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God BC

Nov 23, 2020 | 2019 - Summer, Book Reviews, Free Summer 2019

God BC

Author Anthony Phillips
Publisher Sacristy £9.99
Format pbk  (2nd edition)
ISBN 9781910519837

This is a refreshing book which opens up the Old Testament in an absorbing and original fashion. Phillips has revised his thesis, originally published in 1977, to show how God’s grace – a word absent in the OT – permeates the history of God’s people. His text has to be read theologically. Although it is founded on profound scholarship and knowledge, there are no footnotes or references. Phillips sometimes makes sweeping statements that cry out for justification. He alleges, for example, that there is no evidence for Israel’s presence in Egypt; and does not believe in the independent source of the Pentateuch known as E. But in contrast there are some beautifully wrought interpretations, especially on the 8th century prophets, Amos and Hosea. He is also fascinating on Ezekiel, whom he regards as the father of Judaism (rather than Ezra). But, in perspective, the scholarship lying beneath this book matters less than the driving force of the message: that God’s love for humanity is unrestrained, and visible throughout the Hebrew scriptures despite the violence of the age and the formalities of the law. God BC is a provocative but highly recommended read.

ALICE BURDETT

Old Testament Analysis

 

Just Love

Nov 23, 2020 | 2019 - Summer, Book Reviews, Free Summer 2019

Just Love

Author Jayne Ozanne
Publisher DLT £12.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9780232533750

This is a compelling read which takes us through the torment and anguish of being different – the fear that being different will prevent us from being acceptable to God and receiving His love. The powerful narrative takes us from Jayne as a child to the very successful woman she is today. But this is not just Jayne’s story; it is a call for the Church to respond to her passion to serve, when it is apparently weighted against her sexuality. Jayne has therefore become a leading figure in the fight for acceptance of LGBTI people in today’s Church. This book is a must-read for those who are struggling to balance the perception that only heterosexuals can attain God’s love and serve the Church; and for everyone else to understand these heart-rending journeys to serve God.

JENNY LODGE

Autobiography, LGBT inclusion

 

How To Be a Church Minister

Nov 23, 2020 | 2019 - Summer, Book Reviews, Free Summer 2019

How To Be a
Church Minister

Author Nigel Wright
Publisher BRF £10.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9780857466891

Yet another sober, balanced and thoughtful account of the minister’s craft and calling? Who needs it, I wonder, when there are so many? A glance at the chapter headings – build the congregation; pastor the people; conduct worship well – tells us what is in store. That said, Wright covers the ground well. His writing is clear, practical and wise. There is good biblical reference, honest personal reflection, and a strong sense that ministry may be energising and fresh. A chapter headed ‘stay on the boil’ draws from Richard Baxter and is excellent. ‘When our hearts grow cold, our preaching grows cold… If we forbear to take food, then others will be famished’, he writes – not to discourage, but to urge readers to carry on finding ways to ‘nurture the springs of living water – that refresh every aspect of our service.’ I was glad to have read this.

DAVID HANSON

Ministry, Ministerial Formation

 

 

Haunted by Christ

Nov 23, 2020 | 2019 - Summer, Book Reviews, Free Summer 2019

Haunted by Christ

Author Richard Harries
Publisher SPCK £9.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9780281079339

This is a very ambitious book. A testament to a lifetime of reading and thinking about all aspects of theology, it strives to give a picture of twenty writers whose struggle for faith, or rejection of it, has been central to their work. From Dostoevsky to Marilynne Robinson, via Hopkins, Beckett, Auden, Eliot and Golding to name but a few, each chapter begins with a brief biography of the author under discussion. If you already know the life and work of a particular author well, then you may not find much new to stimulate thought. If, on the other hand, you have never tried Stevie Smith or Elizabeth Jennings, for example, then this might just prompt you to take up their work and discover a fresh voice. I found the chapter on the competing myths of C.S. Lewis and Philip Pullman particularly interesting. It might well form the basis for a discussion in a Christian book group.

KIRSTY ANDERSON

Biographical Essays, Literature

 

Reimagining Worship

Nov 22, 2020 | 2019 - Spring, Book Reviews, Free Spring 2019

Reimagining Worship

Authors Anna de Lange, Trevor Lloyd, Tim Stratford & Ian Tarrant (eds)
Publisher Canterbury Press £21.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9781848259133  2017

‘What does the ever-present God…desire from us as we worship?’ Is our worship ‘dynamic, on the move, going somewhere’? Do people ‘grow in their faith more through preaching, Bible reading or home groups’? ‘Does our welcome demonstrate a God who cares?’ Put together by a group of twenty, experienced Church of England leaders from the Group for the Renewal of Worship, Reimagining Worship is a comprehensive, practical handbook that methodically examines how worship works (or does not work) in today’s evolving churches. Four main sections correspond to liturgical patterns of Gathering, Word, Responding and Sending. Further subdivisions break up the text into manageable chunks, with boxed examples and suggestions to discuss or think about. This is not a book to read through but to work with. Groups of church leaders, PCCs, ministry or music groups might select relevant parts to discuss together. Probing questions, quoted above, encourage examination of what worship should look like and how to be creative and transformative within the local context. Readers, particularly those in training, should find this material helpful and challenging.

APRIL McINTYRE

Worship, Liturgy

 

The Song of Hild

Nov 22, 2020 | 2019 - Spring, Book Reviews, Free Spring 2019

The Song of Hild

Author Vibeke Vasbo
Publisher Sacristy Press £12.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9781910519868

And now for something completely different. If you are looking for hagiography, you will be disappointed, equally if you are looking for something scholarly in church history. The Song of Hild is a historical novel built around the skeleton of Bede’s life of Hilda of Whitby; the flesh and blood have been invented (her words) by the author. Vasbo reconstructs the life of Hildeburh, married first to a Northumbrian nobleman, then to the pagan King Penda, finally to Christ as a nun and then abbess. There is significantly more action in the first half of Hild’s life, with a bewildering cast and series of battles – the map at the beginning of the book and the website detailing characters and locations help. Sex and violence seem commensurate with a tale set in Britain in the seventh century. Other reviewers remark how contemporary the themes of the book are; I can’t help thinking that there are at least a few instances where the author has read twenty-first century themes into a seventh century story: when the Abbess discovers two nuns in a lesbian relationship, I groaned. This book is not going to help you preach a sermon on Hilda of Whitby, but if you are looking for some light relief in your reading, I recommend it as a page-turner and a cracking good yarn.

GERTRUD SOLLARS

Novel

 

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