Believers may recognize their own Odd or Even behaviors in this succinct portrayal of living a life of faith in the modern...
In his short guidebook Ololo (The Shepard Leader, 2013), a “Bible-reading, Bible-believing, and Bible-living son of God,” offers a concise collection of spiritual wisdom for fellow believers.
Believers, according to Ololo, can be separated into two categories: the Odd and the Even. The Odd are those sincerely motivated and guided by faith in every aspect of their lives. In opposition, the Even may call themselves believers, but their motivations lay in the secular world and sincere faith isn’t evident in their actions. Each chapter focuses on a specific area where the Odd are expected to let their faith shine. Beginning with the first chapter, “Service,” the Odd recognize that serving others is a fundamental charge given by God; as Jesus served, so must believers serve with a willing and humble heart, says Ololo. To serve with the expectation of reward or to be motivated to serve by the desire for gratification is to stand with the Even. Subsequent chapters on talent, niceness, godliness and other core traits are presented in a similar manner. Ololo describes the Odd’s way of infusing life with faith and how to distinguish these actions from those of the Even. The comparisons he draws between the sincere and insincere aren’t without merit, and scriptural references help support Ololo’s version of faithful living. Acknowledging the difficulty in resisting temptation, Ololo makes the effort to avoid sounding judgmental; however, the effort isn’t always successful. As such, some readers may be reminded of the parable of the Pharisee and the publican in Luke’s Gospel, (Luke 18:10–15) in which the Pharisee counts his deeds as evidence of his superior faith. As Jesus points out, “[A]ll who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Believers may recognize their own Odd or Even behaviors in this succinct portrayal of living a life of faith in the modern world.Pub Date: May 15, 2013
ISBN: 978-1770679726
Page Count: 144
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
For such an argument, see John van der Zee’s Agony in the Garden (Feb. 2003).
A flabby account of a dispiriting matter—namely, sexual abuse at the hands of priests.
In the 1980s and before, writes journalist France (Bag of Toys: Sex, Scandal, and the Death Mask Murder, 1992), without offering much in the way of evidence, little attention was given to instances of such abuse “thanks to cozy relationships among the Church, courts, and media.” That that priestly crime now commands the front pages of so many newspapers owes much to laypeople who, disgusted at what they perceived to be inaction and even cover-up on the part of the Catholic hierarchy, took matters into their own hands in communities across the country. American Catholics have effected such rebellions in the past, France suggests, offering as a useful example their overwhelming rejection of Pope Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical on birth control, “the most disastrous for the Church in modern times,” which even the national conference of bishops opposed. That encyclical, France argues, was symptomatic of the Church’s unrealistic attitude on matters of sex, particularly in light of the sexual revolution sweeping the outside world at the time. The “generation of clerics who entered seminary in the buttoned-up 1950s and reemerged in the 1960s” behaved badly, so much so that a psychological report to the 1971 synod of bishops estimated that only “10–15 percent of all priests in Western Europe and North America are mature.” The bulk of France’s account is given over to campaigns on the part of the laity to remove “immature” priests from office, very often against the wishes of the Church itself, which has instead sought to protect the good name of bad people. His narrative, however, is excessively anecdotal and too often unfocused; a tighter, more economical argument would have been more useful, especially on so controversial a subject.
For such an argument, see John van der Zee’s Agony in the Garden (Feb. 2003).Pub Date: Jan. 20, 2004
ISBN: 0-7679-1430-9
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Broadway
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2003
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Longwinded though affecting tribute to resilience and solidarity.
Even a Category 5 hurricane can’t stop a revered coach and his championship high-school football team.
Popular historian Thompson (Driving with the Devil, 2006, etc.) begins in the locker room of New Orleans’ John Curtis Christian School on August 26, 2005. It was the night of the “jamboree” scrimmage that opened the season, and members of the Patriots were hoping to win another state championship for their school. Nationally recognized coach J.T. Curtis, also the school’s headmaster and son of its founder, knew that his hardworking, enthusiastic squad couldn’t compare to last year’s lineup. Many key players had graduated to college ball, and he needed to mentally and physically condition a young, unproven team with efficient, college-level practices consisting of “equal parts Broadway musical and football drills.” The 2005-6 Patriots included an anxious new starting quarterback, a Harvard hopeful, a spiritual heavyweight and a star linebacker whose religion forbade him to play on Friday nights. John Curtis School favored community building and happiness over flashy exteriors, and Coach Curtis reflected those values in his broadminded teaching style and paternal approach to his players’ personal lives. Hurricane Katrina confronted him and his team with the ultimate challenge. Returning to the drowned city, J.T. found the school in miraculously good shape and set out to reunite his squad and get them on the field again. Some players were tempted to join teams in other school districts, and Hurricane Rita tested them once again, but the devoted coach kept on plugging. Thompson deftly profiles a generous selection of players and families torn apart by the disaster and considers the contagious obsession for football shared by participants and fans alike. In a somewhat meandering fashion, he delivers a fully realized interpretative portrait of a coach and a sports organization willing to sacrifice all in the name of football.
Longwinded though affecting tribute to resilience and solidarity.Pub Date: July 31, 2007
ISBN: 978-1-4165-4070-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Free Press
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2007
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