Overview

How can celebrating the ""holy days"" of American culture help us to understand what it means to be both Christian and American? In timely essays on Super Bowl Sunday, Mother's Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and other holidays of the secular calendar, James Calvin Davis explores the wisdom that Christian tradition brings to our sense of American identity, as well as the ways in which American culture might prompt us to discern the imperatives of faith in new ways. Rather than demonizing culture or naively baptizing it, Davis models a bidirectional mode of reflection, where faith convictions and cultural values converse with and critique one another. Focusing on topics like politics, race, parenting, music, and sports, these essays remind us that culture is as much human accomplishment and gift as it is a challenge to Christian values, and there is insight to be discovered in a theologically astute investment in America's ""holy days.""

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9781725271319

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Reviews

Rather than simply dismissing or embracing the church's complicated relationship with American high holy days, Davis thoughtfully holds these observances up to the light. He encourages us to see what their many facets reveal about God, the world in which we live, and us. As one who preaches most Sundays, I appreciate his invitation to join in this rich conversation that engages Scripture, tradition, and culture with joy, wisdom, and a bit of holy playfulness. --Ellen Crawford True, Pastor and Head of Staff, Christ Presbyterian Church, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania Church calendars are always imposed upon by secular holidays and civic remembrances. Davis's engaging text provides wisdom on how to navigate this temporal dynamic--not through best practices and tricks of the trade, but through a series of personal essays that blend theology and storytelling, prophetic wisdom and whimsical insights, scriptural truth amid life's conundrums. To walk through a year accompanied by Davis is truly a joy and privilege. --Randall Bush, Senior Pastor, East Liberty Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

"""""Rather than simply dismissing or embracing the church's complicated relationship with American high holy days, Davis thoughtfully holds these observances up to the light. He encourages us to see what their many facets reveal about God, the world in which we live, and us. As one who preaches most Sundays, I appreciate his invitation to join in this rich conversation that engages Scripture, tradition, and culture with joy, wisdom, and a bit of holy playfulness."""" --Ellen Crawford True, Pastor and Head of Staff, Christ Presbyterian Church, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania """"Church calendars are always imposed upon by secular holidays and civic remembrances. Davis's engaging text provides wisdom on how to navigate this temporal dynamic--not through best practices and tricks of the trade, but through a series of personal essays that blend theology and storytelling, prophetic wisdom and whimsical insights, scriptural truth amid life's conundrums. To walk through a year accompanied by Davis is truly a joy and privilege."""" --Randall Bush, Senior Pastor, East Liberty Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania"

Rather than simply dismissing or embracing the church's complicated relationship with American high holy days, Davis thoughtfully holds these observances up to the light. He encourages us to see what their many facets reveal about God, the world in which we live, and us. As one who preaches most Sundays, I appreciate his invitation to join in this rich conversation that engages Scripture, tradition, and culture with joy, wisdom, and a bit of holy playfulness. --Ellen Crawford True, Pastor and Head of Staff, Christ Presbyterian Church, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania Church calendars are always imposed upon by secular holidays and civic remembrances. Davis's engaging text provides wisdom on how to navigate this temporal dynamic--not through best practices and tricks of the trade, but through a series of personal essays that blend theology and storytelling, prophetic wisdom and whimsical insights, scriptural truth amid life's conundrums. To walk through a year accompanied by Davis is truly a joy and privilege. --Randall Bush, Senior Pastor, East Liberty Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Author Information

James Calvin Davis is the George Adams Ellis Professor of Liberal Arts and Religion at Middlebury College in Vermont. Among his other books are In Defense of Civility: How Religion Can Unite America on Seven Moral Issues That Divide Us (2010) and Forbearance: A Theological Ethic for a Disagreeable Church (2017).

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