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Frances M. Young Brokenness and Blessing: Towards a Biblical Spirituality Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007 Pp. 140. $16.99.
Frances Young's extensive and insightful work on early Christian literature has set her apart as a leading scholar in the field. This unique book balances the scholarly with the autobiographical and the historical with the contemporary. It beautifully combines the fruit of her academic career in early Christianity with a personal aspect of her life-the encounter with the L'Arche communities and her role as a mother to Arthur, who was born with learning and physical disabilities. In so doing, Young demonstrates how the study of early Christianity can have a profound effect on one's own spiritual life.
The volume begins with a short introduction which includes a ten-page glossary of important figures and words subsequently used. This quick overview will be particularly useful for those unfamiliar with some of the recurrent names and frequently repeated terms in the field of early Christianity. This opening section is followed by five chapters: (1) The Desert Experience, (2) Wrestling Jacob, (3) The Way of Jesus, (4) Strangers and Exiles, and (5) Desire Frustrated and Ful- filled. The last chapter is followed by a brief conclusion. These chapters...