PAYBACK: Debt and the Shadow Side of Life
By Margaret Atwood
O.W.Toad, Ltd, Toronto, 2008
ISBN 978-0-88784-800-1
Review by George R. Pasley
This is a fascinating book, which studies the anthropological, literary, sociological, judicial and even theological history of debt, monetary and otherwise.
For instance, researchers taught captive capuchin monkeys to trade pebbles for cucumber slices. Once all the monkeys were trained, the trainers began giving one monkey grapes instead of cucumber slices. When the remaining monkeys continued to receive cucumber slices, they acted out in numerous ways, including going on a hunger strike. Fairness was the issue here, and it evidently is written into the genetic code of social primates- so quite possibly, it is written into our own.
Or, why do some people use “trespasses” in the Lord’s Prayer and others use “debts”? Atwood reports that Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, has only one word for both English translations (though she does not delve into either Greek or Hebrew).
In a bit of literary and cultural research, Atwood reports on the custom of sin-eating. Quoting Mary Webb (Precious Bane, 1924): “Now it was still the custom at that time, in our part of the country, to give a fee to some poor man after a death, and then he would take bread and wine handed to him across a coffin, and eat and drink, saying, ‘I give easement and rest to thee now dear man, that ye not walk over the fields and down the by-ways. And for thy peace I pawn my own soul.’” (p. 61)
Atwood’s book follows a fascinating rabbit trail dodging a dozen directions, but I found myself deeply engrossed in every wondering thought. My trouble came at the end, when after exposing the shadow side of debt- the things that happen when we don’t pay our debt, or the things that happen when debt cannot be repaid with money (as in, when revenge doesn’t work), Atwood comes to conclusion: pay it forward. She actually does a stellar job of explaining the limitations of justice, the symbiotic nature of lenders and borrowers, and the value of forgiveness. But in the end she offers environmental activism as a solution (though perhaps only as an example) and I found it insufficient- though perhaps it was only too narrow. Still, thought provoking and worthwhile. Good discussion for religion, philosophy, literature, and economic learners.
July 15, 2009
Ketchikan, AK
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
NOT THE RELIGIOUS TYPE
NOT THE RELIGIOUS TYPE
By Dave Schmelzer
Tyndale, 2008
ISBN 978-1-4143-1583-6
Review by George Pasley
Author Dave Schmelzer is the pastor of a new and rapidly growing church in the Harvard neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. This little book offers, part by way of personal testimony and part by way of apologetics, an introduction to Christian faith to modern Americans who might consider themselves educated skeptics.
I found it very readable, very persuasive, and invitational. It was neither dogmatic nor polemic. In fact, I finished the book thinking that Schmelzer might be as liberal, theological speaking, than me (though that was only a suspicion- he doesn’t offer any proof of that) but that he is definitely more pious.
Schmelzer’s testimony is the story of how he came to faith, moving from proclaimed atheist to follower of Jesus, while he was a college student. The transformation came as a result of his prayers in search of a God who was concerned about his (David’s) well-being, followed by serious study of the major religions. Thus Schmelzer’s proclaimed faith is one that is all about personal relationship with Jesus, made vibrant by prayer.
But Schmelzer hangs his personal testimony on M. Scott Peck’s four-stage theory of human spiritual and emotional development (which can be found in Peck’s Further Along the Road Less Traveled). Schmelzer neatly summarizes Peck’s theory, and points out that most churches are filled with stage two people, which Schmelzer calls “rules based” (p. 20). “These are the good people who get things done and raise strong families.” (p. 21)
Schmelzer describes stage 3 as the “rebellious stage,” a stage where people ask questions, and says that universities- and even whole societies- are filled with these types. Stage twos and stage threes mistrust each other, for obvious reasons.
But Peck says that stage 3 is in fact a spiritual progression from stage 2, primarily because of the courage to ask questions. Schmelzer grabs this notion and runs with it, but not before admitting that the notion has limitations and can be misunderstood. Then, Schmelzer gets to the great theme of his book: “What stage 3 people usually don’t realize is that there is a stage 4, that there actually are answers to the questions they’ve been answering. You might call this the mystical stage. Here, one suddenly realizes that most of the things we were taught in stage 2 are, in fact, true, but in a richer and more mysterious sense than we would have, or could have, imagined.” (p. 23)
Around this theme of journey from questions to answers rich with mystery, Schmelzer tells stories of his faith and his congregation. Regarding the stories, I personally appreciate the humility with which Schmelzer tells them. He recognizes both the uniqueness of his journey and the inconsistencies of it.
This would be a great book for group discussion, or a good introduction to faith for seekers and inquirers. It might also move some stage two persons as well.
Ketchikan, AK
July 15, 2009
By Dave Schmelzer
Tyndale, 2008
ISBN 978-1-4143-1583-6
Review by George Pasley
Author Dave Schmelzer is the pastor of a new and rapidly growing church in the Harvard neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts. This little book offers, part by way of personal testimony and part by way of apologetics, an introduction to Christian faith to modern Americans who might consider themselves educated skeptics.
I found it very readable, very persuasive, and invitational. It was neither dogmatic nor polemic. In fact, I finished the book thinking that Schmelzer might be as liberal, theological speaking, than me (though that was only a suspicion- he doesn’t offer any proof of that) but that he is definitely more pious.
Schmelzer’s testimony is the story of how he came to faith, moving from proclaimed atheist to follower of Jesus, while he was a college student. The transformation came as a result of his prayers in search of a God who was concerned about his (David’s) well-being, followed by serious study of the major religions. Thus Schmelzer’s proclaimed faith is one that is all about personal relationship with Jesus, made vibrant by prayer.
But Schmelzer hangs his personal testimony on M. Scott Peck’s four-stage theory of human spiritual and emotional development (which can be found in Peck’s Further Along the Road Less Traveled). Schmelzer neatly summarizes Peck’s theory, and points out that most churches are filled with stage two people, which Schmelzer calls “rules based” (p. 20). “These are the good people who get things done and raise strong families.” (p. 21)
Schmelzer describes stage 3 as the “rebellious stage,” a stage where people ask questions, and says that universities- and even whole societies- are filled with these types. Stage twos and stage threes mistrust each other, for obvious reasons.
But Peck says that stage 3 is in fact a spiritual progression from stage 2, primarily because of the courage to ask questions. Schmelzer grabs this notion and runs with it, but not before admitting that the notion has limitations and can be misunderstood. Then, Schmelzer gets to the great theme of his book: “What stage 3 people usually don’t realize is that there is a stage 4, that there actually are answers to the questions they’ve been answering. You might call this the mystical stage. Here, one suddenly realizes that most of the things we were taught in stage 2 are, in fact, true, but in a richer and more mysterious sense than we would have, or could have, imagined.” (p. 23)
Around this theme of journey from questions to answers rich with mystery, Schmelzer tells stories of his faith and his congregation. Regarding the stories, I personally appreciate the humility with which Schmelzer tells them. He recognizes both the uniqueness of his journey and the inconsistencies of it.
This would be a great book for group discussion, or a good introduction to faith for seekers and inquirers. It might also move some stage two persons as well.
Ketchikan, AK
July 15, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
PEARL S BUCK
PEARL S. BUCK: A Cultural Biography
By Peter Conn
Review by George R. Pasley
Cambridge University Press, 1966
ISBN 0-521-56080-2
It has literally been decades since I read any of Pearl’s books, but they obviously made quite an influence on me as I have never forgotten them. When I accidentally came upon Pearl’s West Virginia birthplace, I braked my truck and pulled in for a look. Likewise, when I came upon this volume in our library I immediately checked it out.
The title aptly describes the book. While it is indeed a biography of the first American woman to win a Nobel Prize for literature, the author places all the events of her life, all of her massive volume of work, and all of her achievements within their cultural and historical contexts. This made the biography a worthy (if somewhat wordy) study for students of literature, Asian-American studies, Presbyterian Church history, and feminism.
The biography informs us that Pearl Buck was the daughter of Presbyterian missionaries to China. Conn identifies as major conflicts in Buck’s life: her mother’s submission to her father, her father’s misogyny, the common missionary fundamentalism of the time that failed to see anything of value in Chinese culture, the bias of cultures (both Western and Chinese) that had no understanding of the other culture, and a male-dominated literary world.
Conn goes to great lengths to describe a long-running controversy that Pearl Buck held with the denominational structures of the Presbyterian Church, and as a Presbyterian pastor I found that quite informative. But Conn failed to set the debate in context of the fundamentalist controversies. Though they didn’t actually happen at the same time nonetheless impacted the debates over the purpose of mission that occurred in the prewar era. Likewise, though Conn repeatedly made reference to Buck leaving the church, the book offers no information on her church life or personal faith. She may have indeed given up on God, but Conn seems to equate her severing her missionary ties with losing faith. Perhaps no other information is available, but Conn uncovered a treasure trove of information about every other aspect of Buck’s personal life. It may be the Conn simply doesn’t think in those terms. Even so, the information that Conn did provide was helpful.
I found most enlightening Conn’s careful tracing of Buck’s feminism which surely was foundational though long ignored. Few may know that the publisher of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique consulted Buck prior to it’s publication, that Buck was a outspoken advocate of women’s issues (including birth control), or that the second American woman to women the Nobel Prize for literature, Toni Morrison, looked back at her early reading of Buck’s work and said, “She misled me…and made me feel that all writers wrote sympathetically, empathetically, honestly and forthrightly about other cultures.”
Many have likewise forgotten that for more than a decade Pearl Buck was virtually America’s only source of information on what ordinary Chinese people were like, and that she used her authority of knowledge and voice to combat racism and to promote positive relations between the West and all of Asia.
The thing I remember most vividly about Buck’s writing was the dignity she gave to the peasants in her stories, and Conn lifted that out as major achievement of Buck’s writing. Perhaps that explains why in later life I came to enjoy other writers (Wendell Berry comes to mind) who managed to endow their ordinary characters with the same dignity.
Conn is an admirer of Buck (though he only came to realize that late in life), and he found himself in agreement with many of her opinions, beliefs and causes. But his biography tells Buck’s story honestly, with all her flaws. Buck herself may not have appreciated much of what Conn writes, but those who appreciate the honesty with which Buck depicted life in her novels surely will.
George R. Pasley
July 10, 2009
Ketchikan, AK
By Peter Conn
Review by George R. Pasley
Cambridge University Press, 1966
ISBN 0-521-56080-2
It has literally been decades since I read any of Pearl’s books, but they obviously made quite an influence on me as I have never forgotten them. When I accidentally came upon Pearl’s West Virginia birthplace, I braked my truck and pulled in for a look. Likewise, when I came upon this volume in our library I immediately checked it out.
The title aptly describes the book. While it is indeed a biography of the first American woman to win a Nobel Prize for literature, the author places all the events of her life, all of her massive volume of work, and all of her achievements within their cultural and historical contexts. This made the biography a worthy (if somewhat wordy) study for students of literature, Asian-American studies, Presbyterian Church history, and feminism.
The biography informs us that Pearl Buck was the daughter of Presbyterian missionaries to China. Conn identifies as major conflicts in Buck’s life: her mother’s submission to her father, her father’s misogyny, the common missionary fundamentalism of the time that failed to see anything of value in Chinese culture, the bias of cultures (both Western and Chinese) that had no understanding of the other culture, and a male-dominated literary world.
Conn goes to great lengths to describe a long-running controversy that Pearl Buck held with the denominational structures of the Presbyterian Church, and as a Presbyterian pastor I found that quite informative. But Conn failed to set the debate in context of the fundamentalist controversies. Though they didn’t actually happen at the same time nonetheless impacted the debates over the purpose of mission that occurred in the prewar era. Likewise, though Conn repeatedly made reference to Buck leaving the church, the book offers no information on her church life or personal faith. She may have indeed given up on God, but Conn seems to equate her severing her missionary ties with losing faith. Perhaps no other information is available, but Conn uncovered a treasure trove of information about every other aspect of Buck’s personal life. It may be the Conn simply doesn’t think in those terms. Even so, the information that Conn did provide was helpful.
I found most enlightening Conn’s careful tracing of Buck’s feminism which surely was foundational though long ignored. Few may know that the publisher of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique consulted Buck prior to it’s publication, that Buck was a outspoken advocate of women’s issues (including birth control), or that the second American woman to women the Nobel Prize for literature, Toni Morrison, looked back at her early reading of Buck’s work and said, “She misled me…and made me feel that all writers wrote sympathetically, empathetically, honestly and forthrightly about other cultures.”
Many have likewise forgotten that for more than a decade Pearl Buck was virtually America’s only source of information on what ordinary Chinese people were like, and that she used her authority of knowledge and voice to combat racism and to promote positive relations between the West and all of Asia.
The thing I remember most vividly about Buck’s writing was the dignity she gave to the peasants in her stories, and Conn lifted that out as major achievement of Buck’s writing. Perhaps that explains why in later life I came to enjoy other writers (Wendell Berry comes to mind) who managed to endow their ordinary characters with the same dignity.
Conn is an admirer of Buck (though he only came to realize that late in life), and he found himself in agreement with many of her opinions, beliefs and causes. But his biography tells Buck’s story honestly, with all her flaws. Buck herself may not have appreciated much of what Conn writes, but those who appreciate the honesty with which Buck depicted life in her novels surely will.
George R. Pasley
July 10, 2009
Ketchikan, AK
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