Freedom and Opportunity

“The Anchoress” blog has a wonderful story about her experience talking with some immigrants to the USA:

Same old America: Freedom and Opportunity
“Can I ask, why here? Why did you come to America?”
As it turned out, the fellow helping me did not speak much English. He turned to his cousin, the receptionist, for translation, and I asked again.
“More freedom,” she said immediately, without first translating. “America has freedom.”
“Opportunity,” said the girl at the next workspace. “We can have small business and grow it and make bigger business. We can be anything.”
By then the receptionist had translated to her cousin and he had responded. He smiled hugely at me while she told me what he had said.
“America is a great country where we can use all our energy, all our knowledge, all our creativity. There is freedom.”
“Opportunity,” the other girl repeated. “Anyone can be anything, do anything in America.”
“Yes,” said the receptionist, who is pregnant. “My son can be president, if he wants.”

My 2007 Book Recommendations

It’s that time of year when lists of recommended books come out. I’ve gone over several of those lists, and see some of the books I’ve read on some of them.

For whatever it’s worth, here is a list of some books I’ve read this year, and my comments on each.

1776, by David McCullough: A captivating narrative history of the critical year in American history. It shows how difficult it is in reality to gain freedom, and then to keep it once gained. Excellent read.

A Mormon in the White House?, by Hugh Hewitt: With a subtitle of 10 Things Every American Should Know About Mitt Romney, it is a friendly look into the character and qualifications of one candidate for President. And of course, it deals with “the Mormon question”. Worth reading, especially as Romney is leading in several states.

America, The Last Best Hope, Vols. I & II, by William Bennett: An excellent narrative history of the United States. It is essential reading for those who have read nothing in American History since high school or those who would like to read something positive about the United States, but still see how we really are, warts and all.

Christianity For The Rest Of Us, by Diana Butler Bass: This could be a beautiful read about “Christian practices” that have been helpful to many and are signposts of some healthy and growing “mainline Christian” churches. I say it “could be” because to get to the beautiful parts you have to endure a lot of negative, polemical, bigoted, and condescending comments about those groups Bass doesn’t like: evangelicals, fundamentalists, the “religious right”, and others she ironically deems narrow-minded. If you fit into one of those categories, skip this book. If you like polemical writing, you may like this one.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling: The last book of a series that is great fun. I loved them all.

My Grandfather’s Son, by Clarence Thomas: This is a truly inspiring story about one of the Supreme Court’s most controversial justices. His rise from a poverty and prejudiced culture that is unbelievable to all except those who have seen it firsthand is a challenge to all of us who complain about whatever roadblocks we may have had to success. I loved it.

Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference, by Philip Yancey: Our Sunday School class did a study of this book early in 2007. You can see some of the weekly lesson guides online here AntleHope.blogspot Prayer Study. It is a most important book on prayer, with no false promises but with a lot of excellent information and advice. A great study!

Simply Christian, by N.T. Wright: This is N.T. Wright’s approach to what some have called an update of C.S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity”. It’s an attempt to present the Christian faith in a manner that will appeal to 21st Century non-Christians and Christians alike. It may be a bit hard to get into for those who don’t understand metaphors. I like it very much, since I’m trying to adapt my approach to “evangelism” to reach those who aren’t steeped in the evangelical Christian culture I grew up in.

The Forgotten Man, by Amity Schlaes: I knew very little about the Great Depression and the FDR administration, even though it’s effect on my parents affected me greatly. I learned how much that era continues to dominate the political landscape and arguments about the role of the Federal government (in Social Security, taxes, health care, etc.). It is a lively readable book that throws light on a lot of people whose names I only vaguely knew. This narrative history of the 30’s is one of the most important books that can be read by those who will vote in 2008—if you believe that “the past is the prologue to the future”.

The Last Word, by N.T. Wright: This book, along with the last one on my list by N.T. Wright, gave me the framework for an extensive study of the Bible that my Sunday School class is doing now (God Speaks To/Through His People, the story of the Bible as a Drama in Five Acts—see more about that here. It is an important smaller work whose value is seen in its sub-title” “Beyond the Bible Wars to a New Understanding of the Authority of Scripture”.

The Looming Tower, by Lawrence Wright: This is THE classic (true) story of the rise of Al Qaeda and the road to 9/11. Anyone who claims to have the answer to ending the war that Al Qaeda declared on the United States and has not read this book is only fooling themselves. A MUST READ!

The New Testament and the People of God, by N.T. Wright: This is the more extensive study from which “The Last Word” derives its framework. It’s a big (476 pages), detailed, scholarly book by a pre-eminent New Testament scholar who is also the (Anglican) Bishop of Durham, England. The first of a trilogy, it’s not a book for those with little biblical background; but it is still a great book that I would recommend to anyone who is interested in Christian theology and today’s culture.