Tuesday, November 06, 2012

BSD Blogging: Some Sabbath Books

I'm doing the lecture this week on chapters 9 and 10 of Nehemiah and while preparing the lecture I got to thinking about Sabbath and Sabbath-keeping--or the lack of it--today.

Since that train of thought really didn't belong in the lecture, given the constraints of time, I'm going to share a couple of books on the subject that I have found worthwhile.

The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time by Judith Shulevitz is written by a Jewish author, but she has an understanding of the place of the Sabbath in the New Testament as well. This book is interesting because Shulevitz is attentive both to the spiritual and the psychological aspects of Sabbath-keeping. I wrote a full review of the book here if you would like more information. I notice it is no longer available on amazon.com, but can be found from other sellers.

The Gifts of the Jews by Thomas Cahill includes some interesting passages about the concept of Sabbath as well as a fascinating discussion of the importance of the religious concepts of the Jews for western civilization.

Sabbath in the Suburbs: A Family's Experiment with Holy Time by MaryAnn McKibben Dana will be of particular interest to parents of young children who are wondering how to incorporate the principles of Sabbath into modern suburban life. The author is a Presbyterian minister whose family committed to practice the Sabbath for a year and documented the experience. She also provides suggestions for families who are looking for ways to incorporate some aspects of Sabbath into their lives.

Happy reading!

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