The Gospel According To Oprah

Review by Kevin Miller

Author: Marcia Z. Nelson
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press (September 28, 2005)
Amazon link

Summary
Oprah Winfrey is arguably the most well-known and most well-liked woman in the world today. Every day her television show reaches millions of viewers, and if you include her magazine, Web site, book club, television network, and movie production company, her influence is without comparison. Indeed, she has been nicknamed "The Queen of All Media." Yet unlike many celebrities, Winfrey's is an overwhelmingly and unerringly positive public persona. In this book, religion reporter Marcia Nelson explores the spiritual dimensions that are prevalent in all aspects of the Oprah Winfrey media empire. Though Oprah is rarely explicitly religious on her television show or magazine, Nelson points out that there are several major Christian themes that weave through these aspects of her life and work: confession, redemption, healing, mission, forgiveness, and salvation. Nelson concludes that Oprah is a "compelling spiritual teacher in a spiritually eclectic and ever-practical America." This book will appeal both to Oprah fans and people who are fascinated by the intersection of religion and popular culture.

Review

Coming rather late in the game in terms of the “Gospel According to…� genre (which has featured books on The Simpsons, Harry Potter, and Dr. Seuss, among others), one might expect The Gospel According to Oprah to fall into the “day late and a dollar short� category. Far from it. Seeking to discern the mystery of Oprah’s allure to millions of viewers and readers around the world, author Marcia Z. Nelson has written a taut little book that is bound to appeal to Oprah fans and foes alike.

The first thing that struck me about this book is how much it resembles Oprah’s show: Pleasant to look at, emotionally and intellectually engaging, conversational and yet not too familiar, nutritious and yet easily digestible, and just long enough to whet your appetite for her subject matter without making you long for a commercial break. Seeing as Nelson’s research involved watching Oprah’s show for one year, reading dozens of O magazines, and corresponding with fans via Oprah’s web site, it’s no surprise that her tone and format are so ideally suited to the Queen of Daytime’s fans. And yet, it is an achievement worth noting, seeing as few people have been able to emulate Oprah’s ability to give the people what they want. Perhaps it won’t be long before Oprah, herself, comes calling…[1]

The other thing that impressed me about this book is the clarity of Nelson’s thinking. Neither overly gushy nor overly critical and without wasting a word, she accurately—I think—discerns “ten reasons why Oprah is a compelling and successful spiritual teacher in spiritually eclectic and ever-practical America.� Some of these reasons include Oprah’s humanness, the way she provides community for her viewers, her ability to listen, her emphasis on generosity, gratitude, and forgiveness, and her ability to keep things simple. These ten reasons form the skeleton of Nelson’s book, with a brief, insightful chapter devoted to each.

Beyond simply explaining Oprah’s appeal, however, Nelson goes a step further by seeking to understand what function Oprah plays in society. Is she an entertainer? A preacher? A confessor? A self-help guru? A scam artist? All of the above? Also, what does her popularity mean? What does Oprah’s appeal say about her? What does it say about us? I won’t divulge all of Nelson’s answers to these questions, but I will say that she comes out with a decidedly positive verdict, and her reasons for doing so are definitely worth the read.

Love Oprah or hate her—Is there really another option?—I can guarantee you will enjoy this book. In fact, as was the case with me, you may discover that your opinion on Oprah reveals as much about yourself as it does about her, which merely proves Nelson’s fourth secret to Oprah’s appeal: Oprah encourages self-examination. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

[1] Which would be ironic, seeing as Oprah’s people would not allow Nelson access to her during the writing of this book.

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Inside Narnia: A Guide to Exploring the Lion, the Witch And the Wardrobe

Review by Kevin Miller

Author: Devin Brown
Publisher: Baker Books (September, 2005)
Amazon link


Summary

Insightful and thorough, "Inside Narnia" will dig deeper into C.S. Lewis's magical world to reveal biblical truths that often go uncovered.

Review

As if the scholarly and popular appetite for new books on C.S. Lewis and his works knows no bounds, Baker Books has brought out nothing less than a full-length literary analysis of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe—just in time for Christmas and the upcoming movie.

While the book’s subtitle bills it as “A Guide to Exploring The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,� if you substitute the word “guide� with “commentary,� you’ll have a much better idea of what Inside Narnia is all about. In true CSI fashion, author Devin Brown dusts for fingerprints and shines his ultraviolet light into every nook and cranny of Narnia seeking clues that will deepen our appreciation of Lewis’s best-loved book. Ever wonder who Lucy is and why Lewis dedicated this book to her? Look no further. Ever wonder why Lewis chose beavers as the first talking animals the children encounter in Narnia? Wonder no more. And if you’ve ever been puzzled by the appearance of Father Christmas in this story, don’t worry, Brown offers an opinion on this and dozens of other major and minor details as well.

To be honest, my first response to this book was “Enough already!� Agreed: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is one of the greatest pieces of children’s literature ever written, but do we really need to subject it to this sort of comprehensive literary scrutiny? Surely a work of this nature will only be of interest to Lewis scholars and the most dedicated of fans. Then again, I suppose Brown has correctly identified a gap in the marketplace. As he notes in his preface, most of the scholarly and popular books on the Narnia stories take a devotional rather than a literary approach, and the few non-devotional works devote merely a single chapter to each of the Chronicles. Furthermore, even though The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe “can be simply read and enjoyed as a child,� the meaning and satisfaction we derive from this story will only be deepened by Brown’s painstaking effort to draw connections between different passages within the book, other works by Lewis, events in Lewis’s life, and the work of writers who influenced the writing of the Chronicles.

So perhaps this book is justified, if only to provide fodder for the ever-growing cottage industry of grad students and professors who scour Lewis’s works like they are the Scriptures themselves. I can only imagine that if this book is successful, Brown plans to follow it up with six more of the same, one on each of the other Chronicles. And if he does, more power to him. Just because I think it borders on overkill does not mean it contains nothing of value. In fact, if I were an undergrad student writing a paper on the Chronicles, I would be delighted to discover the existence of this tome. Inside Narnia reflects a tremendous amount of research, and I am certain that dedicated Lewis fans as well as those who have just entered the wardrobe will be forever grateful for the work Brown has done here.

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Comes a Horseman

Review by Jenn Wright

Author: Robert Liparulo
Westbow Press, ISBN: 0785261761

Synopsis: A recently widowed FBI agent and his tough-as-nails female partner are on the case of a serial murderer. The case turns ugly, though, when the agents themselves become targets of the killer. The resulting drama unfolds as the pair travels to the Middle East, following apocalyptic leads and shady characters through a network of deceit and megalomania, and, ultimately, to the man suspected to be the Anti-Christ.

To be honest, it is difficult to review this book in the “Pop Culture from a Spiritual Point of View� context of Hollywood Jesus. In this case, a more appropriate approach would be “Spiritual Culture from a Popular Point of View� (a great tagline for a different website). Unfortunately, Comes a Horseman reads like a strange Jenkins-LaHaye-Peretti-Oke hybrid—perhaps a Left Behind in This Present Darkness with a side order of romance. The novel is clearly written to a Christian audience, and will likely not be recognized beyond that scope.

I admit that I was somewhat disappointed in the book—not due to any deficiency in writing talent or plot development or characterization on Liparulo’s part, but because the book tries to be too many things to too many people. For those who enjoy crime thrillers, Liparulo’s general story may be intriguing—two FBI agents investigating a serial murder case, who end up as potential victims. Likewise, the apocalyptic bent of the storyline is engaging and rather on the creepy side. But other elements of the story dull the potential intensity of a crime thriller by detracting from the action with moments of religious introspection and transparent romance.

These literary distractions prevent the reader from thoroughly engaging in the spine-tingling thriller the story could be. Every time the drama takes the reader to the edge of his seat, the suspense is interrupted (and subsequently diminished) by a touchy-feely moment of Christian reflection or unfulfilled romance. The “spiritual� diversions include numerous “insider� references that only Christians would recognize—Christian song lyrics, biblical allusions, theological positions, and questions of sin and evil pervade the larger story arc in a rather obtrusive fashion. Similarly, the romance angle between the tragically-widowed-single-father and his career-addicted-but-oddly-feminine partner is predictable as an overused convention. What I found most disappointing is that the general plot of Horseman is most certainly strong enough to carry itself into the vast array of popular crime fiction; unfortunately, the heavy-handed Christian aspects and the out-of-place romance keep this novel from appealing to an audience beyond the conservative Christian who wants to feel like he’s reading a thriller without the associated guilt of enjoying “worldly� (and more believable) drama.

In short, Comes a Horseman is a well-written, engaging novel, with an unfortunately narrow audience. A bit more thrills (sans cheesy romance) and fewer overtly “Christian� references, and Liparulo would be in contention with the best “worldly� thrill writers of the day. Perhaps we can look forward to a broader focus in coming works.

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Story: Recapture the Mystery

Review by Kevin Miller

(Steven James. Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell: 2005, 208 pages.)

In a recent article[1], I criticized overzealous evangelicals for tripping over themselves to make the gospel relevant. Underlying this evangelistic fervor, I conjectured, is not so much a love of Christ as a fear that the gospel can’t stand its own. If we don’t do something to jazz it up or dumb it down, non-Christians won’t get it. Steven James’ new book Story: Recapturing the Mystery is a prime example of my hypothesis. Billed as “a postmodern retelling of the Christian story,� it is essentially a collection of brief personal essays, poetry, and black and white photographs that attempts to jazz up the gospel while at the same time dumbing it down. It’s the worst of both worlds.

It’s difficult to put my finger on exactly what rings false here. The best I can say is that James—like many other Christian authors commonly labeled as “postmodern� or “emergent�—sounds like the smart kid in class who knows the right answers but pretends he doesn’t so he’ll fit in. I’m all for making the Bible accessible to the masses. But if we’re going to do it, let’s do it honestly, and let’s do it well. Unfortunately, I think James blows his opportunity here on both counts. A good example is his opening essay on creation. Here’s a wonderful chance to hook readers with some probing questions about life’s origin and purpose, to give them a glimpse into the glory and wonder of God. Instead, James opts for passages like the following:

“God finally got tired of the cloak of darkness, so he told his first story. He spoke and light appeared.

'Let there be,' he said. And there was.

I’m not exactly sure why he did it. I don’t think anyone knows his precise motivation. Personally, I think he got sick of the darkness. I think since God is love, he couldn’t stand the thought of spending eternity alone in the dark without someone to love. He needed companionship, because love gives, shares, sacrifices, woos. It has to. Or else it isn’t love.�

Pay attention to the last paragraph. James begins by coming alongside the seeker and pretending like he has no idea why God created the universe. Then he rushes in with a trite, Sunday school level theory that burns like acid on the face of intellect. For starters, it’s obvious James has no idea what the term “eternity� (time without beginning or end) means. Otherwise he would never say that God couldn’t stand the thought of spending eternity alone in the dark, because if God truly is without beginning or end, he had just spent eternity doing just that! Furthermore, if you look at the Scriptural account of Creation, it wasn’t God who was in darkness; it was the earth (Genesis 1:2). And surely God was not in need of companionship, seeing as he exists in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—who are the epitome of community and selfless adoration. I’m sorry, but if I were a non-Christian, I would have put the book down right there, assuming James was nothing more than a poorly educated wolf in sheep’s clothing—an old school propositional apologist who figured the way to be postmodern was to phrase every statement as a question.

Theological quibbles aside, however, what is sorely lacking in this book is the one thing that would endear it to modern and postmodern readers alike: authenticity. Please don’t confuse this term with “sincerity.� I believe James is quite sincere, but his musings in this book are far too safe and trite to be authentic. What James and others seem unable to understand is that people of a postmodern bent don’t just respond to any narrative. They respond to narratives that ring with the genuine cry of human experience that logical, propositional arguments for God do not, narratives that recognize that life is often dirty, painful, messy, disappointing, and unpredictable, that we don’t have all of the answers and that it is unlikely we ever will. But amidst the muck and grime and grief, there is always a glimmer of hope, a reason for taking that next, boot-sucking step. That light is nothing less than Christ, the Light of the world (John 8:12).

James’s impulse is correct here: In our story-based culture, Christians need to develop fresh ways of telling and re-telling their stories. But such innovations should never be motivated by fear of the gospel’s irrelevance. The gospel is relevant today, tomorrow, and forever. We can rest in that fact. We don’t need to jazz it up, and we certainly don’t need to dumb it down. All that is required is an honest, authentic expression of our experience with Christ. Offer that up to the world, and trust God to take care of the rest.

[1]“The Misguided Quest for Relevance,� Clarion: Journal of Spirituality and Justice, Easter 2005.

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