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GILEAD: A Novel
Marilynne Robinson
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux,
256 pp., $23

The sometimes-fractured relationships between fathers and sons are the heart of this stellar second novel from Marilynne Robinson (Housekeeping, 1981).

In finely crafted prose, Robinson unfolds the first-person ruminations of 76-year-old John Ames of Gilead, Iowa, the son and grandson of pastors. Knowing that his heart is failing, Ames attempts to write down his thoughts for his 6-year-old son to read when he is grown.

Set in 1956, the story offers many historical reflections as Ames looks back on the Civil War and abolition. Ames recalls the rifts between his father and grandfather: "In a spirit of Christian forgiveness very becoming to men of the cloth … they had buried their differences. It must be said, however, that they buried them not very deeply, and perhaps more as one would bank a fire than smother it."

Gilead brims with all the love, misunderstanding, joy, and frustration that can characterize father/son relationships. This luminous novel glows with imagery and insight, and it's rich with meditations on the life of faith.

THE SCANDAL OF THE EVANGELICAL CONSCIENCE: Why Are Christians Living Just Like the Rest of the World?
Ronald J. Sider
Baker,
144 pp., $12.99

American popular culture is "sick, sick unto death," and scandalous behavior is rapidly destroying American Christianity, asserts Evangelicals for Social Action president Ronald Sider (Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger).

"By their daily activity, most 'Christians' regularly commit treason," Sider writes. "With their mouths they claim that Jesus is Lord, but with their actions they demonstrate allegiance to money, sex, and self-fulfillment." If vital Christianity is to survive, Sider believes we must understand the crisis we are in, figure out why it happened, and develop correctives.

Sider looks at numerous statistics comparing Christian behavior (divorce, abuse, premarital sex, materialism) to the general population. (He later distinguishes between these statistics and those of "committed Christians.") He then contrasts contemporary Christian obedience with New Testament teaching and practice, including concern for the poor and overall social holiness.

Sider doesn't mince words. He eschews cheap grace: "When Christians today reduce the gospel to forgiveness of sins, they are offering a one-sided, heretical message that is flatly unfaithful." Calling for accountability, he also takes a few shots at parachurch organizations and independent congregations.

"Few things are more urgent today than a recovery of the New Testament understanding and practice of the church."

YOU'RE NOT ALONE: Healing Through God's Grace After Abortion
Jennifer O'Neill
Faith Communications,
240 pp., $14.95

More than 70 percent of women who say they've had abortions also claim some sort of religious affiliation. Yet these women often come to believe that abortion is an easy fix with no negative fallout. After abortion, Christian counselors, family members, friends, and pastors may not know how to offer practical help.

Actress and pro-life spokeswoman Jennifer O'Neill offers this deeply compassionate, healing book for women who have had abortions and others touched by it in some way. O'Neill's own abortion story lends credibility.

O'Neill says the consequences of abortion include anger, depression, low self-esteem, infertility, a string of destructive relationships, eating disorders, and suicidal thoughts. She includes pertinent Scripture and offers many first-person accounts of abortion and healing.

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March 2005, Vol. 49, No. 3