The Book of All Books
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Women in the Gospels
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Green Theology
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Invisible Divides
Invisible Divides
Author Natalie Williams
& Paul Brown
Publisher SPCK £9.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9780281085200
Subtitled ‘Class, culture and barriers to belonging in the Church’, and written by authors who came to Christ from working-class backgrounds, this timely work challenges a longstanding issue – the largely ‘middle-class’ culture of the UK Church across all denominations. I was reminded of John 3:16: ‘…that whosoever believeth…(AV)’, and recalled a cringeworthy incident in a church I was once visiting where, over coffee, I heard ‘We don’t want people like that here…’ indicating a young couple from a traveller community who wanted their baby baptised. ‘Whosoever’ is an archaic word, yet its all-embracing meaning is so contemporary. And ‘whosoever’ should challenge us all to ask whether our churches represent the full breadth of the communities in which they are situated – and if not, why not? An honest and active response to 2 Chronicles 7:14 is in order. The last sentence of this profoundly insightful and necessary book states: ‘…let’s play our part in crossing invisible divides and seeing people from all classes and walks of life come to know him, worship him and serve him together…’ A must buy.
Reviewed by ANDREW CARR
Ministry, Social inclusion
God Made the Dinosaurs
God Made the Dinosaurs
Author Michael & Caroline Carroll
Publisher SPCK £11.75
Format hbk
ISBN 9780281082964
Children are fascinated by dinosaurs. This book for 7 to 9-year-olds is packed with information about the different species and their discovery. Older children and adults will find fascinating facts about the origin of life on Earth and evolution explained in simple terms. We meet the people who made the discoveries and the scientists who have interpreted them. The authors show how a knowledge of the wonders of God’s creation adds to our understanding of his inherent nature. Short prayers and biblical quotations are interspersed with the text which is superbly illustrated. A glossary is included as well as a timeline of dinosaur history in the end papers. This book may inspire children to want to become scientists themselves. It introduces the problem of climate change and the need for continuous research if future generations are to care for God’s creation. I asked two of my grandchildren for their opinion. Amity, 10, was interested in reading about species of dinosaurs and the different eras. Ben, 11, thought it would appeal to slightly younger children but nevertheless said it taught him ‘a lot about the world before humans’.
Reviewed by LAURA HILLMAN
Children’s book
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