Our fall books issue includes the following reviews:

 

Valerie Weaver-Zercher: Accidental Saints, by Nadia Bolz-Weber. Readers who found Pastrix to be a long, cool drink will find more refreshment here. Those who have tired of Bolz-Weber's cranky schtick will tire of it here as well.

Daniel Schrock: Spiritual Companioning, by Angela Reed, Richard Osmer, & Marcus Smucker. The authors suggest a way forward for those disenchanted with polite, shallow church relationships.

Walter Brueggemann: The Love of God, by Jon D. Levenson. Levenson's new book reflects on the theme of the love of God in the Hebrew Bible. The three components of his subtitle suggest the range and depth of his exposition.

Anthony B. Robinson: The Crucifixion, by Fleming Rutledge. Rutledge's magnum opus is many things: a look at the ways the death of Christ has been interpreted, an argument that the how of his death matters, and a protest against Christianity-light.

Shawnthea Monroe: Standing Naked Before God, by Molly Phinney Baskette. Baskette's book is not a robust example of the Christian practice of confession. But she does offer a glimpse into the life of a church that is thriving against the odds.

Margaret Miles: The Many Faces of Christ, by Philip Jenkins. Jenkins's abundant evidence gives lie to the traditional assumption that all but the four canonical Gospels were effectively squelched in the fourth century.

Sarah Morice Brubaker: The Work of Theology, by Stanley Hauerwas. Longtime Hauerwas readers will not be surprised to hear that his new book is maddening—nor that some of the most maddening aspects are also the most rewarding.