ERB, Vol 1 , #13

The Englewood Review of Books

Vol. 1, No. 13  –  28 March 2008

Diving for pearls in the endless stream of books (Eccles. 12:12B)

Chris Smith, editor

 

 

 

“Food: Essential to Our Salvation?”

 

Reflections on   

Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

By Michael Bowling.

 

It is no secret that we feel strongly about food at Englewood Christian Church, but most would say that title of this article is simply too much.  There is One who is essential to salvation … Jesus.  However, I would submit that we should expand our idea of salvation based upon the testimony of Scripture.  Apart from the “trickery” of theological imagination which would reference Jesus’ own identification of himself as “the bread of life” or “living water”, and the Eucharistic words of Jesus that scandalously suggested, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves” (Jn. 6:53), there is no good reason to suggest that real food is an essential part of real salvation.  Jesus assumes food is essential to life with comments like, “man does not live by bread alone”, and his instruction to his disciples to pray, “give us this day our daily bread”.  These observations seem silly in a church which historically has narrowed salvation to going to heaven when you die.  Yet the fullness of God’s salvation includes the provision of life-giving food (Mt. 6:25, 26).  Also, the multiple accounts in the gospels of Jesus miraculously and superabundantly feeding thousands stands as a significant sign of God’s Kingdom reign, God’s salvation, being present in Jesus.

 

            We readily accept the feeding of the hungry as part of God’s mission for the church, but how should we think about the ways in which we are anxious about feeding ourselves?  No, I am not just talking about dieting; I am talking about our diets – what we eat to sustain life.  The topic of diet cannot be separated from issues related to nutrition, cooking, agriculture, land management, government regulations, business and a host of other cultural topics.

 

            I would love to see Englewood prepare for an internal conversation about food with the hope of a broader conversation with other churches later.  And how wonderful would it be to engage our neighbors in the same dialogue?  Already, some of our Englewood folks are talking with our neighbors about a food co-op.  Additionally, we will be hosting a two-day conference in November dedicated to the topic of agriculture, both as it relates to farms in rural places and as it is practiced in urban environs like ours.

 

            To this end, let me suggest some preparatory reading.  A couple of months ago as I waited for my dad in the grocery store, I came across a captivating book entitled, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, by Michael Pollan.  I chose not to buy it since I knew of no one who had read it.  And then two weeks ago in a conversation with Paul Button from the New Meadow Run community, he asked me if I had read this book…he recommended it highly.  I bought it the next day and I am so glad I did.

 

            Pollan’s book is full of information about food and nutrition, food production, food history and our contemporary anxiety about eating and choosing from an almost limitless number of food options (which is, in a nutshell, the dilemma that gives the book its name).  Pollan traces the three main sources of human food – the industrial, the organic and hunting/gathering – back to their roots and in so-doing asks hard questions about the morality of our eating habits and the ethics of our food production.  There is little which would be called “religious” in the book, but it is enormously “spiritual” (if you think the care of all God’s creation is “spiritual”).

 

 

Michael Bowling is pastor of Englewood Christian Church.

 

The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals .

           Michael Pollan.  Paperback.  Penguin.  2007. 

              Buy now from:  [ Doulos Christou Books $13 ]      [ Amazon.com ]

 

 

[ A note on buying books: We offer you the opportunity to buy the books listed here, either directly from our little independent bookstore (Doulos Christou Books), or through amazon.com.  The prices listed for our bookstore do not include shipping or Indiana sales tax.  Local folks can arrange to pick up their books from either our Lockerbie or Englewood stores.  If you want to buy a book and are having trouble with the links in this email, drop us an email – douloschristou@gmail.com – and we’ll see that you get the book(s) you want. ]

 

 

 

Used Book Finds

 

The bread-n-butter of our bookstore business is the sale of used books, and we do a fair amount of scouting around for used books each week.  In this section we will feature some of the interesting books that we have found in the past week.  Generally, we will only have a single copy of these books, so if you want one (or more) of them, you’ll need to respond quickly.

 

 

Habits of the Heart:

Individualism and Commitment in American Life.

              Robert Bellah, et al., eds.

Hardcover.  1985.

            Very Good Condition.  Clean Pages. Minimal wear.

            Buy now from:  [ Doulos Christou Books $8 ]

 

 

Bringing Forth in Hope: Being Creative in a Nuclear Age.

Denise Priestly.  Paperback.   Paulist Press.  1983.  Very Good.

              Clean pages / Minimal wear.

            Buy now from:  [ Doulos Christou Books $5 ]

 

 

Liberation and Change (Two volumes in one):

“Freedom and Salvation: A Political Problem” Gustavo Gutierrez

 “The Death & Resurrection of the American Dream”

Richard Shaull.

              Trade Paperback.  1977. Very Good. Clean pages / Minimal wear.

            Buy now from:  [ Doulos Christou Books $7 ]

 

 

Reviewed Elsewhere

 

Daniel Siedell reflects on James Elkins’s

      book  On the Strange place of Religion in Contemporary Art.

 

http://churchandpomo.typepad.com/conversation/2008/03/art-and-religio.html  

 

“… One of the most well-known and prolific art historians writing in English, Elkins, who professes no religious belief, offers an informative examination of the relationship of art and religion.  He concludes his study by observing:

I have tried to show why committed, engaged, ambitious, informed art does not mix with dedicated, serious, thoughtful, heartfelt religion.  Wherever the two meet, one wrecks the other…That is not to imply the two sides should maintain their mutual mistrust, but that the talk needs to be very slow and careful (115).

But despite this conclusion, Elkins, however, does not think that art and religion should go their separate ways.  He suggests that it is, on the contrary, “irresponsible not to keep trying” to develop a closer relationship (116).

Elkins seems dissatisfied with his own conclusions.  I find this one of the book’s chief virtues.  Art and religion do not mix.  However, we must continue to reflect on art and religion, together.  Elkins’ irenic approach offers a stiff challenge to those who claim to have it all figured out, who tie up too quickly and neatly the loose ends of both “art” and “religion.” Elkins simply cannot dismiss or disengage “art” from “religion” despite the fact that he cannot resolve their relationship in a way that he finds satisfying.  The two cultural practices, “art” and “religion,” are thus perpetually separated yet inextricably linked by that tiny conjunction, “and.”  Heeding Elkins’ warning, my remarks will be slow and careful and perhaps a bit too tentative for those who are anxious to formulate a definitive “Christian perspective” on Elkins or contemporary art.  But the stakes are too high.  My work as a critic, curator, and art historian is in large part predicated upon the meaning and significance of this tiny conjunction. …”

Read the full piece:
               http://churchandpomo.typepad.com/conversation/2008/03/art-and-religio.html

James Elkins. 

On the Strange Place of Religion in Contemporary Art. 

            Paperback.   Routledge. 2004.

            Buy now from:  [ Doulos Christou Books $27]      [ Amazon.com ]

 

 

Andrew Jones asks some pointed questions about Brian McLaren’s        

            newest book Everything Must Change (and Brian responds).

            http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/tallskinnykiwi/2008/03/brian-mclaren-r.html 

Andrew’s three concerns about Everything Must Change:

1. “The apparent absence of the CHURCH as God’s primary instrument in accomplishing his mission on earth — and the gaping hole in [Everything Must Change] where the example of equality and justice in the early church of Acts 2-4 should have been”
2. “The apparent absence of HOPE in your view of future things … the afterlife, resurrection of the dead, etc.”
3. “An uncritical appraisal of the liberation theology movement from Latin America … [Everything Must Change] appears almost giddy and accepting without reservation”

Read the full conversation:  
          http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/tallskinnykiwi/2008/03/brian-mclaren-r.html

Brian McLaren.  Everything Must Change.
       Hardback.  Thomas Nelson.  2007.
        Buy now from:    [ Doulos Christou Books $18 ]       [ Amazon.com ]

 

The New York Times reviews Melody Petersen’s new book

            Our Daily Meds: How the Pharmaceutical Companies

Transformed Themselves Into Slick Marketing Machines

and Hooked the Nation on  Prescription Drugs.

 

            http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/books/17masl.html

 

[Editor’s note: As a former employee of global pharmaceutical company,

  let me say that criticisms of this sort are very much warranted and long overdue.  ]

 

“…Ms. Petersen says the lethal consequences of overprescribed or misprescribed drugs are too readily accepted as “natural” death. She cites the unwillingness of pathologists to question the wisdom with which doctors dispense medications. The reluctance of hospitals to perform autopsies, she says, has impeded medical research into what these interactions can do.

 

Our Daily Meds begins by illustrating the established drug-company practices that have led to this sorry juncture. There is the rigging of studies, so that to be deemed “effective” a drug need only perform better than a sugar pill. There are the promotional strategies that evade the need for F.D.A. warnings by, say, planting logos for the sexual enhancement drug Viagra and the antidepressant Wellbutrin on Nascar vehicles. There is the co-option of doctors and university researchers by aggressive, payola-dispensing drug company representatives.  …”

Read the full piece:
                    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/17/books/17masl.html  

Melody Petersen. 

Our Daily Meds. 

            Hardcover.   FSG. 2008

            Buy now from:  [ Doulos Christou Books $21 ]      [ Amazon.com ]