Saturday, May 17, 1997

Religion in the media: a look at recent books, music and CD-ROMs

The Dallas Morning News

BOOKS

"The Art of Prayer: A Simple Guide," by Timothy Jones (Ballantine, $11). Jones has written a book that those new to prayer will find helpful, and old hands who are uneasy about their current prayer life will find comfort and encouragement. For beginners, Jones has some excellent advice: "There is no mysterious key to open up the riches of prayer. The desire to pray itself is all we need to start." For everybody there are practical suggestions - what to do when you can't concentrate, or when your praying seems uneven or dry, or when you feel harassed, or how "to minimize the distraction of distractions." It also addresses other concerns, such as how to approach God, how to nurture our part of the ongoing relationship and how to understand unanswered prayer. -Terry Kelly xxx

"Reclaiming the Great Tradition: Evangelicals, Catholics & Orthodox in Dialogue," edited by James S. Cutsinger (InterVarsity Press, price not listed). Among some churches, ecumenism is associated exclusively with liberal Christianity. Conservative believers look warily at efforts toward Christian unity when they sense that essentials of the faith are played down or even denied. Ecumenism, in short, equals compromise. The partners in this published dialogue - big names in their camps - represent a different ecumenical focus. Theirs is an ecumenism of orthodoxy. They see themselves as holding in common the church's "Great Tradition." Within these pages, bedrock doctrines such as the Trinity and the humanity and deity of Jesus Christ are non-negotiables. Differences are never overlooked, but the writers are concerned primarily with what it would mean for Christians from various traditions to affirm together the Great Tradition. There are essays by Peter Kreeft and Richard John Neuhaus (Roman Catholic), Harold O.J. Brown and J.I. Packer (evangelical Protestant), and Patrick Henry Reardon and Kallistos Ware (Orthodox). Each essay is followed by shorter piece in which another writer responds.

-Paul R. Buckley

MUSIC

"More Than You'll Ever Know," by Lisa Page (CGI, 50 minutes). This pleasant record is the debut solo release for Page, the lead singer of the gospel group Witness. Her powerful voice provides the link between original selections that range in style from smooth R&B to passionate, traditional gospel. There's something refreshingly real about that voice. It's far less polished than many gospel singers', but she manages to express emotions such as joy and anguish with more gusto than most. Production by Ms. Page's husband, Michael Brooks, is straightforward; neither choirs nor synthesizers drown out the singer. A fine first effort. -Christopher Ave

"Leave It Up to You," by Joe Club (Word, 48 minutes). Straight-ahead messages and music mark this initial effort by four-member Joe Club, which was founded 10 years ago as a secular rock band and opened for such decidedly non-Christian acts as Joan Jett and Cheap Trick. But band members embraced Christianity and refocused their efforts toward the contemporary Christian market, gaining a record deal with Word in the process. Their music is uncluttered pop/pock reminiscent of Hootie & the Blowfish; highlights include the title cut and Let Me Know," a hard-edged prayer for guidance. -Christopher Ave

"Yours Truly," by The Alertered (Curb, 42 minutes). Early 1980s pop sounds permeate this debut from this Illinois quartet. Recorded in only two weeks, Yours Truly is marked with a fresh energy musically and lyrically. Lead singer Chuck Ash sounds a bit like Elvis Costello - the voice isn't particularly pretty, but it effectively expresses emotions. The title cut is a stirring anthem; Two Different Things," by contrast, is a rock number with meaty guitar work. -Christopher Ave

CD-ROMS:

"HeavenWord" (CD-ROM set) Audio Bible for Windows, (HeavenWord Inc., $69.95 for KJV, NKJV; $89.95 for NAS, NIV, 1-800-318-7333, http:/ww.HeavenWord.com.). In addition to strong study and notes capabilities, this software provides narration of the entire Bible, available verse by verse. The King James Version, narrated by Eric Martin of Arlington, was the first audio KJV for CD-ROM. Martin's lovely British accent adds the perfect touch. The user can search words, topics and verses and choose to view the written Scripture alone or to hear it narrated as well. A simple process allows for building passage collections, in any order, with easy additions and deletions. The software includes Spurgeon's daily devotionals. Also included is a blank daily journal for the user. Finally, there are Bible memorization options, which allow the user to loop verses over and over, play them in the background while using other software, play in zoom mode (concentrating on each verse) or use "repeat after me" to read along with the Scripture. This two-disk CD-ROM is easy to install and use. -Laurel Laurentz

"The Super Bible Kids Series," CD-ROM for Windows, (Kidvision Software, $14.95 plus S&H, 1-800-366-4830). This software for children age 3 and up aims to teach them about the Bible through colorful pictures, sound and music. Children also can learn basic skills such as the alphabet, numbers and arithmetic while playing the games. Each program in the series is fully functional within itself. These include Bible ABC1, which teaches the alphabet through three groups of pictures: Bible objects and characters, animals and common objects. Bible ABC2 adds the skill of matching pictures with letters in the alphabet. Bible 123 aims to teach children numbers through pictures, sound and music. Bible 456 matches numbers with pictures. Bible Animals teaches the story of Noah's ark. Animals, birds and food are included. The child loads the animals onto the ark. Bible Music uses popular children's Bible songs to teach music and singing. -Laurel Laurentz

(Writers are staff members of The Dallas Morning News. Write to them in care of: the Religion Section, Dallas Morning News, Communications Center, P.O. Box 655237, Dallas, Texas 75265.)

(c) 1997, The Dallas Morning News

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