Religion

.tU!.LJ.\.:ilUN 243 God' (p 142f). Lloyd Gaston offers a concluding 'Retrospect' on the project as a whole, noting in particular a whole series of questions needing further study. These are informed discussions of important themes: a worthwhile project. (STEPHEN WESTERHOLM) Religion s.G. WILSON Preparing an annual review of books on religion poses some dilemmas. The term 'religion' has an extensive range of reference and can legitimately be taken to include anything from Catholic pastoral theology to specialized monographs on an obscure branch of Buddhism. I have deliberately and somewhat arbitrarily narrowed the focus here by restricting attention to those works that are likely to be of immediate interest to scholars working in departments of religious studies. A further constraint is imposed by publishers, not all of whom are willing to part with review copies, with the result that some important works may be overlooked. In addition, in a review of this scope, equity may seem to demand a brief summary of each book while intellectual curiosity may be better served by lengthy consideration of the more important. I have opted for the latter, but also include a survey of works not fully discussed. M. Gourgues and G.-D. Mailhot in L'Altt!ritf: Vivre ensemble differents (Bellarmin, 455, $15.00) have edited the proceedings of a multidisciplinary colloquium celebrating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Dominican College of Philosophy and Theology, where the theme of 'otherness' or 'plurality' is approached from a variety of perspectives - theological, philosophical, pastoral, and exegetical. Bellarmin continues to publish a remarkable range of works, though the lack offocus in their series and the varying quality can obscure the appearance of important ones. G. Boucher in Le Premier Visage de /'t!glise du Canada (Bellarmin, 191, $20.00) offers an interesting account of the earliest conceptions of the Church in New France from 1608 to 1688. B. Lacroix, already well known for his work on popular religion in Quebec, gathers in La Religion de mon pere (Bellarmin, 306, $15.00) a wide-ranging collection of essays and lectures on this theme. From the same publisher we have two works which blend Biblical exegesis with theological reflection. L. Sabourin's La Christologie a partir de textes des (Bellarmin, 227, $25.00) is primarily a discussion of New Testament texts but with concluding chapters on post-Biblical and modern discussions of Christology. R. Latourelle divides his attention equally between historical exegesis and theological reflection as he explores the 244 LETTERS IN CANADA 1986 problem ofrrtiracle in Miracles de Jesus et theologie du miracle (Bellatmin, 393, $12.00). The subtitle of Michael P. Carroll's The Cult of the Virgin Mary: Psychological Origins (Princeton University Press, 253, us $25.00) captures the heatt of the book, since the psychological explanation of the vatious phenomena associated with the cult of Mary is Carroll's most original contribution. The work is replete, however, with imaginative historical and sociological analysis and it is by far the best recent study of an aspect of the Christian tradition which has rarely (outside of Catholic circles) been given its due. Lionel Adey in Hymns and the Christian Myth (University ofBritish Columbia Press, 269, $24.95) takes up an even more neglected topic - the mutations in the theological themes of Christian hymns from the Bible to the present day. He traces not only chronological shifts which reflect the evolution of Christian theology but also the contrast between the learned theology embedded in some (e.g., in the hymns of the monastic poets) with the popular devotional themes in others (e.g., in carols). John C. Hoffmann is another who brings a determinedly multidisciplinary approach to his work in Law, Freedom, and Story: The Role of Narrative in Therapy, Society and Faith (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 163, $19.95). Ranging through Biblical parables, the role of story and fantasy in psychotherapy, and liminality in social process, he attempts to demonstrate both the power and the provocation of theology expressed as narrative. Returning for a moment to the religiOUS history of Canada, we should note G.A. Rawlyk's edition of The Sermons ofHenry Alline (Lancelot Press, 174, $7.95 paper), part of a series...