Conversations with Poppi about GOD ..., by the Robert W. Jenson and Solveig Lucia Gold

Robert Jenson, who formerly served on the faculty of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg and then for many years at St. Olaf College, is known for his works of systematic theology and for establishing, with Carl Braaten, the Center for Catholic and Evangelical Theology. Wolfhart Pannenberg described Jenson as "one of the most original and knowledgeable theologians of our time". He is not the sort of person you think of as “grandfather”, although he looks the part. But last year, Brazos Press published this collection of transcripts of conversations between Jenson and his granddaughter Solveig, and we have a refreshing glimpse of two thoughtful people discussing the matters that matter most.

             Solveig, the eight-year-old, is bright and inquisitive and imaginative. The book came about after she and her Poppi stayed up late one night discussing the questions she had for him – with the theologian having to convey some of the most difficult questions of faith in terms accessible to a child – and Jenson decided to record that conversation and many which followed. The result is a 158-page collection, not of children’s sermons, but of lively dialogue and insights going in both directions. It’s a pleasure to read, a fresh take on the Catechism as well as much of the substance of the Bible and Christian tradition.

             Last spring, my congregation and two others in our neighborhood decided to feature readings from Conversations with Poppi at weekly Lenten dinners, with a young girl and an older man reading the parts of Solveig and Poppi. We enjoyed those readings so much that we went right out and bought three copies: one for my parents, a pair of retired theologians and great-grandparents in their late eighties; and one for each of our married daughters and their husbands to share in turn with their young daughters. If you’re looking for a book that will stimulate thought, reflection, occasional laughter and a real opportunity to grow in faith with your children, it would be hard to do better than this.

             Conversations with Poppi is available online (Amazon: $8.79 new) or from Brazos Press, a division of Baker Publishing Group, PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516.