417 - A Spirituality for the Long Haul

A Spirituality for the Long Haul
By Robert S. Bilheimer
Philadelphia, Fortress, 1984. 164 pp. $8.95.

In a time when traditional mainline (soon to be oldline) denominations are reassessing their religious and social roles in contemporary American culture, Bilheimer offers a perceptive insight into the fullness of a biblical Christianity that does not suffer the myopia of the current resurgence of evangelicalism. Wisdom born of international experience and solid biblical exegesis characterizes this book.

The paradox of God's clarity and mystery finds its fullest expression in the limits of people and peoplehood in their particular and Christocentric origins. God crosses the boundary into human existence, unmasking the reality of sin in its compulsive, corruptive, and autonomous forms. In the "inner reenactment of crucifixion and resurrection," Christian mission emerges as the re-presentation of God's graciousness upon the oppressive limits of life.

This book does not reduce spirituality to an instrumental tool for the self-aggrandizement of Christians. Instead, the "long haul" is one that finds authentic witness in the limits of human existence and the emergence of God's presence, understood within the perspective of the wisdom of the biblical tradition. The book is highly recommended.

Michael A. Burdick
University of California
Santa Barbara, Calif.