What are you Reading? Part 8

In anticipation of summertime reading, we recently asked our faculty to tell us what they have been reading and the answers may surprise you!

This week's entry comes from Osvaldo Vena, Professor of New Testament Interpretation, and Jack Seymour, Professor of Religious Education.

Dr. Osvaldo Vena
Professor of New Testament Interpretation

Apart from reading again some of the classics of the Post-Colonial literature, such as Orientalism, by Edward Said, and some foundational works on phenomenology of religion, such as The Symbolism of Evil, by Paul Ricoeur, I am also reading Embracing Israel/Palestine: A Strategy to Heal and Transform the Middle East, by Rabbi Michael Lerner, founder of the Tikkun magazine (www.tikkun.org), an online resource dedicated to peace and justice in the Middle East. The book, which outlines a balanced, fair, and just solution to the crisis, has received high praise from people like Cornel West, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, President Jimmy Carter, and even evangelical pastor Tony Campolo. The book is well written and it provides a balanced and informed view concerning the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

Dr. Jack Seymour

Professor of Religious Education

Thomas H. Groome, Will There Be Faith?: A New Vision for Educating and Growing Disciples (Harper One, 2011).

One of the best and most important books in the field of Christian Religious Education. Thomas Groome, professor of theology and religious education at Boston College, describes in detail his “life-faith-life” approach to Christian education. Building from a theological analysis of the teaching of Jesus, Groome describes his approach to education to undergird the vitality of faith. He draws heavily on his own Catholic faith tradition, as well as liberation theology, to seek to answer how we can teach a faith that makes a difference in our world and gives voice to the important of faith in public dialogue. If you read one book on education this year, make it Groome’s.


Eboo Patel, Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice, and the Promise of America (Beacon Press, 2012).

The founder and president of the Interfaith Youth Corps and a member of the advisory council of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships calls the U.S. to its promise of a land of diversity where many voices participate in public discussion about the future. Patel weaves remarkable stories of how faith-based partnerships make a difference and how they are essential to fulfilling the pluralistic vision at the heart of the U.S. Again, this is the key book on the public impact of faith.