Opera Omnia Vol. III: Christianity, Part One: The Christian Tradition Raimon Panikkar. Opera Omnia Vol. III: Christianity, Part One: The Christian Tradition. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis. 2015. pp. 370. $90.00 (cloth). Reviewed by John M. Allison   The Christian Tradition is the latest addition to the compilation of pluralist theologian Raimon Panikkar’s (1918-2010) completed works. This is a difficult book to summarize – and that is not only because Panikkar’s project is unapologetically cosmic in scope. The volume covers over a decade of intellectual development and is comprised of nine separate works: six articles, two lectures, and one book (1961’s Humanismo y Cruz, which itself consists of a series of ten articles and lectures from 1948-1961). Suffice to say, then, that it would be a vain undertaking to attempt to condense Panikkar’s reflections on Christianity with any...

      Religion in Hip-Hop: Mapping the New Terrain in the US Monica Miller, Anthony B. Pinn, Bernard “Bun B” Freeman, eds. Religion in Hip-Hop: Mapping the New Terrain in the US. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015. pp. 296 $34.95 (paperback). Reviewed by Gregory Rapier   Consisting of fourteen original pieces by as many authors, Religion in Hip-Hop offers a variety of voices with varying critical lenses the opportunity to examine the nuanced relationship between hip-hop and religion. The resulting work reads more like a cipher than one succinct argument, with authors conversing with one another, bouncing off of each-others work, and riding over the same beats from opposite angles to radically different conclusions. The result is a battleground where the very souls of hip-hop’s greatest appear to be on the line. Is Tupac a modern day Christian prophet? A priest for the...

      Character: New Directions from Philosophy, Psychology, and Theology Christian B. Miller, et. al. eds. Character: New Directions from Philosophy, Psychology, and Theology. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015. pp. 720. $74.00 (hardcover). Reviewed by Tasha Striker   This anthology features groundbreaking research in character traits from leading scholars in philosophy, psychology, and theology. The book’s content is pertinent to both students and experts whose interests lie in the interdisciplinary study of character. The curious layperson will also find it accessible. Within the compilation there are thirty-one essays, written by both budding scholars and the book’s four editors, who are established voices within their respective fields. The rising scholars’ contributions were selected as a part of a fellowship competition, supported by the Character Project at Wake Forest...

      Backpacking with the Saints: Wilderness Hiking as Spiritual Practice Belden C. Lane. Backpacking with the Saints: Wilderness Hiking as Spiritual Practice. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. pp. 288. $24.95 (hardcover). Reviewed by Rachel McKinley Cheney   Backpacking with the Saints serves as both a hiking memoir and a collection of spiritual reflections by Belden Lane, Professor of Theological Studies at Saint Louis University. Lane organizes the book into two sections. The first part presents a survey of overarching themes. These themes are more like principles to take on the trail. In arriving at these guiding principles in wilderness spirituality, Lane relies on his own experience in the wilderness coupled with the writings of select spiritual giants in Christian history. In the second part, Lane draws on the voices of a variety of saints and theologians ranging from...

      The Church in Exile: Living in Hope After Christendom Lee Beach. The Church in Exile: Living in Hope After Christendom. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2015, pp. 240. $25 (paperback). Reviewed by Kelsey L. Lambright   In The Church in Exile, Lee Beach lifts up a biblical theology of exile as a hopeful way to understand the current state of the Western church. By engaging biblical scholarship and practical theology, Beach explores the similarities between the post-Christendom existence of the Western church and the exilic communities found in the Old and New Testaments. He believes that this motif can not only help explain the present struggles of the Western church, but can also provide a hopeful view of God’s people as a people who thrive in the margins of society. The book begins with a broad assessment of the church in the West. Beach, a professor of Christian ministry...