Vintage Saints and Sinners: 25 Christians Who Transformed My Faith

Introduced as "an established bit of Christian choreography," this account from Marsh (director, Theological Horizons, Univ. of Virginia) shares disparate transformative Christian biographies as a way to reflect upon her own life. "As I've gotten up close to the personal stories of vintage Christians, I have met them in their humanity," she explains. In particular, the author highlights the spiritual substance of Saint Augustine, Ignatius of Loyola, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. She adds to the mix recognizable spiritual writers such as Flannery O'Connor, C.S. Lewis, Thomas Merton, and Henri Nouwen, as well as lesser-known heroes, such as sharecropper-turned-civil rights activist and singer Fannie Lou Hamer and Nazi resister and martyr Sophie Scholl. Marsh thoughtfully presents their notable activities with care, and the assumption of reading simply for holiness and mastery of mystical contemplation is undone. Instead, this survey demonstrates that faith in action is what calls all Christians. Accompanying reading suggestions and "conversation starter" questions recommend this title to book groups.