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The Jesus Story in 4D: Combining the Accounts

Nov 23, 2020 | 2020 - Autumn, Book Reviews, Free Autumn 2020

The Jesus Story in 4D:
Combining the Accounts

Author Nigel Andrews
Publisher Loxwood Press £14.95
Format pbk
ISBN 9781908113340  2020

What a delicious irony for a retired anaesthetist to review the cutting and stitching of a retired surgeon! Andrews has compiled a chronological account of the life and work of Christ from the Gospels and the first two chapters of Acts, using 76.5% of the verses available. What was his motivation – and is he successful? He feels the gospel may be better understood within the framework of a continuous timeline so that ‘…the closer will be our encounter with Jesus… the good news of God’. Each excerpt is colour-coded for source. After an explanatory introduction, 14 chapters follow, from ‘Preparation for the Messiah’ to ‘The Church is Born’. The text flows easily, even if a single interpolation from another source brings a slightly intrusive colour change. The author’s use of his personal version of the text is sometimes striking: John 8:9, (the accusers) “began to go away one at a time” becomes ‘they begin to slip away, one by one’. Other occasions are less helpful: Mark 5:19, ‘how he has had mercy on you’ becomes ‘how kind he has been to you’. If it does indeed increase accessibility and understanding for a casual gospel reader then it is a benefit worthy of the obvious effort.

ROGER THORNINGTON

New Testament Analysis

 

How to Read the Bible

Nov 23, 2020 | 2020 - Autumn, Book Reviews, Free Autumn 2020

How to Read the Bible

Author Michael Parsons
Publisher BRF £8.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9780857468093 2020

‘We read scripture to hear God speak to us, to relate to us in and through Christ.’ The author emphasises engaging with the text, rather than merely reading it, and he sets out to explain and demonstrate how his readers may do this, in a number of different ways. He offers exercises at chapter ends, so that individuals or groups may further their experience of the topic presented. As a writer I found the chapter on poetic language interesting. We are so used to imagery in the novels we read now, but when the psalmist uses imagery, for example, it would probably have been the first time a phrase or word was used creatively. Parsons is an experienced minister and theology lecturer, and he writes clearly and encouragingly. Sometimes I feel he leads readers towards his own viewpoint, rather than guiding them to form their own. The concluding chapter in the book considers the reasons we want to be biblically literate. By the end I was conscious that behind each book in the Bible there is a writer, and beside each writer there is God.

VERONICA BRIGHT

Biblical Literacy

 

Love, Interrupted

Nov 23, 2020 | 2020 - Autumn, Book Reviews, Free Autumn 2020

Love, Interrupted

Author Simon Thomas
Publisher Trigger £12.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9781789561043

This book is about the love that was interrupted by the sudden tragic death of Gemma, the author’s wife. Interwoven with the shattering impact on her TV presenter husband and their eight-year-old son are accounts of problems the couple had to deal with in the years leading up to this event: infertility, miscarriage, depression. The author is extremely honest not only about his and his family’s struggles coming to terms with Gemma’s death, but also his mental health issues, and the impact of it all on his Christian faith. I found this an amazing, warmly written book, full of insight. It pulled together thoughts, feelings, and reminiscences of not only the author but also of many of the people close to Gemma; and some strangers. So much grief could very easily overcome, and very nearly does. But overpowering waves of grief are tempered with tiny waves of things like random acts of kindness which make life bearable. We too are left with hope and a message not to neglect any opportunity, however small, to lighten someone’s load.

LIZ PACEY

 

Advent, Nativity

 

God’s Unfailing Word

Nov 23, 2020 | 2020 - Autumn, Book Reviews, Free Autumn 2020

God’s Unfailing Word

Author The Faith and Order Commission
Publisher CHP £12.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9780715111611

Living as I do in a London Borough which is 10% Jewish I found this book informative, challenging, moving and really important. It is an attempt by the Church of England to set out in a single document a theology of Christian-Jewish relations that accords with Church of England doctrine. In a foreword, Archbishop Justin Welby says that understanding the relationship between Christianity and Judaism is not an optional extra: ‘It informs our daily Bible reading, prayers and worship as well as our relationships with Jewish neighbours, friends and colleagues.’ The book points out that all preachers and teachers, in particular, need to be careful they are not perpetuating inaccurate and harmful stereotypes and attitudes. Tackling boldly the Christian Church’s appalling history, and modern conflict about the land and state of Israel, it ends with a very challenging response from Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, who is concerned that, even now, in the 21st century, Jews are seen by some Christians ‘as quarry to be pursued and converted.’

CLAIRE DISBREY

Interfaith

 

Luminaries

Nov 23, 2020 | 2020 - Summer, Book Reviews, Free Summer 2020

Luminaries

Author Rowan Williams
Publisher SPCK £12.99
Format hbk
ISBN 9780281082957

This new offering from the prolific pen of our former archbishop provides twenty insights into the lives of Christians who have made important impacts through history. These vignettes or essays are not strictly biographical. Rather, they focus on how the individuals set out to decipher Christianity within the context or the culture of their times. Thus, they are luminaries as well as leaders; they help us make sense of a perplexing world. Williams’ choice is interesting – from St Paul to Oscar Romero, the late 20th century martyr. Augustine of Hippo and Augustine of Canterbury – two contrasting saints – are included; Cranmer and Tyndale represent the time of Reformation; and for the 19th century, Williams has chosen William Wilberforce, Florence Nightingale and, surprisingly perhaps, Charles Dickens. Michael Ramsey and Dietrich Bonhoeffer are solid and predictable 20th century luminaries. Collectively, this is an excellent anthology of lives, a book that takes the reader beyond biographical facts into the territory of theological reflection. Like each luminary he has selected, Williams shows the light of the gospel within the complexity of human life.

ALICE BURDETT

Essays

 

Batting for the Poor

Nov 23, 2020 | 2020 - Summer, Book Reviews, Free Summer 2020

Batting for the Poor

Author Andrew Bradstock
Publisher SPCK £19.99
Format hbk
ISBN 9780281081059

This fine book is the authorised biography of David Sheppard (1929-2005), England test cricketer and Anglican bishop. After his evangelical conversion at Cambridge, Sheppard gradually realised his true vocation and retired from cricket, at the height of his fame and fortune, to seek ordination. He served with distinction in the deprived inner areas of London before appointment as Bishop of Woolwich in 1969 and Liverpool in 1975. As a priest he consistently preached and practised the social gospel and his books, Bias to the Poor and Built as a City, bear testimony to his concern for urban priority areas. He was the guiding influence behind the famous ‘Faith in the City’ report which drew the ire of Mrs Thatcher and her government. At Liverpool, his partnership with Archbishop Derek Warlock was a model of modern ecumenism which has seldom been matched. This detailed and well-researched biography provides a succinct history of the Anglican church in the late 20th century but, more significantly, provides a readable and attractive portrait of a sporting and Christian hero – an example for our age. It is highly recommended.

LEONARD RICKARD

 

Advent, Nativity

 

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