catholic tastes.

YIPPEEAIO! "Taking its place among a growing roster of dynamic and attractive evangelism tools," The Way for Cowboys, its publisher, the International Bible Society, claims, "is gaining immediate approval from its no-nonsense target audience--the American cowboy." In addition to the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs, this new pocket-sized special Bible edition features cowboy poems, prayers, and photos, as well as eight personal testimonies from Christian cowboys. Mike McArthur of the Fellowship of Christian Cowboys says, "More and more cowboys and those who identify with the Western world are beginning to publicly profess their faith in Christ. The Way for Cowboys is ... a handy size to carry in a riggin' bag along with ropes, spurs, and gloves." The Way for Cowboys is being distributed at rodeo Bible camps and church services held during national rodeo events.

GIMME, LORD, AND GIMME MORE

A new version of the "prosperity gospel"--popular in the 1950s and '60s and

later revived by the shameless TV preacher hucksters of the '80s--is now climbing America's bestseller lists. The Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life (Multnomah) by Atlanta evangelist Bruce H. Wilkinson is based on a short prayer hidden in one of the least read sections of the Bible. It has already sold more than 4 million copies.

While Wilkinson emphasizes that the prayer, which asks God to "bless me indeed and enlarge my territory," is tied to a godly purpose, the essence of this gospel of greed remains the same. It is marketed as a surefire recipe for personal success ("Do you want to be extravagantly blessed by God?), and people all over the country are now praying 1 Chronicles 4:9-10 as a kind of mantra to increase their wealth, become more successful in business, or find the love of their life.

To Wilkinson, the phenomenal sales of the slender volume, which is basically a beefed-up sermon, is shocking evidence of the efficacy of Jabez' prayer. But Lynn Garrett, religion editor of Publisher's Weekly, tells Time magazine (April 23, 2001), "It's very evangelical and very American, this whole notion that if you have the right technique, the right form, that prayer will be efficient and effective. Kind of like golf." And Jeffrey H. Mahan, a professor of ministry, media, and culture at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, says, "It fits with the narcissism of the age. Religious life is focused on me and my needs." (New York Times, May 8, 2001)

LIMITED WARRANTY Rabbi Harold Kushner, the author of the bestselling book When Bad Things Happen to Good People, tells this story: Some years ago, he and his wife were on a helicopter tour of Hawaii. One of the other passengers had never been in a helicopter before and was nervous. Her anxiety ceased, however, when she saw the rabbi, and she said to him, "Oh, Rabbi, you will certainly make sure nothing bad happens to us, won't you?" Kushner told her, "Please don't count on me. I am in sales, not management." (From a talk by Archbishop John Vlazny, reprinted in Portland, Winter 2000)

CONVENT GIRL "If you have ever stood on a chair in front of 200 girls with your green knickers showing, reading out loud from a holy book--nothing truly daunts you after that." --Anne Robinson, host of the NBC quiz show The Weakest Link, in There's Something about a Convent Girl (Virago)

J.LO ON WHAT ITS, LIKE, ALL ABOUT "I have lots of spiritual books around; I don't even know the titles. At the end of the day it's all about being, like, a good person--centered, focused, and at peace." --Pop musician and actress Jennifer Lopez (in Allure magazine, January 2001)

For it is true that in the experience of divine presence that which flows over the ocean of darkness is an infinite ocean of light and love. --Thomas R. Kelly Quaker teacher and missionary (1893-1941)