A Review of Diana Butler Bass’ “Grounded: Finding God in the World: A Spiritual Revolution”
Grounded in Reality
Diana Butler Bass is one of my favourite Christian non-fiction authors. For one, I suppose I like her because her works are in tandem with my more left-leaning spiritual beliefs. But there’s more to it than that. Butler Bass, at times (at least, when she’s not poking around into scientific stats and polls — though something should be said about a Christian who believes in sound science), has a winning, folksy charm to her writing that draws you in. I’ll have to admit — and I hope this doesn’t sound stalkerish — she writes about her faith and her family in her works in ways that make me wish that I was a little more on the inside of the author’s life. When Bulter Bass writes about going to church because she’s hungry for the Eucharist, a little part of me pangs because my church only does the breaking of bread at the open table every first Sunday of the month. I suppose a little part of me wants to be in her shoes as a result — and also because she’s whip-smart. (Anyone with the kind of advanced theology degrees that she has would be, though.)
Needless to say, I’ve now read every book that Bulter Bass has written that is available at my public library — which is to say, most of the major ones published by big-name publishers. (Butler Bass does have a few books with smaller, university presses.) And there’s a process to reading her work. While I’ve read Butler Bass’ publications out of order — I’ve read them as the books have become available at the local library, which doesn’t tend to stock too many copies of her stuff, so they seem to be endlessly checked out — there’s a line that travels throughout her writings. The first book of her “series” of books (for lack of a better word) is 2002’s Strength for the Journey, a memoir about Butler Bass’ personal faith journey. That begat 2006’s Christianity for the Rest of Us, which is an ethnography of the contemporary mainline church. That led to 2009’s A People’s History of Christianity, where Butler Bass moved from the contemporary to the historical. Then there was 2012’s Christianity After Religion, which was something of a modern history of the church.
It would only seem natural then that her latest book, Grounded, moves into more social justice territory — something that was hinted at in previous works such as Christianity for the Rest of Us. The move was, on the surface, a little surprising to me, but, looked at in the context of her past work, it really shouldn’t be. Grounded is basically about the search for God, in a world where more and more people are becoming, as Butler Bass puts it, “spiritual but not religious”. So, in a contemporary society where more people are clocking out of church and clocking into more spiritual practices, the question really is, how do these people find God?
Not surprisingly, in the first half of the book, Butler Bass posits that — in contemporary culture — God is becoming less of a guy who sits on a heavenly throne and judges whether or not souls go to heaven or hell, and is now more among us, coming down here to suffer with and also perhaps rejoice with his human creations. This is where the social justice part comes in. Seeing that God exists in some form in the air we breathe, the soil we dig for food and the water we drink, Butler Bass shows what individuals are doing to both nurture and destroy these elements. Yes, Butler Bass raises alarm bells as to what we are doing to the planet — essentially polluting it beyond all recognition.
While the concern is needed, it’s also a tad bit depressing, and one begins to wonder while reading if there’s anything the common person can do when major corporations throw industrial waste into our rivers without blinking an eye. How can one person act or change the world in the face of such facts? In some ways, Butler Bass works against herself a bit and the book, in these sections, might get a tad bit too “heavy” and hopeless. Still, it’s all food for thought, and I — who is just only starting to dab a toe into social or environmental justice issues (and I’ve relented because I’m not much of a green thumb and, again, I’m never sure of the contribution just one person can make, and feel doomed to fail) — do appreciate the points that she raises. It got me thinking, if not got me a little bit more concerned than usual over the state of the planet.
In the second half of the book, Butler Bass explores more human terrain, and shows that there is God (or at least Godliness) in searching for our ancestors, becoming a part of a community, showing love to our neighbours, and so on. It is here that the book becomes a tad bit lighter and a little less alarmist, which is probably more typical of Butler Bass’ work. As usual, the author weaves in personal narrative with anecdotes and research, and, as always, the effect is a delightful read. Sometimes, it’s a sobering one. One of my favourite stories within the book is where the author, and eventually a whole plane-load of people, tries to take some of the weight off a middle-aged man who is mourning the loss of his wife in an airport waiting lounge, becoming, for a short while, extended community and showing him (and us) that we are not alone.
In the end, Grounded feels like a natural extension of Butler Bass’ work. It also seems something of a sad read, because one gets the impression that a chapter is ending in her professional life — after exploring the landscape in which God exists, where can she go from here? Still, no matter where the author goes, I’ll be bound to follow, as Butler Bass ranks up there with writers such as Barbara Brown Taylor and Rachel Held Evans as being one of the most insightful and compelling non-fiction contemporary Christian writers. One last thing: you gotta love it when an author is so inclusive that she even name drops where I live in her work! There’s an interesting tidbit about Canadian researchers finding in a study that people find happiness by walking alongside rivers — in the case of their study, the Ottawa River! I’m always tickled to see my hometown in print, and I’ll be sure, as someone who needs to lose a little weight anyway, to take them and her up on it and start walking the riverbed. Needless to say, there’s something in Grounded for just about everyone who’s a Christian, even if it is just small takeaways like what I just mentioned, and that is a sterling recommendation indeed.
Diana Butler Bass’ Grounded: Finding God in the World: A Spiritual Revolution was published by HarperOne on October 6, 2015.
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Zachary Houle is a resident of Ottawa, Canada, and is the recipient of a $4,000 arts grant from the City of Ottawa for emerging artists. He has been a Pushcart Prize nominee, too. He also has been a music critic, with music writing publishing credits in SPIN magazine and the Ottawa Citizen, among others. He is a member of First United Church in Ottawa, Canada, and has been so for the past two years. Houle is interested in anything having to do with deepening his newfound faith in God, so, if you’re an author, feel free to get in touch. Contact: zacharyhoule@rogers.com.
