Book REview God and the Machine: Navigating Faith in the Age of AI

 

God and the Machine:Navigating Faith in the Age of AI By Nathan Webb ©2026 Abingdon Press

From the bio on the Abingdon Press page for this book: “Nathan Webb is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church and the founding pastor of Checkpoint Church, a digital-first United Methodist community”. In this book he takes on questions around the use of AI in the church.

Webb encourages us to look at these questions through the lens of the Great Commandment, which makes sense given that some would insist that all parts of the Christian life need to be viewed through that lens. He also holds the view that the choice to not discuss the role of AI in our life as a church is not tenable. AI is now a part of the world, and increasingly so (the growth since 2020 is astounding) and while the church, or at least parts of the church, have traditionally been slow to adopt new technology we risk being left behind if we do not engage. At the same time we have to admit that every new technology has two edges so what are the two edges that AI brings? He continually reminds us that just because we CAN do something does not necessarily mean that we should.

Webb starts with defining technology in general and AI specifically. He posits that as a tool we need to ask things like: who created/builds this, who uses it, who controls it, who benefits from it, and who does it serve. These are good questions for a variety of tech tools as we work out the best/most ethical way forward. Among the notes I took I jotted down the idea that if we are not intentional about our discernment we might not keep the ability to control how AI becomes a part of our lives. He also notes that because AI chatbots seem so human-like people have had a tendency to anthropomorphize AI. We need to resist and speak against that temptation. This is a theme he carries forward throughout the book – AI is not human, does not have human feelings, can not replace human caring and love.

In Chapter 3 Webb takes on the question of “Does God Use Technology?”. Maybe God, through human creativity is giving us the tech tools for us to use as part of how we serve God. In this case we need to discern how best to use those tools. This leads into Chapter 4 which looks at ethics around the use of AI.

Later in the book Webb raises the question of ecclesiology. In that chapter he discusses how Checkpoint Church operates and what the ecclesiology of that congregation is. He makes the very valid point that most of our congregations need to be more intentional about our ecclesiological assumptions.

The final chapter talks about what Webb refers to as “human forward thinking”. Here he talks about embodiment. He starts with talking about whether online interactions can be thought of as being embodies. HE said this is one of the criticisms he has frequently met when people ask if an online church can truly be seen as a church. It reminded me of a time 20 years ago when people wondered if digital community could truly be called community, or the early resistance to online dating. Later in the chapter he returns to the idea that AI is not embodied.

This was a good book. There is also a study guide available so it might be a good discussion group resource. Webb pushes us to consider how to move forward into a world where AI is a reality. He reminds us that AI should be seen as providing augmentation rather than replacement. As Christians we need to use whatever tools we us to build love and justice, as leaders we have to model healthy and ethical practices what ever we do. This is true whatever choices we make about AI.

Book REview AI and the Church: A Clear Guide for the Curious and Courageous

 

AI and the Church: A Clear Guide for the Curious and Courageous By Jason Moore ©2024 Invite Press 298 Pages (1369 Screens on my Kobo)

One morning this winter/spring I found myself in a discussion about whether or not we would use AI at St. Paul’s. Later that day I was book shopping and this one popped up in my feed (not because my computer heard the conversation that morning, because I was looking for another book by the same author). So I clicked to put it into my cart.

More and more it becomes obvious that we need to have discussions about how/if we will use AI in our private lives, in our churches, in our businesses. It is all around us. In fact, as Moore points out in this volume, we are using it already. AI has become a part of life in so many ways and will likely grow. Late in the book Moore makes some predictions about where AI might go next and there is a chance it will become even more inescapable. For better or worse it is part of the world we live in and will grow.

Moore starts the book with a recap of some of the ways AI is already a part of our worlds. Then he gives a history of how we got to where we are, followed by some definition of what AI is and what it is currently capable of. From there we move to Part II which looks in more depth at the foundation of AI and how the church might deal with it.

This section of the book starts with some of the concerns raised about AI and looks at why some people would resist it. Moore is open from the beginning that he believes the church should (carefully and intentionally) use AI but is also open to the reasons people are resistant. One of the pieces he names repeatedly throughout the text is that AI is a tool to help us, not a crutch to do things for us. HE also names repeatedly the importance of humans making decisions, being “in the driver’s seat” and that within the life of the church this needs to include discernment, listening for God’s voice/wisdom and prayer. Next Moore leads us in an exploration of some possible Scriptural basis for using AI. A couple questions I noted here were: “if God can communicate in a variety of ways already what is to say God can’t communicate through AI?”, is AI possibly a gift for God, a gift developing from people’s God-given creativity?”, “does AI as a research tool allow us a new way to access the wisdom of the ages, the ‘great cloud of wisdom’?”, and “what is the role of innovation/novelty/new wine & wineskins in the life of the church?”. The final chapter in Part II is an extended look at some of the ethical considerations that go with using AI. This is a very important chapter as we discern our approach to the tool.

Part III of the book takes us through a look at the various tools and platforms available. These chapters were of some interest (particularly the first which discussed chatbots) but were not the main reason I got the book. The chapters on chatbots and on image generation were quite detailed with many hints about making the best use of the tools and a comparison of the various tools/platforms that are out there. The third chapter, on video and audio tools, was less detailed largely because this is a less developed part of the AI world. While much has changed since the text was written and details of what the platforms can accomplish have grown (such is the speed of technology these days) the basics are there.

The final part of the book looks specifically at AI and the church (in fact that is the title of Part IV). Moore takes chapter 10 to list 10 ways that the church could make use of the tools he has discussed to this point. Some of them are, I think, more valid and useful than others. AI as a research assistant has some merit. AI as a sounding board to help with brainstorming and designing programs has merit. AI as a tool to help with statistical and/or historical collection and analysis is intriguing. AI as a graphic design piece is something I am less sold on. Finally Moore offers up a sample policy for churches to use when describing how AI will be used in their contexts. It is a very detailed policy geared toward a larger multi-staff and multi-program church so would be a bit excessive in many congregations but it raises (or reminds the reader) of some important points to consider.

As I said above, we have to deal with the question of AI. When is it appropriate? When is it not? Why? How do we ethically use these tools? I am not convinced a blanket “AI is bad don’t use it at all” statement is either realistic or helpful. SO how will we, as individuals and as organizations decide to respond to the reality of AI in the world?

Book Review: From Social Media to Social Ministry: A Guide to Digital Discipleship

 

From Social Media to Social Ministry: A Guide to DigitalDiscipleship By Nona Jones ©2020 Zondervan Press 176 pages.

When it comes to being a hybrid church or finding new ways to be church in an online world we have to move beyond Sunday morning. Much of the time we stop there, thinking streaming worship is enough. But if we are considering how these tools might support, for example, a church who has trouble convincing a clergy person to move to town or can not afford full-time ministry, we have to ask how the rest of the work of the community can be fed/supported/nurtured online. So I was really looking forward to this book that promised to move beyond the live stream.

I was somewhat disappointed, more on that later.

In this short little volume Jones pushes the reader to see Social Media in ways beyond merely another advertising tool to get people to attend in-person events/activities. She reminds us that community can be built online as well. It won’t be the same but it is real. This is something many of us struggled with during the early stages of Covid-19 as we were barred from gathering in-person. How could we be a community without being together in the same space?

In the post-lockdown world the question still lingers. Jones would likely point out that some had started to embrace that question long before March 2020. For a variety of reasons there are some people who prefer (or are only able) to join a community in virtual/online space. How can we make that a full experience of community? I note that she also works (or worked not sure of timelime) for Facebook and much of the book is explicitly talking about how to use Facebook for social ministry. It started to feel a bit like an ad for Facebook at times. This was one of the disappointments.

Disappointing as it might have been, I think Jones raises several good points about what is needed to create a true ministry presence online. I think she is right about the limitations of many platforms to create a safe place for building community and relationships. I am less certain that Facebook is as good for it as she claims (and am relatively certain it might be getting worse as AI slop invades the atmosphere). It is a real challenge to see Social Media as something other than an advertising tool.

The other disappointment I had in the book was that it was treating the online space as creating a separate campus for a church, in the same way that a large church might set up a second (or third or fourth) physical location. With this approach the online church starts to need a whole staffing/support structure that many churches can not (or will choose not to) provide. A small church with one (or no) pastor or staff that wants to create an online side to the community will not be able to designate a pastor for that part of the community. Much of the discussion of how to move from social media to social ministry seemed to assume a much larger church structure than many readers would have.

Still I want to know how we use online tools to build a community, either as a stand-alone or more likely as an adjunct part of the in-person community. How can we use online tools (be that Facebook pages and groups, Zoom, Instagram, or...) to facilitate community building, spiritual growth, Christian Education, stewardship/opportunities to serve as well as Sunday worship? How can online ministry help the church that has no pastor, or the one who only has a pastor onsite half-time? This book raised good issues and questions. It is sorting out those learnings from the sales pitch on one (plausibly one very good) answer that is the challenge I need to meditate on some more.

Book Review Both/And: Maximizing Hybrid Worship Experiences for In-Person and Online Engagement

 

Both/And: Maximizing Hybrid Worship Experiences for In-Person and Online Engagement By Jason Moore. ©2022 Invite Press 204 pages

This book grew out of the reality of COVID-19 and the changes pushed on churches by the lock down. Of course many places had been doing some form of hybrid worship long before March 2020 but many of us were suddenly pushed to do worship differently in that month. And then as the world moved into the later stages of the pandemic many of us decided (either intentionally or by default – more on that later) to continue with some form of hybrid worship. Whether we were/are doing it well might be a whole other question.

In fact that is one of the questions I brought with me into Sabbatical, which is why this volume ended up on my reading list. I am instinctively convinced that hybrid worship needs to mean more than simply streaming what happens in the sanctuary on Sunday morning, but am not entirely sure what I think needs to be done differently. I was hoping this book would help me sort that out.

It did and it didn’t.

Moore affirms my thoughts that we need to do things differently. He draws out questions and concerns that had not occurred to me and ones that had but not at a conscious level. At the same time, many of the suggestions he presents for how to do things differently seem like they only work within specific worship structures, with a bigger volunteer/staff team, and with far different technology than some of us work with. So the questions were good. The suggestions made logical sense. The challenge is how to adapt them to the context (worship style, team size/expertise/comfort, technology available) where one is.

One of the key pieces I took from the book was the idea that we are serving different audiences. We have the people who are in the room. We have the committed church folk who, for a variety of reasons, who are not in the room but are on-line instead. We have the people who are using the livestream as a way to check us out, to test this as a possible faith community. We have those who drifted away, or left more intentionally, who are wondering about coming back. There are probably more subsets as well. We also have the reality that some will join online as the service is happening, and some will join when their schedule fits better. How do we build hybrid worship that meets these various needs? How do we make all feel welcomed, included as participants rather than observers? How do we keep them engaged? What language opens or closes doors? What pieces work really well on screen but not in the room, and vice versa? In the end it becomes an inclusivity question.

Another piece that kept occurring to me, particularly early in the book, was that maybe improving the experience for the online side of the hybrid worship equation will improve it for the in-person side as well. Maybe that hit me because it ties in to my ongoing pondering of “does our current worship order actually work?” (or maybe who does it work for and who doesn’t it). Can worship (on-line and in-person) be more interactive and participatory? How? Changing worship is always a bit of a tightrope to walk, but worship styles/patterns need to evolve and change over time.

Then there was the key question, the one many of us may not have spent much time on. Why are we doing hybrid worship? There are lots of answers to this. There are also people who, in 2022/23 were saying “OK we can stop now so all those people will come back”. It is possible that we need to talk about why we see the need/why we are called to be hybrid churches (or the reverse) as we move forward into a new era. I appreciated Moore’s suggestion that one of the reasons for hybrid worship is as a way of living out the Great Commandment, seeing it as much as outreach as service to the current members of the community.

It is my belief that the church of the future will need to be a hybrid church. This is about worship and about everything else we do. Generally speaking we (clergy and laity alike) have been well-trained to be church in one way. We need to learn a new way. There are churches that are primarily (or only) on-line. That is not what most of us are looking for. We need to figure out how to be Both/And.

Book Review: iJesus: The Culture of God in a Digital World

 

iJesus: The Culture of God in a Digital World By Nadim Nassar ©2023 Sacristy Press (153 pages)

Last fall I went looking for a book I heard referenced in a podcast. Because I wanted to reach the free shipping threshold I needed to buy a second book and this title seemed like something that would fit my Sabbatical plan. Ironically I have yet to read the book I originally went looking for.

Nadim Nassar has written a previous book called The Culture of God to which this is a bit of a follow up. There were times, particularly early in the book, when it might have been helpful to have read that first one to know what Nassar means by the phrase “Culture of God” as he tends to use it assuming that foreknowledge. But with time I was able to pick up where he was going with it.

The book as a whole is, as one might expect from the title, very Christ-centered. Nassar is pushing the reader to find how we can best share the encounter with Jesus on a digital world. Within that discussion he talks about the centrality of communication as a building block of community. He also takes time to talk about the cultural clash we find in a digital world. I found his suggestion that the onset of digital globalization has brought about culture clash at a speed that was not known with slower, and earlier, forms of communication and cultural change quite intriguing Still the reality that how we communicate the old story in a new world is a central point of being the church in a digital world is inescapable. As he says at one point: “...because Christianity is about knowing the risen, living Christ, the Church has the responsibility in every generation and in different cultures to reinterpret the timeless revelation in Christ for its time and place” (p.30) [this quote reminds me if the United Church of Canada understanding that each generation needs to restate the Gospel which is why we have a succession of statements of faith].

I found that Nassar does a good job of naming both the positive possibilities and the negative possibilities of technology as we move into the new world. Over and over he talks about what new communications are available to us but also that we can not let the technological relationship replace ‘IRL’ relationships. This is important but at the same time I have to wonder at his suggestion later in the book that online relationships lack a reality that can only be found in person. I wonder how this might sit with the debate during Covid (and following) if online worship/online church was ‘real” or just a stand in.

In the end this book did not quite fit my Sabbatical goals quite as well as I thought it might. But that does not mean it was not an important read in the topic area. A big takeaway from it was the insistence that the way we measure our actions, the thing that we allow to shape our actions needs to be the Culture of God/Culture of Trinity (which is inherently relational)/Culture of Love. Technology may be one of the tools but it should not be the primary force that shapes us – even if it can be a powerful force to shape us. At a number of points I found myself thinking “I need to remember this for a sermon” even when the sermon was not going to be about the Digital world – for example Creation Time this fall.

Book 13 of 2024 Twelfth Night

 Looking for a different type of read to end the year I remembered that I have a complete collection of Shakespeare on my e-reader so I thought it was time for a play. I decided a comedy was what I was in the mood for and given the time of year Twelfth Night seemed an appropriate choice.  

It was a good break over the last few days. Mixed up identities, prankish plots, love triangles, poor communication...has it all like any good Shakespearean comedy. I also re-learned that these plays are best read aloud -- though my girls were a bit less impressed by that part.

I should turn to that collection more often.

Book 12 0f 2024 -- Grace and Gigabytes

 This fall I took a course about digital ministry. The course was good but spent far more time talking about AI than I was expecting. It did however make me think more about the role of digital and hybrid ministry in the life of a congregation. If I were to take a sabbatical again that is the area I would take time to explore.

At any rate, the presenter/instructor of the course intrigued me so I went looking at the books that had been suggested for Further Reading and decided to read this one. Panzer lives in both worlds, he has an MDiv and a career in IT, so is very well situated to lead these discussions.

I liked what he had to say about the cultural change that is happening and ideas of how the church which is rather notorious for being behind when it comes to cultural changes) could respond. Panzer is clear that the way to do and plan digital ministry is about far more than simply signing on to a bunch of different platforms or tools. Like any other ways of considering new directions in ministry it means careful deliberation and discerning what is the best fit for your context.  I also really appreciated that he gives high- medium-  and low-tech options for how the ideas presented in each chapter could be played out.

Panzer talks about a variety of topics that address the philosophical foci of this new tech shaped culture. they are: Questions, Connection, Collaboration, and Creativity. I think it could be argued that the church as a whole has a mixed history of effectiveness on all four of those points. It is not just about the technology, it is about how people want/expect their communities to work. The technology is a tool (or a set of tools) to help us do ministry in a changed and changing culture.

This was a good read. It has things I need to ponder more. Now I am contemplating getting this book also by Panzer.

Book 11 of 2024 -- The Spirit of Hope: Theology for a World in Peril

 

Earlier this year when Jurgen Moltmann died I realized that while I had read excerpts of his work over the year I had never read one of his books (though I have been told that my eschatology might fall close to his). So I went looking and chose this volume. 

It appears mainly to be a compilation of lectures and essays from a variety of times in his career, mainly the later years. The first section was a very easy read and informed some of what I did in September sermons for Creation Time. Then second section was a bit less engaging and took into October to finish.

Overall I generally liked what Moltmann was proposing. I definitely like his focus on hope. There are parts I may go back and re-read as time goes on.

Book 10 of 2024 -- The Bright Ages

 Every year as the summer approaches I look for something different from my normal reading list to read while on vacation. This year I happened on this volume about Medieval history and decided that it would be my holiday reading this summer. I was especially intrigued by the title. It was a nice counterpoint to the oft-used (and IMO inappropriate) descriptor of the Early Middle Ages as the "Dark Ages".

The book is not a comprehensive history of the period or even a survey history. It is a selection of stories that are not as well known, told from a different point of view. The authors also take effort to remind the reader that the whole dividing of history into ages and eras is a bit artificial. It is not like there are hard divisions between different periods of history, there are always crossovers and holdovers.

I found this a very easy and entertaining read. Many of the stories were ones I was either completely unfamiliar with or were ones I had only heard from a very different perspective. I really appreciated the time taken to push the reader to see a Medieval Europe where female voices and people of colour were more a part of the story than most history has portrayed. In the same vein the intentional lifting up of the tension of a multicultural, multi-religious, world connected across Europe, Africa, and Asia was greatly appreciated.

It was indeed a good choice to start my vacation with.

Book 9 of 2024 -- A Year in the Life of the Atikokan River

For nine years every day I looked out the dormer window in the manse out over the Atikokan river valley. Many times I would walk the dog along the trails. When Patty came to Atikokan for the first time we took a walk along the trail leading down from the church before she left. The river is a highlight of the community though, as Brian says in the last column in this book, sometimes it might be easy to take it for granted.

So when I saw on Facebook that Brian and the Progress had put a series of columns into a small book I immediately asked how one might get a copy without having to travel to Atikokan.

It is a great little read. 12 monthly columns about the river. I really appreciated that for each month Brian had not only given the traditional English month names but also the Anishinabemowin names. It is a small act but one that recognizes that the river has been used for far longer than the 125 year that the community of Atikokan has existed.

As we travel through the 12 columns Brian leads us in an exploration of the biology, the flora and fauna one encounters in the valley. He talks about how climate change and human activity have impacted the river and also how the river has impacted human activity. He then includes an appendix with some scientific data about the river.

It is probable that the book will be of most interest to people who have lived in Atikokan and experienced the river directly and given how it was published it is not likely to spread much beyond the town. But I am sure glad I had the connections to get a copy (a signed copy in fact). Well done Brian!

Book 8 of 2024 -- Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul

 

There is something deep in my heart that seems to resonate with Celtic Spirituality. Always has been in fact. So when I happened across this book while browsing one day earlier this year, I decided add it to my cart.

To the best of my memory this is the first book by Newell that I have read, though I know I have heard the name before (I would have to check my shelf at the church to see if I have another one of his). In this book he uses a variety of Celtic saints and leaders over the centuries to explore some aspects of Celtic Christian Spirituality. Some of them are names I have known of for years, though not always been really familiar with their way of thinking. Others were people I heard of first when reading this book.

The overarching premise of the book is that of finding/recognizing the sacred in a variety of places. Much of Western Christianity (Roman Catholic and Reformed churches) has tried to limit the sacred to the realm of the church. Celtic Christianity has a broader view of where the sacred might be seen and found. I agree with the latter point of view. In some ways I wonder how the Celtic approach (which was intentionally quashed by the Roman Church in the Middle Ages, indeed I would suggest that quashing the remnants of Celtic Christian though is part of why the Pope allowed Henry II to invade Ireland, thus beginning a bloody centuries long struggle) might tie in to some of Christian mysticism (which has also long been viewed with suspicion by the church).

Over and over again as I was reading I found myself vigorously nodding in agreement. The chapters of Pelagius, Brigid, and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin were most notable for this. Each chapter ended with a meditative exercise focusing on the theme of that chapter which are all compiled into an appendix and I may have to go back and revisit those as time goes by.

Certainly a book I would endorse for a gentle, meditative read.

Book 7 of 2024 -- Where the Light Fell

 Many years ago Philip Yancey's book What's So Amazing About Grace? was suggested to me and I read it. The book made a big impression on me so when I saw this memoir by Yancey while browsing one day I thought I would give it a try. Besides I always enjoy memoirs as reading material in general.

Yancey talks about his strict, one would even say rigid, fundamentalist upbringing and how both he and his brother had their rebelliousness against that rigidity. How such an grace-less legalistic upbringing (as he describes it) led eventually to a faith based so heavily on God's grace is somewhat amazing. In some ways his brother's form of rebellion and reaction seem much more expected.

As time goes on we see Yancey finding a new path back to faith and grace and hope. We hear how he tries to bridge a massive gap between his mother and his brother. We see him trying to reconcile with the life he had and the life he ends up with.

IT is a good read, it makes you feel and think. And there is a good story told along the way.

Book 6 of 2024 Indians on Vacation

 An impulse buy really, though I do like Thomas King's writing. However this is the first of his fictional works that I have read.

A couple in Prague, seeking a long lost family member and having an interesting visit makes up the base story. Mixed in with the story of their vacation are snippets and episodes from their past. 

A nice light read. Good for a break.

Book 4 of 2024 -- Disruptive Thinking

 Late last summer I was standing in an actual bookstore holding real live books in my hands looking for ideas of what looked interesting. This was one of the ones the caught my attention (and then I went home and bought the e-book versions instead). The idea of the need to more of us to embrace being intentionally disruptive intrigued me. I really do think that when it comes to the church, to socio-economics, to environmental policy we have to be disrupted or we will really keep trying the same solutions as before while hoping for different results.

To be honest I found the book a bit disappointing. Maybe I had forgotten what had intrigued me looking at the cover back in the summer but reading the actual book several months later left kind of blah. There were some helpful ideas and ways of seeing things but I was not filled with excitement and feelings of "YEAH!" as I was reading.

I still think there is a real need for disruptive thinking and action in the world. I am just not sure this book will help me (and I am not a natural disruptor by any means) get to that point.

Book 3 of 2024 -- When Church Stops Working

 In a clergy discussion last month one of my colleagues mentioned that she had just read this book and recommended it as a good read. While the Zoom meeting was still going on I had purchased it.

IT was a good recommendation. In a world where many of our churches are struggling with decline and trying to figure out a way forward this book offers a different answer. Too often the answer we jump to is "maybe if we tried..." or "this new program will...." or "if we worked harder at...". Instead this book suggests we pause and wait and listen so we can encounter the God who is acting in the world.

It is hard advice in a world where we feel like we have to do something to stave off decline and death. Then again, the way we have been responding have not really worked out the way we hoped so maybe trying a different tack has some merit.

There were suggestions in this book that resonated with things I already thought needed to happen, things I was trying to bring in. I do still struggle with how to convince churches who want to  "do" to get out of decline to pause to "be" and wait and listen. In some ways it goes against all common sense. In many ways it is the reverse of what seems needed, sometimes doing somethings out of our anxiety is the only way we can cope. Then I am drawn to the example the authors use of the Acts 1 church who are told to wait for God to act but end up trying to act themselves while they wait -- only for God to go God's own way as the book continues.

As with most books on this topic it is useless if only the clergy reads it. I encourage all church leaders, clergy and lay, to read and discuss it. With that in mind, I will be suggesting it to our local council.

Book 2 of 2024 --The Dead Sociologists Society

 On Christmas Morning as I was emptying my stocking I found this little volume.

IT is an interesting concept. A bunch of dead sociologists have a meeting, one might even call it a seminar, to present papers about the events most live people would consider the fictional account of Harry Potter's time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Because after all the events were real and the story had been fed to JK Rowling by the Ministry of Magic as part of a grand cover-up. Only the ghosts know the real truth.

What results is a unique way of presenting different sociological theories and showing how they might be applied. I like the tool. I greatly enjoyed the reading and pondering if I agreed with the interpretations being presented. 

This is a great way of introducing theory and showing how the theory can be used to analyse a culture. I think I would greatly like to take an introductory Sociology course from the author.

Book 1 of 2024 -- The Undertaking of Billy Buffone

 Love, death, secrets, scandal, a ghostly narrator.  Makes for an interesting book. 

This one I bought simply because I knew the author. Besides a novel to read over the break of the year seemed a nice idea.

It is a story that takes place both in the mid 1970's and in the mid 1990's. On one side we have a scandalous troubling story. On the other we have the story of a blossoming romance, and a family deep in fresh grief, a minister in her first year of ministry, and an odd small-town undertaker. Then there is a surprising twist....

But in the end there is healing, or at least that seems to be where we are headed.

A very good read indeed. Touches the heart. Leads one to consider the power of buried secrets. 

Book 7 of 2023 -- Value(s): Building a Better World for All

 

One day in late summer I was standing in a bookstore and started leafing through this one. I liked the premise so went home and ordered it. I was drawn to the idea that we need a discussion about how to build value while being intentional about the values that underpin our decisions.

To be honest it was a hard slog at times. I have taken exactly no economics courses and so there were a few places in the book where I was getting a bit lost in the economics of what Carney was saying. This was especially notable when he was discussing the lead up to the 2008 financial crisis.

After an introductory section of the book providing some historical economic background Carney uses three case studies of global events that both challenged (or are challenging/will continue to challenge) economics and our values as a culture. These were: a) the 2008 financial crash, b) the COVID-19 pandemic, and c) the climate crisis. I think he did a good job of laying out the realities and challenges of both. I also think that in the latter two his analysis does not actually reflect the culture where I live.

Overall in both his discussion of COVID and of the Climate Crisis I found Carney to be a bit overly positive. While his description of the initial response to the pandemic was accurate I think he missed the fact that the initial outpouring of community and "we are all in this together" faded well before the pandemic was over -- and that fading had a definite impact on how the pandemic played out, while also making a strong statement about societal values. In terms of the Climate Crisis I live in a province where 30 years ago the Premier insisted that reducing per-barrel CO2 emissions was enough and that Alberta would not try to reduce actual total emissions -- a logic largely followed by our current government insisting that Carbon Capture and Storage will solve everything and actually reducing use of fossil fuels is not needed.

In the end I found this to be a good book. The length of time it took me to read did make it challenging to recall exactly what had been said in earlier chapters so it is a book I wonder would have been better in hard copy so I could more easily flip back and compare. The other thing I would have found helpful was a list of acronyms. Carney is very good about spelling out an acronym the first time it is used but several hundred pages later it can be difficult to remember what those letters meant.

Book 6 of 2023 -- Pure Colour

 At the beginning of the summer I heard a radio interview with the author of this book. I was intrigued by the concept that the world as we know it is God's first draft and is being assessed to see what would be changed in the next draft. So I bought it for summer reading.

Frankly, I was disappointed. While the book is a novel it does not have a really clear narrative structure. It often seemed more like a stream  of consciousness exploration of some intriguing philosophical questions than a narrative. I prefer a novel to be a narrative piece.

That being said, the philosophical questions raised about the nature of life and the nature of grieving and the nature of relationships were certainly intriguing. IT was worth reading for that piece, it just wasn't what I was expecting or the sort of book I was looking for at the time.

Book 5 of 2023 -- Leisure Resurrected

What does leisure mean to you? How do you use your leisure time? Social Media? Reading? Watching TV? What is the role of leisure in our world today?

I found out about this book while cruising through Facebook one day. It is written by a colleague of mine in Ontario.

Crittenden seeks to explore questions like the ones I listed above. He does so by looking at the roots of our traditions: Greek and Roman understandings, Jewish Sabbath, early Christian understandings. Then he muses about what these might mean for us today.

I appreciated that Crittenden took us deeper into what leisure could mean. I think that for many of us it is more of an entertainment category, or "wasted time" or even moving into the modern equivalent of "bread and circuses" rather than something intentionally life-enhancing. I found it challenging to re-think what leisure could mean. I wonder also how we can push the discussion into our wider circles.