The most-read Century book reviews

December 30, 2015

Here are the Century book reviews that got read the most online this year.

1) Tony Robinson on Nancy Tatom Ammerman: Publishers see SBNRs as a key market, while preachers either court them or put them down. As for Ammerman, she isn’t sure SBNRs exist.

2) Ralph Wood on Carol and Philip Zaleski: The proliferation of Inklings books is often prompted by Christian triumphalism. The Zaleskis have something more interesting to say.

Bishop Budde among the Swedes

In September, Episcopal bishop Mariann Edgar Budde will travel to her mother’s homeland at the invitation of the Stockholm Cathedral.

by Gary G. Yerkey

First Words

The good kind of patriotism

The church is called to be a loving critic, not a national cheerleader.

by Peter W. Marty

Feature

Body counts: The dark side of Christian history

With its long coastline, rugged mountains and haunting sand dunes, Oman is a paradise for desert lovers, hikers and boaters. Muscat, the capital city, is a gem—its arched white buildings and flat roofs squeezed between the blue ocean and black mountains. Yet call me an egghead, but what I remember most from a trip to Oman is a booklet I read there with an ominous title: Body Count: A Quantitative Review of Political Violence Across World Civilizations (2009). In it, author Naveed Sheikh claims that “the Christian civilization emerges as the most violent and genocidal in the world history.” Compared to Islam, Christianity is a clear winner: 31.94 million deaths by Muslims to 177.94 million deaths by Christians.

by Miroslav Volf

Feature

The burden of the Gospels

An unconfident reader

by Wendell Berry

The most-read Century book reviews

A new pope’s call to unity

July 20, Ordinary 16C (Amos 8:1-12; Psalm 52)

Hearing critical words (Amos 7:7-17)

Becoming manna

Bishop Budde among the Swedes

The good kind of patriotism

Body counts: The dark side of Christian history

The burden of the Gospels

The most-read Century book reviews

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