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5.0 out of 5 stars
A treasure for progressive christians and social justice types, October 23, 2008
This review is from: The Collected Sermons of William Sloane Coffin--The Riverside Years (Set)Â (v. 1 & 2) (Hardcover)
This two volume set of William Sloane Coffin's sermons is a comprehensive collection of his preaching as Pastor of Manhattan's Riverside Church, from the mid 1970s to the mid 80's.
Some of the sermons are famous in their entirety -- including "Alex's Death," the sermon he preached shortly after his own son was killed in a car accident, a sermon which is at once deeply theological, deeply personal, and profoundly pastoral. (It's a sermon that clergy often quote when they are charged with preaching at the funeral of a young person who has died tragically.)
But Coffin was especially known, and prized, for his talented way with a pithy quotation. In this sense, he was a kind of liberal American G.K. Chesterton: dependably clever, dependably common sensical, dependably wise.
His "fans" (though that isn't exactly the right word) found him always topical, politically left-of-center, tough-minded, unsentimental, and usually right on the money.
He loved culture, ideas, ideals, and was famous for challenging conventional thinking (especially political thinking), describing himself as locked in an ongoing "lover's quarrel" with his country.
If you have read and enjoyed his brief book, "Credo," you know this side of Coffin's thinking and working. (If you don't know it, you should!)
What's so wonderful about this two volume collection is that we get to see so many of those pithy quotations restored into their original context. Also, we get to see him return to important ideas and themes over the course of many years -- the quotations return in a different sermon with a slightly different emphasis.
If you enjoy social justice preaching in a progressive tradition, this is a wonderful and inspiring book. If you are interested in studying how a great preacher approaches the task of (almost) weekly preaching, this is a wonderful and inspiring book.
His voice is so clear. And his thinking remains fresh after many years. His words will inspire a new generation of preachers to tackle challenging themes, complicated texts, and to speak truth to power.
It's a wonderful, wonderful collection. An inspiration and challenge for all kinds of people who dream of a better world -- something to savor over many days.
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