Cunningham, David S. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2002.
237 pp., $18.99 (US). ISBN: 158743044 (PB).
[1] Theology is boring. It is important,
I realize, but books containing it provide some of the driest
reading imaginable. I find, for example that extended discussions
of homoousious vs. heterousious should not be
undertaken while operating heavy machinery. With this bias
in mind, it is with much surprise and with great delight that
I enjoyed my recent reading of David S. Cunningham's Reading
is Believing: The Christian Faith Through Literature and Film.
Cunningham's work is one of the best short introductions to
Christian theology I have read. In this text, Cunningham explores
the twelve assertions of the Apostle's Creed by reading them
alongside (mostly) contemporary works of literature.
[2] Each chapter begins with a selection
from the Creed followed by a brief discussion of its implications.
Following Cunningham's unpacking of each creedal statement,
he reads it alongside a work of literature (and in one case,
a film). Cunningham's methodology is consciously derived from
diverse sources like philosopher Martha Nussbaum and theologian
Bryan Stone. Stone's influence is substantial, as his book
Faith and Film: Theological Themes at the Cinema also
explores the specific lines of the Apostle's Creed alongside
contemporary works of art. Unstated is Cunningham's indebtedness
to the contemporary literary method of intertextuality. His
approach explores intertextual connections between these otherwise
unrelated texts of the Creed and literature.
[3] A strength of Cunningham's approach
is that it engages the nonspecialist in concrete instances
of theology in action. One example especially highlights this
strength as he connects the phrase "The Forgiveness of
Sins" with Helen Prejean's powerful book Dead Man
Walking. Forgiveness in the abstract is a creed which
most anyone can affirm. But the explication of forgiveness
within the concrete example of parents forgiving the killer
of their children shows forgiveness in extremis, where
it is much more difficult to affirm and where it is rarely
encountered.
[4] A second example is the extraordinary
connection of Graham Greene's The End of the Affair
to the phrase "The Resurrection of the Flesh." Read
alongside this impressive novel, Cunningham explores how the
Creed provides a necessary corrective to the dismissive attitude
toward the physical body that many in contemporary Christendom
hold. The love for God and the relationship between lovers
is beautifully described. Additionally, he explores the power
the female protagonist retains over the rest of the novel,
even after her death.
[5] Other selections of Cunningham include
"Conceived by the Holy Spirit, Born of the Virgin Mary,"
read in conjunction with P.D. James's The Children of Men;
"Ascended into Heaven, sits at the Right Hand of God"
with Shakespeare's "The Winter's Tale;" and "The
Holy Catholic Church, the Communion of Saints" with Barbara
Kingsolver's Animal Dreams.
[6] The primary weakness of Reading is
Believing is its brevity. Cunningham does not have the
space to do much more than present a brief outline of the
particular work of literature. Such a constraint is necessary
to cover the entire creed in a manageable 237 pages. Since
Cunningham (rightly) assumes that his reader has likely not
read all of these texts, he provides a detailed plot summary
of each of these works. The only problem with this approach
is that he spends so much time setting up these texts that
the payoff - where he allows the text to intermingle with
the Creed - is often brief.
[7] A consequence of his brief exploration
of how the texts interrelate is that he might miss some other
significant points of contact. For example, he uses Toni Morrison's
Beloved to discuss the phrase "He will come to
judge the quick and the Dead." In his discussion of this
text Cunningham quotes Morrison's epigraph "I will call
them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved
which was not beloved" (Romans 9:25). While Cunningham
rightly discusses the epigram in the context of Romans, he
omits its precursor in Hosea 1:10 and 2:23. Hosea is also
another text concerning slavery, violence and children. Its
connections to Beloved could also have been explored.
[8] As I read through this text, come of
his choices seem unhelpful. For example, Nikos Kazantzakis'
The Last Temptation of Christ appears an odd choice
for the phrase "Jesus Christ God's Only Son." The
creed uses this phrase to highlight the uniqueness of Christ's
relationship to God, while Cunningham uses this novel to focus
upon the much neglected humanity of Christ. Cunningham makes
an important point, but I do not think that this novel supports
it. But Cunningham is receptive to this criticism and is aware
that his reader might make alternate conclusions. Part of
the satisfaction that comes from reading this book is derived
from the fact that it is a game that anyone can play. He encourages
alternate suggestions and even provides several other examples
at the end of each chapter.
[9] This text is an excellent introduction
to Christian theology and would particularly be useful as
a textbook in that area. I suspect that students particularly
will appreciate the integration of story and theology. The
text is organized to be pedagogically usable. He includes
discussion questions and additional theological texts at the
end of every chapter.
[10] But the greatest strength of this text
is its connection between systematic statements of belief
and story. By incarnating theology in story, Cunningham returns
theology to the genre of narrative from whence it came. As
theology approaches narrative, its application and appreciation
are enriched. Cunningham should be commended for this effort.
His work is articulate, educational, and perhaps most impressively,
never boring.
John Vassar
Louisiana State University, Shreveport, Louisiana
jsvassar@pilot.lsus.edu
