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The Lambeth Conference

Nov 22, 2020 | 2018 - Autumn, Book Reviews, Free Autumn 2018

The Lambeth Conference

Author Paul Avis and Benjamin M. Guyer (Eds.)
Publisher T&T Clark £85
Format hbk
ISBN 9780567662316  2017

How much do you really know about the Lambeth Conference and its place in the Anglican Communion? This book seeks to offer an historical overview alongside more personal experiences of past conferences, all designed to inspire discussion about Lambeth 2020, its aims and its potential. A variety of contributors give, for the most part, a reasoned and balanced account of the Lambeth Conference, illuminating also the other Instruments of the Anglican Communion and the principles upon which the Communion seeks to operate. The one stridently jarring voice is that of Mark Thompson of the Diocese of Sydney, whose essay reads less as ‘scholarly study’ and more as a GAFCON manifesto. There is one lone ecumenical contributor: Donald Bolen providing a Roman Catholic perspective on Lambeth. The collection is informative and could easily provide material for a series of teaching or discussions sessions in churches keen to engage with the Lambeth Conference. It would be a useful addition to library collections (especially given its cost), where it could be consulted alongside other relevant texts such as Lambeth and Windsor reports.

GUDRUN WARREN

Church History, Anglican Communion

 

 

Walking with Domestic Abuse Sufferers

Nov 22, 2020 | 2018 - Autumn, Book Reviews, Free Autumn 2018

Walking with Domestic Abuse Sufferers

Author Helen Thorne
Publisher IVP £7.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9781783595952  2018

The statistics are shocking: the police are called to an incident of domestic abuse every thirty seconds, though it is estimated only 35% of cases come to their attention. Domestic abuse is officially defined as controlling, coercive, threatening or violent behaviour and may be psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional. Christian relationships are not immune. Thorne’s book, one of a series from Bible Counselling UK, uses case studies to explore various kinds of abuse and considers the distorted images of God and themselves which abuse sufferers have. Strategies for raising awareness of abuse within church communities and for supporting sufferers when disclosure occurs are explored and linked to scripture. There are four useful appendices to assist churches with their safeguarding responsibilities. This is an invaluable book for Readers involved in pastoral work; indeed, every church should have a copy.

GLORIA CADMAN

Pastoral, Safeguarding

 

Mark Through Old Testament Eyes

Nov 22, 2020 | 2018 - Autumn, Book Reviews, Free Autumn 2018

Mark Through Old Testament Eyes

Author Andrew T Le Peau
Publisher Kregel  £21.95
Format pbk
ISBN 9780825444111

This is the first of a new series of New Testament commentaries emphasizing the dependence of the New Testament upon the Old. Le Peau has thoroughly found all the important citations of significant NT words, so that there are 25 citations for ‘follow’, for example. The reward for this diligence is a host of ideas for interpretation of this Gospel – material that will be new to many Readers – while taking the opportunity to comment briefly on the OT writings he selects, old ground though that may be for most of us. The book is particularly strong on the chapters from Mark 11 onwards, clarifying many of Christ’s difficult sayings. The writer includes some essays on general topics within Mark. These read like sermon extracts and will appeal most to those who appreciate American Evangelicals. This will make a useful supplement to the standard commentaries we already have, such as writings by Nineham, Wright and Williams.

PETER THORNTON

New Testament Commentary

 

 

Luther’s Gospel

Nov 22, 2020 | 2018 - Autumn, Book Reviews, Free Autumn 2018

Luther’s Gospel

Author Graham Tomlin
Publisher Bloomsbury £16.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9780567677396 2017

The fruit of thirty years’ study, this brief introduction to Luther’s world and theology will be of immense value to anyone beginning a serious course of study on the Reformation. Tomlin argues that Luther’s one great insight, that we are justified solely by faith in Christ, informed all his subsequent writing to build a new vision of Christian living. The book is divided into three parts. The first three chapters examine Luther’s understanding of the Gospel, rooted in his reading and translation of the Scriptures. There follow three chapters on how Luther’s thought transformed patterns of Christian life. The last three consider his practical and theological teaching on sex and marriage, the devil and freedom. Tomlin is concerned to show Luther in his original context, while emphasising that ‘Truth speaks in historical clothes’ into our own age as well. There is a useful bibliography and checklist of Tomlin’s other writing to aid further study.

KIRSTY ANDERSON

History, Biography

 

Invisible Worlds: Death, religion and the supernatural in England 1500-1700

Nov 22, 2020 | 2018 - Summer, Book Reviews, Free Summer 2018

Invisible Worlds: Death, religion and the supernatural in England 1500-1700

Author Peter Marshall
Publisher SPCK  £17.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9780281075225

My first reaction to this collection of essays (divided into two parts – one heaven, hell and purgatory; the other angels, ghosts and fairies) was: ‘Angels and ministers of grace defend us!’ (Hamlet I iv). The discussion of guardian angels from a Calvinist, rather than a Lutheran perspective, is intriguingly open-ended,

inviting readers to draw their own conclusions. The discussion of Purgatory was particularly fascinating. Its removal as a believed post-mortem destination, long-underpinned by dogma and then-contemporary literature, had a profound, unexpected impact: ‘…with the despising of purgatory, they began little to regard hell’ as one scribe put it. At modern funerals, the minister says: ‘in sure and certain hope of the resurrection…’ regardless of whom is being buried/cremated and what they did/did not believe. Are these comforting words only that, or should the church be more open, more honest about heaven and hell? This book provides an eloquent starting point for such a debate. Marshall has written an accessible masterpiece providing the key to understanding the collective intellectual and spiritual mindset post-Reformation, and its continuing influence on post-modern
western Christian thought.

ANDREW CARR

History

 

Pilgrim Journeys

Nov 22, 2020 | 2018 - Summer, Book Reviews, Free Summer 2018

Pilgrim Journeys

Author Sally Welch
Publisher BRF  £7.99
Format pbk
ISBN 9780857465139

Welch takes the reader on an unexpected journey with this slim but thought-provoking companion to ten pilgrim routes in Europe and the Holy Land. Avoiding such practical details as can be found on the internet, she instead offers a themed meditation on the spiritual steps that lead on a walk towards holiness. The opening description of St Columba’s Way, from Iona to St Andrews, becomes an extended discussion of what it means to be called, including a heartfelt appraisal of her own sense of mission. Driven by a self-confessed feeling of restlessness, her attachment to pilgrimage has an authentic ring to it: the word pilgrim was first used to describe a type of perpetual wanderer, a self-imposed exile whose journey was far removed from the later understanding of a return trip to a holy site and back. She concludes by describing a talk about an expedition planned with almost military precision along a Norwegian pilgrimage route to Trondheim, which left the audience impressed but unmoved by its spiritual content. Instead her book offers a more reflective and profitable meander along pilgrim ways.

NICK MAYHEW-SMITH

Pilgrimage

 

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