Authors /
Martha Ellen Stortz
Reviewed by Martha Ellen Stortz, professor of historical theology and ethics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California.
Extravagant Affections, by Susan A. Ross
A priest poses the question to a group of children: "How many sacraments are there?" Without missing a beat a little girl responds: "Seven for boys, and six for girls." The math may differ for different communions, with fewer sacraments distributed more equitably among the genders, but Susan A. Ross of Loyola University raises questions that no sacramental tradition can ignore. She posits a principle all traditions could embrace: all of life is potentially revelatory of the divine. Then Ross surveys all facets of her question: how can one construct a sacramental theology that takes the bodies of men and women as seriously as it takes the body of Christ?
Mayhem, by Sissela Bok
By Sissela Bok, Mayhem: Violence as Public Entertainment. (Addison Wesley Longman, 194 pp.)...
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