Robert D. Cornwall reviews "Unruly Saint: Dorothy Day's Radical Vision and its Challenge for Our Times" by D.L. Mayfield. This book recognizes a degree of saintliness about Day's life but fears she might get domesticated by a church that might use her memory in ways
Robert D. Cornwall reviews "The Book of Revolutions: The Battles of Priests, Prophets, and Kings That Birthed the Torah" by Edward Feld. This book provides us with an intriguing picture of early Judaism by focusing not on historical narrative but on the development of the
Robert D. Cornwall reviews "Choosing Hope: The Heritage of Judaism" by David Arnow. This book asserts that hope stands at the center of Jewish theology. That’s understandable since Judaism, historically, has had to navigate tremendous challenges when it comes to its survival. Unfortunately, one of
Here at A Public Witness, it’s an annual tradition to share the best books we’ve read during the last calendar year. The table of contents is as follows: 1. Five books featured on our podcast Dangerous Dogma, 2. Five books recommended by Brian (that haven’t
Robert D. Cornwall reviews "You Never Step into the Same Pulpit Twice: Preaching from a Perspective of Process Theology" by Ronald J. Allen. This book seeks to offer guidance to preachers who approach questions from a particular vantage point: Process Theology. Over the past century,
Robert D. Cornwall reviews "Buried Seeds: Learning from the Vibrant Resilience of Marginalized Christian Communities" by Alexia Salvatierra and Brandon Wrencher. This book explores the fact that many marginalized Christian communities live without the traditional trappings of institutional religion. Nevertheless, they often thrive – so,
Our democracy is in trouble and we need to elect pro-democracy candidates. But what if that isn’t sufficient? That’s why Christopher Beem wrote "The Seven Democratic Virtues: What You Can do to Overcome Tribalism and Save Our Democracy." A political scientist with a background in
Robert D. Cornwall reviews "Church on the Move: A Practical Guide for Ministry in the Community" by G. Travis Norvell. Churches can easily become insulated from the surrounding world. They create silos by turning turn inward, seeking to protect whatever space they have accumulated over
Robert D. Cornwall reviews "How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now" by James K. A. Smith. This book explores how we experience time and with past and future framing our life experience, the question we face concerns how we
Robert D. Cornwall reviews "The Messiah Confrontation: Pharisees Versus Sadducees and the Death of Jesus" by Israel Knohl translated by David Maisel. This book makes the case that the trial of Jesus should not be a point of contention between Jews and Christians because his