Author Description

Urban Appalachian evangelical Christian women singers, Bean argues, express a theodicy, or personal view of the divine. Her study (this is a revision of her dissertation in religious studies at Claremont College) is based in the theory of process theology as articulated by John B. Cobb, Jr. and others. She examines the lives of Appalachian migrants in the urban Midwest, the women's ballads as a narrative resource for theodicy, the women's perspectives on identity, and their theological perspectives on the problems of evil and pain. Bean, a Mennonite minister, teaches religion and philosophy at Azusa Pacific U. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)