Carter, William G. Speaking of stewardship: model sermons on money and possessions. Louisville, Ky: Geneva Press, 1998

Rattee, Mike

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 25Issue 2 The Arts and the Church Article 1811-1-1999Speaking of stewardship: model sermons onmoney and possessionsMike RatteeFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationRattee, Mike (1999) "Speaking of stewardship: model sermons on money and possessions," Consensus: Vol. 25 : Iss. 2 , Article 18.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol25/iss2/18Book Reviews 123religion, historically, was really the interaction among physics, cosmology andreligion. Even after Darwin, physics and cosmologywere still the most prominentsciences, and therefore the bulk of interest in science and religion was orientedtowards them. It is only with the recent tremendous experimental (and financial)success of geneticists in cloning living organisms and the ethical implications ofsuch work that theology is now taking biological science very seriously. While achapter introducing the issues faced by religious ethics in terms of geneticmanipulation is warranted and conspicuously missing (given its importance andurgency since this technology is already readily available), the volume containsenough good introductory material to deserve a wide reading among thoseinterested in the interaction between modern biology and liberal Christianity.Joe VelaidumMcMaster UniversityHamilton, OntarioComing Out as SacramentChris GlaserLouisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998155 pages, $23.95 SoftcoverWelcoming But Not AffirmingStanley J. GrenzLouisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1998210 pages, $29.95 SoftcoverThese two books, from the same publisher, are on the popular andcontentious topic of homosexuality and the church. The first, by well-known gaychurch activist, Chris Glaser, is firmly in the queer liberationist genre. The other,by Vancouver evangelical professor, Stanley J. Grenz, is just as forthrightly in the“love the sinner, hate the sin” category.Glaser’s book, while using the language of sacrament, really models a queerhermeneutic for our time. It is not actually as deeply rooted in sacramental pietyand imagery as the title might lead one to expect. This is not surprising givenGlaser’s self-conscious Presbyterian roots. In a book that is exciting because ofits creative use of scriptural text and story, Glaser shows other gays, lesbians,bisexuals, and transgendered (and any one else who for reasons of solidarity orself-enlightenment cares to read it) howto appropriate biblical myth in light of ourlives and experience. It is a good application of the method of faith Marcus Borg124 Consensusenvisions in Meeting Jesus Again for the Very First Time.This quote, from the middle of the book, sums up Glaser’s purpose andmethod: “Sacraments act out the myths of God’s Word in history. Coming outas sacrament means recognizing God’s Word acting in our own life, delivering usfrom the closet, guiding and sustaining us...” While Glaser succeeds admirablyin exploring this theme, it seems to digress from time to time, and is sprinkledwith a few too many self-references.Glaser’s use of familiar and unfamiliar scriptural story and image, will makeanother powerful contribution to the queer theological liberation movement. Hisexploration of the Biblical theme of the scapegoat, and how it has been usedagainst queers, but can be transformed, as we “come out” of our scapegoatexperience, resist the temptation to scapegoat others, and offer our queer selvesas living sacrifices, is but one example of Glaser’s “out of the closet” use of biblicaltext.Another useful aspect of Glaser’s book is its collection of liturgical resources,seven rituals which could very meaningfully be used by groups of worshipperswithout respect of sexual orientation, to be in solidarity with queers on themargins. One of these, “A Call To Repentance” deserves particular attention, ina time when liberalizing churches are seeking to offer welcome and affirmation,without stopping to repent of the history of pain, discrimination and oppression.Grenz’s book, on the other hand, is another attempt to containhomosexuality, and refute the arguments of the theological wing of the gayliberation movement. In a sweeping review of the most well-known exegeticalstudies that have re-interpreted the biblical texts on “homosexuality”, Grenzconcludes that none of them are convincing, nor warrant a rejection of thetraditional interpretations condemning homosexuality.Grenz likewise sums up the files on the teachings of the church, biblicalauthority, sexual ethics, and the possibility of blessed, same gender relationships.In each instance he concludes the liberalizing tendencies of our time are wrong-headed, displeasing to God, and morally depraved. For example, his argumentagainst lesbian and gay unions, is based on a theology of marriage (imputing farmore to marriage than most Lutherans would). He describes marriage, and thesacred quality of the sexual act between a man and a woman as “the uniting ofthe two foundational ways of being human” and a symbol for the exclusive,inviolate bond between Yahweh and the People of God, Christ and the Church -a task to which loving, committed gay and lesbian relationships are, in Grenz’sview, unequal, because of their sexual deficiency.There are two good things about Grenz’s book. First, he spells out his intent(and hints broadly at his conclusions) at the beginning of the book and eachchapter. He does not say that his book is biased, although in his footnotes he hasBook Reviews 125no difficulty labelling liberal authors as such. There aren’t really any surprisesafter you’ve read the introduction, just the inexorable plodding to each hostileconclusion. This is a book that preaches to the converted, namely evangelicalChristians who cannot imagine a world that includes healthy homosexuals, or, forthat matter ever meeting one in their church. The second good thing is theexhaustive footnotes, which in effect provide a comprehensive bibliography of thebest queer liberationist scholars and thinkers of our time. (The bibliographyperse, while reflecting a balance of sources, is not surprisingly weighted with moreconservative authors, largely unknown outside fundamental circles.) In the end,it is clear that only sexually abstaining homosexuals who see their Christiancalling as the life-long containment of their sexual orientation will find welcomein Grenz’s kind of church.Interestingly, Grenz makes several references to Glaser’s thought, albeit, withthe intent of discrediting it. In an oblique way, Glaser, with his word“theoclosetization” is referring to Grenz’s theology: codified, gate-keeping,calcified ways of limiting the Spirit, and breaking the spirit of the people of God,and in this instance God’s queer people.Ralph Carl WushkeToronto, OntarioSpeaking of Stewardship: Model Sermons on Money andPossessionsWilliam G. Carter, EditorLouisville: Geneva Press, 1998148 pages, $23.95 PaperbackHave you ever read a book that is so stirring you want to read it again, but youdon’t want to read it again? You like it, but you fear it? 1 have! Wonder of wonders,it’s a book of sermons. Some would say that it is hard enough to pay attentionto one sermon delivered live, oral, in real-time. Putting twenty-three sermons inprint for people to read is a sure path to ‘Dullsville’. Not so with this collection!Here are a few reasons why 1 liked reading them and would even recommendtheir re-reading. First, the catchy titles pull me in, making me want to know whatthey stand for (“Grace and Grab”, “RSVP”, “Marvellous Mammon”, “The Top FiveReasons Why 1 don’t Tithe Yet”, “Don’t Touch the Chicken Gntil We See if Theyare Hungry”). Second, these are high quality sermons. There’s hardly a bad,boring one in the bunch. A few of them come from well known homileticians likeFred Craddock, Charles Rice, Thomas Troeger, but most are by local pastors of

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