CALVINISM IN THE LAS VEGAS AIRPORT:
Making Connections in Today's World
Richard J. Mouw
Zondervan,
144 pages, $14.99

Someone once asked Richard Mouw, "How can a Calvinist like you survive—especially as the president!—at a school as diverse as Fuller Theological Seminary?"

Mouw, who says he thrives on the interaction, has learned to allow for a "certain degree of messiness" in his theology. "What does Calvinism have to say to our present world?" he writes, adding, "How can I best be a Calvinist in the 21st century?"

Using a scene from the 1979 movie Hardcore as a springboard, Mouw looks at how it is possible to draw on the strengths of Calvinism to navigate the complexities of contemporary life. Mouw admits that the Calvinist tulip doctrines (total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, perseverance of the saints), when stated bluntly, "have a harsh feel about them." To articulate them with gentleness and respect to someone outside the fold, he writes, takes effort.

A refreshing humbleness of spirit marks the book. "In … dealing with many of these mysterious things, all I can do is acknowledge God's sovereign purposes," Mouw writes, "while at the same time reminding myself that this God calls me to be obedient to those things that are clearly within my grasp to understand."

STREET SAINTS:
Renewing America's Cities
Barbara J. Elliott
Templeton,
320 pages, $24.95

Who are the modern-day Good Samaritans? They are the "street saints," according to Barbara Elliott, the founder of the Center for Renewal in Houston, which serves faith-based groups working mostly in the inner city.

Street saints are those willing to go where there is pain ...