A review of Living Christianity

What ought to be the relationship between the church and the academy? Does professional theology matter for congregational life, and vice versa? What do preachers and professors have to say to each other?

These questions are at the heart of Living Christianity, a collaborative effort by an Ivy League professor and a mainline pastor. Shannon Craigo-Snell and Shawnthea Monroe take up the subjects of creation, Christ, sin, church and heaven, treating them historically and homiletically, theologically and pastorally, noting their significance for lived discipleship in the church and the world.

Craigo-Snell, who teaches religious studies at Yale, wears her scholarship lightly as she skillfully elucidates classic Chris­tian teaching, drawing on thinkers as diverse as Hans Frei, Karl Rahner, St. Anselm and Delores Williams. Monroe, senior pastor of Plymouth Church of Shaker Heights in Ohio, displays a seasoned preacher's wit and wisdom as she locates doctrine's rightful home in the messiness of Christian communities struggling, and sometimes succeeding, to be faithful.