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Justice in Love, Nicholas Wolterstorff (Eerdmans)
Often, the Christian themes of justice and love are held in tension. Philosophers have posited them as incompatible starting points for thinking about ethics while the rest of us have often wondered if the two notions don’t simply roam in different spheres. For example: does forgiveness (the overflow of love) require surrendering the quest for justice against wrongs? Touring biblical teaching and ethical philosophy, Wolterstorff (emeritus professor at Yale and a wise Christian thinker) insists that justice and love belong together.
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The Head and the Heart, self-titled release (Sub Pop Records)
Navigating somewhere between folk and pop, Seattle band The Head and the Heart’s first full-length album offers beautiful music, where rich lyrics and artful tunes meld into something new, something fresh. Part of what makes this music so artful is its nuance. For instance, on the track “Ghost,” pay attention to the whimsical piano work. If you want a sample — at the time of writing, their track “Lost in My Mind” was available for free as a download at Amazon.
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To Live in Peace: Biblical Faith and the Changing Inner City, Mark Gornik (Eerdmans)
Gornik has been described as a “most exciting theological thinker, the kind of organic theologian academics dream about but very rarely find.” Situated in the inner city, Gornik explores themes like the unique contours of urban faith, engaging excluded neighborhoods and what it means (in concrete terms) to seek the peace of the city. If you live in a city or care about a city, this work will help you think about why cities matter to God.
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Winn Collier (www.winncollier.com) is pastor of All Souls, a Baptist congregation in Charlottesville, Va., the author of three books and a columnist.