THE RECORD Online

Fall 2004

Alumni New Book Releases

Chad Abbott '00 with Everett Mitchell compiled a collection of essays calling the Church to create an ethos of peace in the midst of a world bent on war. In his engaging book, Breaking Silence: Pastoral Approaches for Creating an Ethos of Peace, released in August of 2004, a panel of clergy, scholars, peace activists, and lay people provide resources and a study guide for pastors and local congregations dealing with issues related to war. Such issues range from preaching and scripture, to prayer, peace activism, and refugees. In the end, they argue that a world bent on war is an ethos that is antithetical to a world guided by peace and justice.

Breaking Silence “This is a book about politics and theology, war and peace, the Church and the ethos in which it lives,” said Abbott. “Whether it is praying for troops, religious education, or preaching on a weekly basis amid the flurry of images we see daily in the media, pastors are faced with an enormous challenge as leaders of congregations. This is how our project on creating an ethos of peace began.”

David Hogue '69 wrote Remembering the Future, Imagining the Past:Story, Ritual, and the Human Brain published by Pilgrim Press in October of 2003. His book recognizes that brain research is opening up our understanding of not only what role the different areas of our brain play in making decisions or in recognizing the faces of those we love, but even in experiencing God. As a pastoral theologian and counselor, Hogue values and utilizes the significant resources of the brain sciences for the work of the church in guiding, healing, and challenging persons and systems informed by our current understanding of the central nervous system. This book is an especially useful resource for all those persons concerned with the practical theological arts of preaching, worship, pastoral care, and counseling, as well as those interested in how our increasing knowledge of the ways in which our brains work can help us understand and tailor our spiritual and pastoral practices in the church.

Paul Stroble '79, recently published What Do Other Faiths Believe?. Paul interviews persons of different religious backgrounds in order to explain Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Baha'i. The book is intended for individual Christians and church study groups and seeks not only to inform but also to encourage tolerance and understanding among religious persons. Paul makes mention of Dr. Jim Reinhard's “Christianity and Culture” class that first introduced him to world religions. This is Stroble's ninth book and his fifth for Abingdon Press.

Then Came Disaster

Marvin Zahniser '56 a faculty emeritus professor of history at Ohio State University , recently wrote Then Came Disaster: France and the United States, 1918-1940. His book is the first study to combine elements of the interwar story with the fall of France , using the relationship between France and the United States as a lens to view larger issues of the day.

Kathryn Scanland ‘86, a social researcher who specializes in linking higher education to jobs, co-authored The Jobs Revolution: Changing How America Works, which explains how and why America 's workplace is trembling. It provides a clear-eyed analysis of what the American workplace is like today, what it will be like tomorrow and what will be needed to have work in tomorrow's economy. Scanland makes sense out of the economy, demographics and global realities that are all colliding. Education, she says, is no longer a goal. It's now the fundamental strategy by which Americans get and hold jobs. And it needs to be changed profoundly and rapidly.

Last updated: April 14, 2005