Dr. John Killinger's Book Is Nominated for Pulitzer Prize

Dr. John Killinger's latest book on the history of salvation, "The Changing Shape of Our Salvation," has been nominated for a 2007 Pulitzer Prize because of "its significant insight into the nature of salvation as a historic Christian doctrine and its candid observations of the way that doctrine has been recently transformed by the cultural phenomenon known as globalism," according to the publisher, Crossroad Publishing Company of New York.

The book documents the personal views of ministers, theologians, and journalists whose attitudes toward salvation today reflect an important change from those once held by the church. Again and again, these present-day thinkers are cited as caring more about the wholeness and fulfillment of our lives here and now than about redemption in some future existence, observed Dr. Killinger, who was pastor at The Little Stone Church from 1996 to 2003.

Dr. Fisher H. Humphreys, professor of theology at Beeson Divinity School, Samford University, calls the book "wise and readable, refreshing and provocative," according to the publisher, and says, "It is, like its author, both charming and inspiring." And Father Joseph Girzone, Roman Catholic author of the famous "Joshua" novels, says "The Changing Shape of Our Salvation" is "a solid piece of scholarly research" into a subject "not open to easy analysis," and is "an invaluable aid" to our present understanding of "the meaning of redemption in every religion and denomination."

Rev. John and Ann Killinger reside in Warrenton, Virginia. Crossroad Publishing Company has published four of his last five books, including "Ten Things I Learned Wrong from a Conservative Church," "Seven Things They Don't Teach You in Seminary," and "Winter Soulstice: Celebrating the Spirituality of the Wisdom Years."

Dr. Killinger is collaboration on a new book of photographs with Island photographer Rob Jerstrom entitled "The Storybook Weddings of Mackinac Island" and with Traverse City photographer Steve Kopechi on a book, "The Wedding Rainbow," both of which are expected to be released by spring.