A historically literate and insightful call to restore Communion to a central place in Christianity.
An examination of Christian outreach efforts focuses on the sacrament of Communion.
In the opening pages of his nonfiction debut, Fox describes the gradual sidelining of Communion as the center of the Christian experience—to the point where it now occupies what he refers to as the “peripheral edge” of many mainstream denominations. The author takes readers on a comprehensive and very lively tour of Communion as it’s found in the writings of the church fathers. Fox explores the practice in the formative centuries of Christian life, ranging from Irenaeus in 180 C.E. urging that Communion be offered around the world to its more formalized presentation in liturgical groups like the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. His account quickly makes its way to the present day, when, for example, the experience of Communion in the Pentecostal denomination is one of “empowering actions and promissory words…accompanied with an expectation and openness towards the Holy Spirit.” This vivid historical account serves to ground readers in the broader subject, but it also works as a springboard for the author’s more pointed look at how Communion can feature in Christianity’s efforts to connect with younger generations today. The book’s later sections record testimony from young people who have experienced Communion when it’s restored to the prominence Fox feels it deserves. While much of this testimony is moving, some of it will sound a chilling note to most readers in a 2020 dominated by Covid-19. “It’s something that a lot, a large group of us are doing together,” says one of these young people. “All of us are believing in the same faith, and we’re taking the same communion out of the same dishes and receiving Jesus Christ together.” Even as churches around the globe adapt to their new realities, the author’s celebration of Communion reaffirms the value of somehow preserving this oldest of Christian practices.
A historically literate and insightful call to restore Communion to a central place in Christianity.Pub Date: March 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-73407-330-0
Page Count: 386
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A pleasure for fans of old-school historical narratives.
Avuncular observations on matters historical from the late popularizer of the past.
McCullough made a fine career of storytelling his way through past events and the great men (and occasional woman) of long-ago American history. In that regard, to say nothing of his eschewing modern technology in favor of the typewriter (“I love the way the bell rings every time I swing the carriage lever”), he might be thought of as belonging to a past age himself. In this set of occasional pieces, including various speeches and genial essays on what to read and how to write, he strikes a strong tone as an old-fashioned moralist: “Indifference to history isn’t just ignorant, it’s rude,” he thunders. “It’s a form of ingratitude.” There are some charming reminiscences in here. One concerns cajoling his way into a meeting with Arthur Schlesinger in order to pitch a speech to presidential candidate John F. Kennedy: Where Richard Nixon “has no character and no convictions,” he opined, Kennedy “is appealing to our best instincts.” McCullough allows that it wasn’t the strongest of ideas, but Schlesinger told him to write up a speech anyway, and when it got to Kennedy, “he gave a speech in which there was one paragraph that had once sentence written by me.” Some of McCullough’s appreciations here are of writers who are not much read these days, such as Herman Wouk and Paul Horgan; a long piece concerns a president who’s been largely lost in the shuffle too, Harry Truman, whose decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan McCullough defends. At his best here, McCullough uses history as a way to orient thinking about the present, and with luck to good ends: “I am a short-range pessimist and a long-range optimist. I sincerely believe that we may be on the way to a very different and far better time.”
A pleasure for fans of old-school historical narratives.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781668098998
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
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