BOOK REVIEW:
Practicing Theology: Beliefs and Practices in Christian Life. Edited by Miroslav Volf and Dorothy Bass. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2002. 265 pp. ISBN 0802849318.

“Make a little progress every day,” John Calvin told Reformed communicants in Geneva. He sought to encourage believers in both thought and action to express Christian gratitude for God’s grace. For Reformed Christians, sets of practices derived from scripture have characterized the faith. At its best, Christianity of every stripe has been a way of life and a coherent theology together. As twentieth century thought eclipsed attention to practices in many Christian traditions in the West, as theological debates have sapped energy for mission and testimony to the gospel, a number of historically significant practices have fallen into disrepair. Sadly, this imbalance has frequently characterized Reformed communions.

The recent work by Dorothy Bass and a coterie of theologians, many explicitly Reformed in commitment, recalls for us the necessary relationships between practices and belief. The fruits of her (and their) Valparaiso Project become more evident with each published collection and monograph.

This collection of essays in particular draws some helpful insights in the dialogue. Dorothy Bass and Craig Dykstra contribute the first essay, “A Theological Understanding of Christian Practices.” They provide a nice map of the project and a guiding definition as well: Christian practices are “things Christian people do together over time to address fundamental human needs in response to and in light of God’s active presence for the life of the world” (p. 18). The essay offers several characteristic features of these practices—that they address fundamental human needs, involve “profound awareness, a deep knowing,” they are incarnated over time, and they share in the mystery of the divine drama.

Some of the essays seemed less useful for my instruction, perhaps because they do not represent Reformed perspectives. One essay on healing in African American churches, for example, seems scarcely more than an outline of possible topics. Another, on theological reflection and practices, was downright incomprehensible.

Others of the essays are not only worth the reading, but the re-reading and the following of insights provided. The concluding work by Miroslav Volf treats beautifully the relationship of belief and action, or “what causes what?” An essay by Serene Jones on congregational life is very nicely done. And I commend the exceptionally lucid writing of Amy Plantinga Pauw, “Attending to the Gaps between Beliefs and Practice.”

Louis Weeks
President
Union-PSCE, Richmond, VA