its circuits the wind returns.

7 All streams run to the sea,

but the sea is not full;

to the place where the streams flow,

there they continue to flow.

8 All things* are wearisome;

more than one can express;

the eye is not satisfied with seeing,

or the ear filled with hearing.

9 What has been is what will be,

and what has been done is what will be done;

there is nothing new under the sun.

10 Is there a thing of which it is said,

‘See, this is new’?

It has already been,

in the ages before us.

11 The people of long ago are not remembered,

nor will there be any remembrance

of people yet to come

by those who come after them.   (Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 NRSV)

Public Religion Trends in 2010 -- Sightings

As we enter the final week of 2010, Martin Marty comments on the top 20 public religion trends as laid out by the Religion Newswriters Association.  Islam makes itself felt, as does homosexuality.  Anyway, I'll just let you read and comment.

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Sightings 12/27/2010

Public Religion Trends in 2010

--Martin Marty

The end-of-year summaries of “public religion” draw frequently on the most extensive press survey each December, from the Religion Newswriters Association, made up of reporters and columnists in the secular media. (A ringer in the Association, I was one of some 300 respondents to a poll by Debra Mason, RNA Executive Director.) It is hard to find trends this time. Muslims and Islam do show up in four of the twenty trends on which Mason reports. First, to no one’s surprise, was the ruckus stirred up by the announcement of plans for an Islamic community center not far from Ground Zero. Feisal Abdul Rauf, who seemed to fit the bill of the often-sought “Muslim Moderate,” ironically, was attacked immoderately for his effort. The event suggested how motivated by fear, defensiveness, and exploitation of sentiment many in the United States are.

Way down the list were the other Muslim/Islam sightings: #14, the Oklahoma Constitutional Amendment, again ironic, in that it ruled out the possibility of making judicial decisions based on the Qur’an in a state with very few Muslims. William Franklin Graham made news by being disinvited from a Pentagon National Day of Prayer observance, given his anti-Muslim rhetoric and record. The President visited Indonesia, and so made the list with some references to Islam. The only other non-Christian faith, way down the list, was Hinduism, at #20, because of flaps over yoga practices and the novel Eat, Pray, Love.

The Pope was often in the headlines, but only twice did events involving him make the top twenty. One dealt with his dealings in the priestly sexual-abuse scandals, while his notable visit to the United Kingdom with his critiques of European secularism was down at #16. The Catholic bishops were part of #5, the signing of the health-care reform bill, which the American bishops had criticized because they feared it would involve tax-funds in funding abortions.

Mainline Protestantism was mentioned (#6) for its non-presence in the current US Supreme Court and for Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Episcopal denominational infighting, chiefly over homosexuality issues, which made a presence also in #8, on religion and the bullying of homosexuals.

Religion in action showed up properly in #2, on churchly response to the catastrophes in Haiti, the murders of faith-based aid workers in Pakistan and Afghanistan, while Christians continue to flee Iraq (#11). “Faith-based environment groups” also made their mark after the BP oil spill (#12). The political Right was evidently less prominent or less religious, since it showed up mainly with Glenn Beck’s presence in Tea Party stories (#4). Southern Baptist leader Richard Land pushed faith-based groups to put more energy into immigration issues.

Cross-denominational stories also included #7, on the severe effects of the economic crisis on publishing, pension plans, and the Crystal Cathedral’s economic bankruptcy. Supreme Court decisions were not as prominent and revelatory of trends as in many years. More dramatic decisions are ahead. Non-denominational news told (#9) of the Pew Forum on U.S. Religious Knowledge which showed that agnostics, Jews, and Mormons knew most about the faiths. The RNA folks, often the only religious educators of the public, have their work cut out for them, again, ironically, at a time when print media, their natural abode, are also threatened in the digital age.

Martin E. Marty's biography, current projects, publications, and contact information can be found at www.illuminos.com.

 

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Sightings comes from the Martin Marty Center at the University of Chicago Divinity School.