Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places

Eugene Peterson is most famous for his Message translation, but it would be truly sad if that was the only ‘book’ of his you ever read. Peterson's remarkable insights into life and Scripture, and his combination of poetry, prose, passion and personal honesty shines through every single one of the numerous books he has authored, from his very first way back in 1980 (A Long History of Obedience). Furthermore, Peterson’s books are set to the background of an extensive pastoral and academic experience. Now that he is finally retired from the pastorate and from academic life, Peterson is able to focus on his ‘Opus’ - a collection of five books that deal with different aspects of spiritual theology. The first of these five is the book under review today, ‘Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology.’

In this particular book we see the very best of Eugene Peterson as he incisively analyses culture - both within and without the church - and relates this as only he can to the larger Biblical story. Peterson protests with his unique eloquence the fact that theology is so often little more than "depersonalized information about God, " while Christian spirituality is "impersonally functional," served up with cliches, slogans, and programs. Peterson believes that spiritual theology should offer far more than these pious cliches as it "represents the attention that the church community gives to keeping what we think about God (theology) in organic connection with the way we live with God (spirituality)."

Peterson shapes his thinking in this book along Trinitarian lines, as in between an introductory chapter and a concluding epilogue, he uses just three long chapters in which he explores the role of Christ in creation, history, and community. Peterson uses his considerable gifts as a scholar to draw our attention to the sensual, concrete realities behind biblical texts from Genesis to Revelation. Peterson uses these nuanced and clever readings to frame the three areas where he sees Christ at 'play': the beauty of creation, the tragedy of history and the beloved, bewildering community of the church. "The single most important thing to understand in spiritual theology is that it is not about theology... it is a cultivated disposition to live theology," Peterson convincingly argues.

Don’t make the mistake of being intimidated by this book because it seems complex. Yes, you will have to concentrate more than in your average novel, but at the same time Peterson’s soulful yet earthy narrative style will keep your attention, in fact, he might just make your soul sing. You are sure to benefit greatly from the rich, generous and wise “conversation” Peterson offers in this book. Highly recommended.

A Short History of Christianity

Over the 2,000 years since his death, Jesus’ followers have carved a significant space for themselves into human history, but many of us are quite unaware of the real details of this story beyond a rather vague awareness of events like the Crusades, or the Spanish Inquisition. And quite often our knowledge is actually misinformation, formed as it is from references in movies, books or conversations, and not any detailed study of our own.

The journalist and scholar Stephen Tomkins is determined to change this with his ‘A Short History of Christianity.’ This book takes readers on a whirlwind tour of the history of Jesus’ followers. Tomkins follows the key stages of Christian history as it developed, describing the events, people, movements and controversies behind it all. For those who find history boring, know that Tomkins writes with wit and humour, and his style will certain help you engage with the topic, while at the same time educating you with many fascinating facts and details.

We are told that we should learn from our history so as not to repeat mistakes, which is why every Jesus follower should seek to learn as much as possible from those who have gone before. We should embrace and learn from their victories and good moments, as well as seeking to avoid the pitfalls of their mistakes. And mistakes there are aplenty - as Tomkins makes clear in his introduction, he is not going to sugarcoat the past for our benefit, so many of the stories he tells you about Jesus’ followers will sadden and even disgust you. If you don’t know much about the darker side of the history of Christians, then prepare to be shocked! Yet, whatever you do, don’t hide your head in the sand - rather chose to learn from these mistakes, and be grateful to the God of Grace who chooses to continue to work through us no matter what.

Tomkins arranges his material chronologically in roughly 100-year increments, and succeeds in giving his readers an excellent overall survey. However, it is inevitable that such a fast-paced breathless excursion through history’s corridors leaves some events feeling a little a sketchy, while others are completely ignored. Tomkins cannot detail every major character or issue, and other historians would probably argue with some of those he does choose to highlight. Nevertheless, the point of this book is not to provide an exhaustive history, but rather a broad overview for those who have hardly encountered any Christian history at all, and in this respect Tomkins does a fine job.

This penetrating, energetic ‘Short History of Christianity’ will delight and entertain you, while also broadening your understanding and perspective. Highly recommended.

Tutu: The Authorised Portrait

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has been in the news a lot lately after the celebrations for his 80th birthday were marred by the ANC government’s refusal to grant his good friend the Dalai Lama an entry visa into South Africa to join in the festivities. ‘The Arch’ also trended on social networks for his angry rebuttal of the government for their handling of this affair. As sad as the entire situation was, it was somehow appropriate that on Tutu’s 80th birthday he was denouncing an unjust decision by the powers that be, because that is exactly what he has spent most of his life doing.

As ‘Tutu: The Authorised Portrait’ makes powerfully clear, Desmond Tutu dedicated his entire life to fighting all forms of oppression and advocating social justice and peaceful reconciliation. This beautiful looking book has already been labelled as a ‘coffee table special’, but frankly, this would be a terrible waste. This is a book that deserves to be read and even re-read because it is a treasure trove of stories, interviews, pictures and interviews that grant fascinating insight into the life, spirituality and courage of a quite remarkable man. The title claims the book is a ‘portrait’ of the Archbishop and this claim is totally justified. It includes a biography by the legendary freedom-fighting journalist Allister Sparks, but then adds in over forty interviews conducted by Tutu’s daughter Reverend Mpho Tutu with close family, friends, colleagues, comrades and critics. With a tremendous collection of pictures thrown in and previously unpublished artefacts from Tutu’s private files, it really does feel as if a clear and striking portrait of the man has been painted.

Perhaps the best part of the book is that it does equal justice to Tutu’s role as a ‘man of God’ and his involvement in politics. During the apartheid years, many Christians claimed that politics and theology should never mix, but Tutu fought this perception with every fibre of his being. Tutu’s faith was the reason he fought so hard for a non-racial society, and it is the reason he has continued to challenge the present democratically elected government whenever he has felt they have stepped out of line. As Nelson Mandela himself describes: “Sometimes strident, often tender, never afraid, and seldom without humor, Desmond Tutu’s voice will always be the voice of the voiceless.”

This book comes highly recommended! It is only available in hard cover at the moment, and is a little pricey but well worth buying.

Praying With Jesus: A Year of Daily Prayers and Reflections

Eugene Peterson is one of the most prolific and best-loved Christian authors writing today. He is perhaps best known for ‘The Message,’ but has authored numerous other books mainly in the area of Christian spirituality. Peterson is renowned as a scholar and language expert, but also writes extraordinarily well. I remember hearing him say in an interview that he often spends days reworking just one paragraph to get it exactly right. Through the strength and beauty of his words, Peterson is able to open doors for his readers into deeper understandings of God, discipleship and Scripture.

This book is not one of his better known ones, but really should be. It is classic Peterson – beautifully written and deeply profound and because of its nature and style would make a perfect Christmas gift – hence the reason for including the review now. As the title implies, it is a year’s worth of daily readings – both prayers and reflections – on the words of Jesus.

Peterson works his way through the Gospels of Matthew and John, and encourages his readers to remove themselves from the hurly-burly hectic pace of daily life and to read, listen and pray “with the natural, comforting rhythms of Jesus’ own teachings.”

Peterson reminds us that when we read Jesus’ words we are not looking for information as much as companionship and our aim should be to become shaped and molded by what we encounter. Peterson encourages us read with Jesus in a way that “shapes the heart at the same time it informs the intellect, sucking out the marrow-nourishment from the bone-words.”

Thus, the aim of these devotional readings and prayers is to help slow us down – to discipline ourselves to quietly sit at the feet of Jesus and just soak in His Spirit and Nature. And as we learn to pray regularly and frequently as Jesus himself did, it is through this attentive apprenticeship (or discipleship) that we can discover new depths of relationship with God and others. As Peterson himself says, we can discover "a world in which repetitions deepen into intimacies and a long silence is as eloquent as a sonnet."

I have read my way through this little book twice (separated by a year) to aid in my personal devotions, and really cannot recommend it highly enough. It is jam-packed with wisdom to the point that I actually got more out of it the second time round than the first. It would make a fantastic Christmas gift, but be sure to buy yourself a copy at the same time since you will gain personally so much from it (and no, I am not paid to say that!).