Book Review: God and the Art of Happiness

In her previous book By the Review of Your Minds (1997), Ellen Charry constructively proposes that theology has a pastoral function and should serve human flourishing. In the process of making her case, she demonstrates that “classical doctrinal theology” was motivated by this purpose. Now, in her latest book, God and the Art of Happiness, she picks up on her previous argument and more narrowly pursues it with the notion of happiness. Her attention turns to this topic “when [her] beloved husband and companion of forty years died an untimely and pointless death" (p. ix). She laments that much theological reflection on grief and suffering focuses on the traumatic experience and questions surrounding God’s presence in the midst of pain. Charry takes a different tack. She connects the pursuit of happiness to the reality of pain. And, she does so by theologically constructing a holistic approach to happiness. Charry suggests that within Christian theology “happiness has been primarily construed in terms of eschatology.” So, from this perspective, “attending to temporal happiness,” she argues, “is at least beside the point.” 

Renting Lacey: A Book Review

Almost two years ago, I was asked to serve on an advisory board for the rescue and recovery efforts of American children and teens enslaved in sex trafficking. In my examination of the available literature on this topic, I came across a small book by Linda Smith, a former U.S Representative from Washington State and more recently the founder of Shared Hope International and War Against Trafficking Alliance (WATA). This brief, but powerful text was not written for the scholar but for compassionate individuals from all walks of life.

The title of the book, Renting Lacy, was derived from a conversation Smith had with her husband who stated, “…these girls’ young bodies are being rented out by the hour” (p. v). Typically, these child victims are required to service between ten to twenty men per night. Until quotas are met, basic needs such as food and shelter are often withheld. In addition, violence fills their lives and escaping is not an option.

Existing in a distracted reality

As a clinical neuropsychologist, I see patients presenting with a variety of cognitive complaints.  With increasing frequency, adults arrive in my clinic asking to be evaluated for adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.  Adult ADHD is a slippery diagnosis, to be sure, yet the nature of these patients seems to have morphed in the past few years.  What once were patients with a clear developmental history of behavioral and learning problems and persistent difficulties with focus, executive functioning, and mood regulation now are more commonly mothers and fathers in their early 30s who maintain steady employment, but worry about their jobs, yet have no convincing developmental history.  They describe distractibility, forgetfulness, and mental cloudiness.  At home, they feel frazzled, flitting from one task to another, feeling unaccomplished in all of them.  Like many of us, their homes are filled with electronic distractions—Facebook, YouTube, e-mail, text messaging, Internet chat, and television to name a few.  

Book Review: Soulful Spirituality

Soulful Spirituality (2011)  is a significant book. In part it is significant because it offers practical help for those seeking to be more “fully alive and deeply human.” But it is more significant in that it demonstrates the difference between “soulful” spirituality and “Christian” spirituality. The “scandal of the particularity of Christ” seems to be missing from Benner’s latest work.

As a Christian spiritual director, coach, and retreat leader, the ultimate difference between “soulful” and “Christian” spirituality is more than significant (“I would not still be a Christian if I did not think that Christian spirituality had truly significant contributions to make to the human developmental journey” [p 14]). If we take Jesus and Paul seriously, the difference between soulful and Christian spirituality can only be described as ultimate. It is the difference between alienation from God and fellowship with God, between more egoic False Self living (as functional and “healthy” as it may be) and True Self living (since our True Self is found only in Christ), between death and life.

The Case of Dorothy Carey

The name of William Carey (1761–1834) is legendary in evangelical Christian circles. Frequently denoted as “the father of modern missions,” the genuinely humble Englishman would be deeply embarrassed by all of the attention he has received since his death in India, where he labored for over forty years. His opinion of his ministry is well summed up in a statement he once made to his nephew, Eustace Carey, to the effect that he was “a plodder.” In his opinion, the combination of divine grace, grit and gumption was the simplest explanation for his achievements. However these achievements are best to be viewed, what cannot be gainsaid is that most of those in the circles around him have all but disappeared in the light that has been shone upon Carey. This is not helpful since few, if any, truly great human beings accomplish what they do without the help of others.