Books & Articles
Resources in Addiction & Recovery by Dr. Linda Mercadante
VICTIMS & SINNERS : SPIRITUAL ROOTS OF ADDICTION AND RECOVERY,
Westminster/John Knox Press, 1996
“In one of the most profound books written on the subject of addiction….This is a thought-provoking work.”
Publishers Weekly
“A thorough examination of the spiritual and theological assumptions of both addiction and recovery. The first assessment of this depth.”
Forbes Book Club: The Home Page for World’s Business Leaders
“The worlds of theology and therapy often know each other mainly by caricaturing stereotype. This book, respectful of both worlds, may help correct those distortions….This book is balanced…wide-ranging, insightful and…profound….Anyone who would attempt an intelligent critique of AA will have to show familiarity with Mercadante’s analysis.”
Ernest Kurtz, Ph.D., Journal of Studies on Alcohol
”Here is a book which promises much, and fulfills almost all of it.”
Bela Toth, Ph.D., University Lecturer, Szentendre, Rakoczi, Hungary; American Journal of Pastoral Counseling
“She teases out theological themes that make this process effective….[offering] some important and incisive contributions…Mercadante’s thoughtful analysis…should be of enormous benefit.”
James Newton Poling, Ph.D., The Journal of Religion
“Mercadante succeeds in bringing a much-needed objectivity and historical perspective to an emotionally charged subject.”
Carol LeMasters, Sojourners Magazine
“This book provides a provocative historical and theological analysis of Alcoholics Anonymous and the twelve step paradigm of recovery. The author addresses the age old controversy of sin versus sickness…Her book will provide a new lens…”
Robert H. Albers, Prof. of Pastoral Theology, Luther Seminary
“Mercadante brings personal experience, pastoral concern, and theological expertise to this multifaceted…study of the relationship between Christian understandings of sin and…addiction, especially as these terms are understood – and misunderstood – by the church and by…today’s ‘recovery movement.’”
Ken Moody-Arndt, M.Div., The Illuminator
“…a serious, thoughtful, provocative, passionate and necessary theological corrective…She rightly sees the construct of addiction as having conflated many different forms…of human suffering. Thus she leaves open the possibility of a variable diagnosis and treatment tailored to the specific unhealthy response.”
Charles E. Brown, Prof. of Pastoral Theology, Union Theological Seminary in Virginia
Sampling of Articles
“The Church and Addiction Recovery” in Addiction in America, Christian Networks Journal, Summer 2005
“Sin, Addiction and Freedom,” in Reconstructing Christian Theology, eds. Rebecca Chopp and Mark Kline Taylor, Fortress, 1994
“Of an exceptionally high caliber… achiev[ing] an impressive clarity [and]… skillful… passionate ‘intertwinement’ of doctrine and problematic.” Douglas John Hall, Ph.D., Theology Today, Apr ‘96
“Addiction,” Dictionary of Feminist Theologies, Westminster/John Knox Press, 1996
“Addiction and Recovery,” The Christian Century, March 18-25, 1998
“Gender, Sin, and Addiction,” Journal of Ministry in Addiction & Recovery, Fall 1996
Resources on Film & Memoir By Dr. Linda Mercadante
Called “Colorful and compelling!” by Publishers’ Weekly
“When Mercadante misses the neighborhood where she grew up, she watches reruns of The Sopranos. Newark’s Bloomfield Avenue, site of numerous scenes in the TV series, was where her Italian immigrant father brought his New York Jewish bride shortly after World War II. “Mixed marriages” were scandalous in those days, and the couple dealt with their differences by virtually banning religion from their home—”the worst solution of all,” according to their daughter, because “children are naturally spiritual.” Hungry for God’s approval, Mercadante was baptized twice; first at age eight in Sacred Heart Cathedral, then in her 20s at L’Abri, Francis Schaeffer’s evangelical center in Switzerland. Eager to assimilate into the wider American culture, she became a reporter, accumulated awards and earned advanced degrees, despite struggles with infertility, domestic violence and gender-based barriers. “We don’t take girls in management,” an airline recruiter told her, “but you’d make a great airline stewardess.” Now an ordained Presbyterian minister and a theology professor at a Methodist seminary, Mercadante concludes her colorful and compelling memoir with a dash of American optimism: “No matter how many dreams smash in front of you, if you follow the lure of love, God will use that love to make you whole.” (Oct.)
Read a Fun Review of Bloomfield Avenue from another New Jerseyan:
http://www.anthonysworld.com/BloomfieldAvenue.html
Publications
“Are We All Immigrants? Ethnicity, Guilt and Religion in ‘The Sopranos,’” Journal of Theology, Summer ‘04, 3-14
“The Christ Figure in Breaking the Waves,” The Journal of Religion and Film, 5:1, April 2001 www.unomaha.edu/~wwwjrf/
“The God Behind the Screen: Pleasantville and The Truman Show,” The Journal of Religion and Film, Fall 2001, See www.unomaha.edu/~wwwjrf/truman.htm and Journal of Theology, Spring 2000.
“High Tech or High Touch: Will Technology Help or Hurt Our Teaching?” Teaching Theology and Religion, 5:1, Jan. 2002, pp.56-58.
“Faith and Film: Teaching Theology Through Film,” Connections, Vol. 6, No.3, Fall 1999 (Association for Communication in Theological Education)
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Resources on Gender & Culture by Dr. Linda Mercadante
- HOPE DEFERRED: Theological Perspectives on Reproductive Loss
Nadine Pentz Franz and Mary Stimming, eds., Pilgrim Press, 2005.
Chapter by Linda Mercadante “Infertility, Ecclesiology, and the Quest for Family.”
- GENDER, DOCTRINE AND GOD: THE SHAKERS AND CONTEMPORARY THEOLOGY,
Abingdon, 1990.
“The first comprehensive and systematic study of the Shaker doctrine of the dual, male-female God…demonstrates both the innovative aspects and the limitations of this nineteenth century experiment in inclusive God-imagery.” Prof. Rosemary Radford Ruether, Garrett Ev.
“We are all in debt to Linda Mercadante’s book because it locates theological reflection about inclusive God-language within the social dynamics of a specific religious community. [It] skillfully traces connections between forces of language, doctrine and social structure, and thus provides new perspectives for…all theologians.”
Prof. Mark Kline Taylor,Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary
- FROM HIERARCHY TO EQUALITY: A COMPARISON OF PAST AND PRESENT INTERPRETATIONS OF 1 COR 11: 2-16 IN RELATION TO THE CHANGING STATUS OF WOMEN IN SOCIETY
(GMH Books, Regent College, 1978)
“Mercadante puts her finger on the all-important matter of hermeneutics — what causes us to perceive what we do in scripture? Her work should make us much more aware of how our culture informs (and sometimes determines) our exegesis, and should help us be a bit more cautious and humble in using scripture.”
Prof. Larry W. Hurtado, Ph.D., New College, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
“The Center for Women and Religion receives frequent, sometimes anguished letters and calls about just what to do with biblical passages like this one. Anyone who has tried to answer such questions will welcome Linda Mercadante’s thorough and readable answer.”
Mary Cross and Barbara Waugh, Directors, Center for Women and Religion, The Graduate Theological Union, Univ. of California, Berkeley
- Articles
“Infertility, Ecclesiology, and the Quest for Family,” in Hope Deferred: Theological Perspectives on Reproductive Loss,
Nadine Pentz Franz and Mary Stimming, eds., Pilgrim Press, 2005
“From Infertility to Spiritual Abundance”
Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Educational Series, 2005
http://www.rcrc.org/resources/publications/infertility.htm
“Mother’s Legacy Can’t Be Found in Possessions”
Commentary, Columbus Dispatch, 4/4/05
“Anguish and Victimization,” Constructive Theology: A Contemporary Approach to Classical Themes,
Serene Jones and Paul Lakeland, eds., Augsburg Fortress Press 2005
“Violence, Abuse, and Oppression”
Women’s Bible Commentary, InterVarsity, 2001.
“The Christ Figure in ‘Breaking the Waves’”
Journal of Religion and Film, 5:1, April 2001
http://www.unomaha.edu/~wwwjrf/
“Addiction”
Dictionary of Feminist Theologies
Westminster/John Knox, 1996
“Gender, Sin, and Addiction”
Journal of Ministry in Addiction & Recovery, Fall ‘96
“Ann Lee”, “The Shakers”
Dictionary of Christianity in America
Intervarsity Press, 1990.
“Racism in the Women’s Movement”
Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Sp. ‘88.
“Response to `Our Audience: Atheist or Alienated?’”, “Report on Galatians 3″ (with Richard Hays), and “The Role of Women,”
Conflict and Context: Hermeneutics in the Americas, Mark Lau Branson and C. Rene Padilla, eds., Eerdmans, 1986.
“Making the Wrong Connections”
Daughters of Sarah, March/April 1985, 14-15.
“Core Issues in Theological Debate”
CRUX, Vol. XX, #4, Dec. 1984, 7-11.