Where Wrath and Mercy Meet: Proclaiming the Atonement Today
David Peterson (ed.)
Paternoster Press, 2001; xix+175pp; £??; ISBN 1 84227 079 6
This book contains a series of papers given at the fourth Oak Hill College Annual School of Theology in the summer of 2000. The authors are all past and present members of the College staff. An appendix contains an address on the doctrine of justification by faith given in 1954 by Alan Stibbs, the former Vice-Principal of the College. The book is intended as a robust defence of the penal substitution theory of the atonement, as the dominant (or, indeed, only) Biblical understanding of the matter, in the face of the rejection of that interpretation by evangelical scholars as well as others.
While all the papers rely heavily on the interpretation of Biblical texts, the first two provide a detailed examination of the Biblical evidence in Old and New Testaments. This is followed by an examination of the nature of punishment as it is applied to the cross. After this comes what to my mind is the best essay in the book, on the cross, creation and the human predicament, in which sin and rebellion against God is expounded in terms of the undoing of creation, or de-creation, and the cross in terms of re-creation. A final paper provides an exposition of the crucifixion account in John 19.
While I am prepared, possibly, to accept a theory of penal substitution as one Biblical explanation of the atonement, I have difficulties in accepting it as the only one. In fact, this book leaves far too many questions hanging in the air for it to be a fully satisfactory guide to the doctrine of the atonement.
For a start, there is the question of just whom this book is for. I rather suspect that it is preaching to the converted, and that those who hold to a different position would not be persuaded by it. Each paper concludes with questions for further study, but these are not open-ended questions. The book is also definitely for those who have a theological education and I suspect that even intelligent lay people would have difficulties in following the detailed Biblical arguments that it contains.
More important, the book uncovers the weaknesses of traditional conservative evangelicalism. Firstly, it fails to give due recognition to other Biblical pictures of the atonement and, when it does, has a tendency to conflate these pictures without recognising the inconsistencies. This comes out, for example, in the exposition of the Day of Atonement liturgy which is given much attention in the book. The goat that has the sins of the people laid upon it becomes by that act unclean and rendered unfit as a sacrifice, so it is sent out into the wilderness to die. It is the unblemished goat that is offered in sacrifice. This means that the interpretation of the cross in cultic terms as a sacrifice requiring an unblemished victim simply does not fit with its interpretation in terms of sin-bearing. The two pictures must be held distinct, and this book fails in this regard. I am also not persuaded that the Passover Lamb can be viewed in the same terms as other sacrifices in the Old Testament and even more dubious that the category of penal substitution can be applied to it. It belongs to a class on its own.
Next, there is the question of how the cross of Christ can be truly cosmic in its effects. Much is made in the fourth paper of the faith-union argument whereby our unrighteousness is transferred to Christ while his righteousness is transferred (imputed) to us. But the danger here is that this may reduce the atonement to a merely individualistic matter, affecting only those individuals who place their trust in Christ. How, then, can he be “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” if it is only believing individuals who in fact experience the results of Christ’s work? This book fails to explain the cosmic scope of the salvation that God brings about through Jesus. It is the besetting sin of conservative evangelicalism that it reduces the profession of Jesus as Lord of all to faith in Jesus as “my personal Lord and Saviour”.
Finally, and above all, there is the question of what sort of a God it is who is presented throughout this book. Overwhelmingly, we are given a picture of a distant angry (male?) God. The characterisation of God almost throughout is in terms of holiness and justice. There is hardly any mention of the love of God (or, more fundamentally, of the truth that God is love) in most of these papers, and where it is at last mentioned there is reference to another book entitled The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God. What, pray, is difficult about the love of God?
The trouble with the penal substitution theory is that it separates and opposes what ought never to be separated and opposed, the love and the judgement of God. It is not inconsistent with the witness of the Bible or with Christian tradition to affirm that there is only love in God, that sin is a wounding of that love, and that judgement is how we experience God’s love when we reject and oppose it. Much more attention needs to be given to those theories of the atonement that arise from a consideration of the nature of divine love in terms of the Trinity. There is more to be said about moral influence theories of the atonement than mere dismissal. Penal substitution assumes that God needs to be reconciled to us. He does not. It is we who need to be reconciled to God: God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself and not himself to the world.
So, in the end, I find myself unable to recommend this book as a comprehensive guide to the doctrine of the atonement. But readers may judge otherwise, perhaps.
Philip Clements-Jewery
Revelation: Vision and Insight
Ian Boxall
SPCK, London,2002; 166pp; £??; ISBN 0 281 05362 6
My first thought on being asked to review this book was to wonder whether the author would be able to make sense of this most visual of biblical writings to a preacher who was educated in the most cerebral of ways. I also wondered whether those whose education has been shaped more by the visual and intuitive methods of post-modernity than by modernity would be helped by this book. My answer to both is a slightly qualified ‘Yes’.
Ian Boxall is a former Redemptorist and taught New Testament at Chichester Theological College and is now Tutor in New Testament at St Stephen’s House, Oxford. Needless to say then, this is a piece of high quality scholarship and the author is clearly widely read and highly aware of attempts to unravel the Book of Revelation throughout its existence. But he starts from the belief that one needs all the human senses to read this unusual piece of Scripture, drawing attention, for example, to the fact that, if one reads silently (as we do in our Western culture), one is likely to miss all the ‘noise’ of the book - thunderclaps, a voice like the sound of many waters, heavenly song, harps, creatures crying out.
The author points out that it is also, as already commented, much more visual than cerebral, which perhaps goes some way to explaining why it is read little in the worship of the mainstream denominations, but is much loved (and abused!) among cults and sects. He includes a chapter which he entitles ‘Viewing the whole tapestry’. This chapter is as near to a traditional commentary as he gets, but his purpose is to encourage us not to concentrate on the details of each chapter, section or verse, until we have understood how the whole is woven together. I strongly applaud such an emphasis, having once read Revelation from start to finish at a single sitting and being completely dazzled by the experience!
Boxall does not dodge the usual questions of authorship and message, but gives much of his time to exploring how Revelation fits into the world of its time, of our time and of the future. He also examines how the book can be used within a church context and in helping us to understand the world around us.
I found this a very refreshing attempt to get to grips with a much under-used part of Scripture. If you plan to preach on Revelation, get this book and read it before you start. My one slight qualification? It’s a bit wordy and there are no pictures. For a book whose thesis focuses on a highly sensory understanding of Revelation, it is a pity that more thought was not given to matching presentation to thesis.
Alun Brookfield
Cruciformity: Paul’s Narrative Spirituality of the Cross
Michael J Gorman
July 2001; xi+429pp; ISBN 0 8028 4795 1
The relationship between grace and obedience has always been a hard one for theologians to fathom. Certain theologies that stress obedience end up as nothing more than a backdoor entry into salvation by works, whereas theologies that stress grace are sometimes so unconditional that they are guilty of promoting cheap grace. Gorman’s concept of ‘cruciformity’, a term he coins to describe Pauline spirituality, achieves a via media by insisting that the grace that saves us in the death of Christ is also the grace that conforms us to the likeness of Christ. We are convinced by the end of the book that this really is the shape of Pauline, if not Christian spirituality in toto.
Of particular note is the way Gorman identifies a pattern in Paul’s narrative along the lines of ‘though...did not...but’, the clearest example of it being the Carmen Christi, so-called, of Philippians 2:5-11. For Gorman this pattern is the key to Paul’s theology, for it takes seriously the call upon the believer in Christ to replay the downwardly mobile shape of Christ’s own life and ministry, and thereby witness to Christ’s continuing presence in the world. This is no abstract thought, for it relates in Paul, as Gorman shows, to practical matters such as hospitality, financial giving, the handling of disputes, and the nature of ministry itself. At the heart of Pauline spirituality is the paradox of weakness, through which God reveals his glory.
It is a shame that Gorman has to downplay the classic evangelical doctrine of substitutionary atonement to achieve this purpose. It is an unnecessary requirement. His spiritual vision is possible with it retained, as much as it is by discarding it. But given the general antipathy towards the forensic nature of the atonement, it is no surprise that Gorman joins the ranks of those who like to take a swipe. Coupled to this is his insistence on an understanding of faith as ‘the faith of Jesus’, as opposed to the traditional reading of ‘faith in Jesus’. There is no widespread consensus as yet that this is the correct way to read Paul, and to make it central to his thesis is to run the risk of distracting us from the more substantial and certain aspects of his argument.
Having made those rather more negative points, Cruciformity remains a very challenging and compelling read. It is worthy of the spiritual vision of writers such as Bonhoeffer, who, during the last century, amidst the turmoil of fascist Europe, challenged the church to count the cost of discipleship. Indeed Gorman makes brief reference to this prophetic voice late in the book, and one wonders whether it is Bonhoeffer’s notion of costly grace that stands behind the term ‘cruciformity’, for in essence grace that costs us everything in response is what cruciformity means.
Ian Stackhouse
Reading the Bible in Faith: theological voices from the pastorate
William H Lazareth (editor)
Eerdmans, Grand Rapids/Cambridge 2001; xviii+206pp; £9.99; ISBN 0 8028 4877 X
The genesis of this book is an interesting one. It is the product of the first year of the Pastor-Theologian programme of the Princeton Theological Seminary. Its rationale is that the crisis of the contemporary church is in part a theological crisis and that something has to be done, therefore, to rectify this state of affairs. It recognises that in the pastorate there is a whole reservoir of theological talent that is not fully tapped in the service not only of the academy and the seminary but, supremely, of the church. This is true of the church on this side of the Atlantic as well. I am not aware that as thorough an attempt to meet the need has been put into effect here, although there have been a few efforts within the Baptist constituency to which I belong.
The Pastor-Theologian programme drew together some 60 ministers of various denominations from all over the USA, first of all in regional seminars of three days duration and then in a national conference. The theme chosen was that of “reading the Bible in faith” and special attention was given to two key texts - the binding of Isaac (Genesis 22) and the Matthean Passion narrative (Matthew 26-27) - in the hope that this might generate a range of teaching and writing projects that eventually could be shared with a wider public. This book is the outcome. The first part deals with hermeneutics and the interpretation of the two Biblical passages, while the second half of the book deals with issues of doctrine, worship and proclamation. Each section is prefaced by a helpful introduction by the editor.
I have to say, however, that while I am impressed by the overall quality of the writing in this book, the extracts of the participants’ work chosen are generally too short to provide more than the occasional flash of insight. The decision was taken to include extracts from all the articles that were submitted for publication, but I cannot help wondering if it would have been better to have used fewer and longer extracts, or even whole articles. I also do not know on what basis the participants were chosen, or, indeed, whether they were self-selected. According to the list provided at the end of the book participants seem to come overwhelmingly from mainline traditionalist denominations, but this does tend to give a somewhat old-fashioned feel to many of the pieces published here. I would describe the theology of many, if not most of them, as tending towards the Barthian. I confess that I did long for a greater sense of adventure in theology, something less descriptive and more speculative. In short, the book did not prove to be as great a stimulus to thought and imagination as I expected. Of course, there were the occasional exceptions to this, but, to sum up, I applaud the concept while being a little disappointed with the outcome.
Philip Clements-Jewery
The Divine Drama: the Old Testament as Literature
John Dancy
Lutterworth Press, Cambridge, 2001; 800pp; £17.50; ISBN 0 7188 2987 5
The author of this book is a retired public schoolmaster and Professor of Education, and a classicist by training - and it shows! His aim in writing this book is to rescue the Old Testament from its perceived obscurity and to restore it as great literature worthy of the attention of a book-reading public. Inevitably, this means excerpting the text, but by and large the excerpts chosen seem the most obvious ones. The selected extracts are printed in highlighted blocks across the page, with commentary below in two columns. The commentary concentrates on literary rather than on theological concerns, although the latter are not absent. Controversially, the author distinguishes what he calls the Old Testament from the Hebrew Scriptures by including the Apocrypha in the former. Translations used range from the AV, through the RSV, NRSV, the New Jerusalem Bible and the Revised English Bible, as well as the occasional use of some other minor modern translations. Neither the GNB or the NIV get a mention, which for some will be a weakness.
The book begins with several short essays on the purpose, plan and principles of the book, on Hebrew poetry and story-telling, and on the archaeology of the Old Testament. The use of technical terms is high right from the start. Fortunately there is a glossary at the back, to which frequent reference will need to be made. The English style is cultured and the vocabulary used reflects the classical training of the author. There are few concessions to ignorance, which some might find off-putting. For instance, it sometimes appears that the author assumes the reader is familiar with the content and style of Homer.
Each section is prefaced by a short introduction and at the back there are also three appendices about Hebrew literature in its Ancient Near East context, a comparison of Hebrew and Greek literature, and a defence of the whole project against its objectors. There are three pages of maps, three separate indices and a very brief bibliography.
There is no doubt concerning the author’s profound faith (of the more catholic sort?) and his love for the Old Testament as literature, but he is no fundamentalist. He accepts fully the conclusions of modern critical scholarship concerning the OT, along with its interpretation of the archaeological evidence, with all of which he has been careful to acquaint himself.
Even though much of the book is taken up with reprinting the Biblical text, £17.50 for 800 pages is not bad value. I guess that, having digested the introductory articles and also, possibly, the appendices, this book is meant for dipping into rather than reading from cover to cover. Perhaps the author would disagree with that judgement - I am aware that I write that as one whose interest is theological rather than literary. Possibly it will be most suitable for use by 6th form Religious Studies students and first year undergraduates. It certainly does not belong to the genre of popular Christian literature!
Would I have bought this book had I not been sent it for review? Probably not. Would I recommend it to the readers of this journal? Again, probably not. Its place is in the lecture room rather than in the church setting. But if any readers are intrigued and want to explore further, I suggest finding a religious bookshop stocking it, having a browse, and making up your own mind.
Philip Clements-Jewery
Ichabod Toward Home: The Journey of God’s Glory
Walter Brueggeman
William B Eerdmans Publishing, 2002; ix+150pp; £10.99; ISBN 0 8028 3930 4
This volume from one of the most respected biblical scholars of our generation is the publication of a series of lectures delivered at the Princeton Theological Seminary in February 2001. They consist of an exposition of 1 Samuel 4-6, conventionally known as “the Ark narrative, in which the story is told of the loss of the Ark of the Covenant by the Israelites to the Philistines, its effect on the Philistines and its return to Israel.
But what an exposition! Brueggeman is not content to simply expound the passage itself, but takes us on an exhilarating journey through the Old Testament, into the New and beyond that to our present day, relating the story to a devastating analysis of our cultural attitudes. For example, at the end of the first lecture, he picks up the theme of denial which he has been developing during the preceding pages and comments that “a society ordered by denial cannot be richly human...is likely to be committed to violence... to greed...to killing moralism because one way to fend off anxiety is to expel, silence and imprison the dissenters. Denial requires the exclusion of the other” - strangely prophetic words spoken several months before the attack on the World Trade Centre and its aftermath.
But Brueggeman’s exposition climaxes with hope as he reminds us that, even when the glory has departed, God himself is never absent. He reminds us that, even when Christ was in the grave, God was still present in the world. And so he ends by relating the three-day ‘exile’ of the Ark to the three days of the Easter Triduum, showing how the Church understands, in a way the world cannot, the interminable length of Holy Saturday as we mourn the death of our Saviour and wait for his rising from death.
This is a wonderful book. Read it before you plan your sermons for Easter 2003.
Alun Brookfield
God’s Lesser Glory - a critique of open theism
Bruce A Ware
Apollos, Leicester, 2001; 240pp; £11.99; ISBN 0 85111 481 4
Open theism, upon which this book is a passionate attack, is the view that human freedom must imply that God does not know the indeterminate future free choices of human beings, for, if God did know them, then the future would be determined, and this undermines the freedom which God has given us. As this is a view to which I myself adhere, I am one of those against whom this book is written. I have to say that I remain unpersuaded by the arguments put forward here.
Bruce Ware is a Professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. It is apparent from the book that in the USA the debate on the issue of open theism has reached beyond academia to the floor of church assemblies. This not the case in the UK, so one wonders about the contemporary relevance of the book over here.
A full critique of the book would take longer than a mere review. Even so, it is important to point out what to my mind are the deficiencies of Ware’s arguments. For example, there are certain fine distinctions of which he fails to take account. While God has perfect knowledge, and knows all that it is possible to know, it is vital to distinguish between God’s perfect knowledge of all past and present actualities and God’s perfect knowledge of all future possibilities. The point is that knowing the future as actuality is a logical impossibility that not even God can overcome. God knows all future possibilities, but not which of them will become actualised in any given situation.
Another distinction which Ware overlooks is that between necessary and sufficient conditions of an action. The sufficient condition of any human action must be the indeterminate free decision of the human agent to perform that action. However, God may be able to arrange the other necessary, but not sufficient, conditions for the action to occur so that God’s will is done without manipulating, or compromising the freedom of, the human agent. It is necessary to make this point to counter Ware’s objection that the God of open theism is unable to overrule our affairs or offer any guidance to us.
A third distinction arises in connection with Ware’s argument that open theism undermines the possibility of prayer and of answers to prayer, since such a God cannot guarantee that the person we pray for will choose what God wills. It is important here to distinguish between God working in human lives in a personal way and merely bringing things about impersonally. The God of open theism is not impotent. It is simply that such a God voluntarily restrains the exercise of omnipotence so that God never coerces, but always, with infinite and everlasting patience, seeks to persuade.
Another issue with which Ware fails to grapple satisfactorily is the relationship of God to time. He admits that in some respects God may be conceived of as mutable or subject to change, so that God may be seen as responsive to what happens in creation. However, this is incompatible with the view that places God in a timeless eternity, in which God is present to all times and all times to God, so that God always has perfect knowledge of the future as well as the past and present. The point is that change can only take place in time, and that change is the measure of time. It follows that in a timeless eternity nothing can ever happen because the absence of time rules out the possibility of change. Therefore, if God exists in a timeless eternity God cannot influence the world, nor allow God’s own being to be influenced by it. We must, then, speak of God’s everlastingness through time rather than of God’s eternity. God’s mode of being must at least in some senses be a temporal mode of being, unless we still wish to hold to an absolutely immutable and impassible God.
The most serious charge against the view that Ware seeks to defend is that a God who fully knows the future is a God whose goodness is seriously compromised. For instance, if God knew in advance exactly what would happen in New York on 11 September 2001, we have to ask why, if God is also omnipotent and wholly good and loving, God did nothing to prevent it. The only answer can be that out of total respect for the free choices of free human beings God never overrides such choices. But this brings us back to the conditions that are necessary for those choices and actions to be genuinely free, one of which must be that God cannot know in advance which of several possibilities in any given future situation will be actualised.
It probably would not have been necessary to make many of these points if Ware had taken account of some of the insights of process theism. Of course, many readers will take it as a strength of the book that Ware seeks to argue from Scripture (or at least, an interpretation of Scripture) rather than argue in a philosophical way. However, it has to be said that Ware’s use of Scripture is uncritically naive and takes no account of the insights of modern Biblical scholarship. Some of his arguments in favour of predictive prophecy, for example, depend upon the unity of the Book of Isaiah and its 8th century BC date, and also fail to take into account the relationship between Jeremiah and the book of Deuteronomy. The arguments fall if another view is taken of these matters. His disagreement against open theism also proceeds unremittingly and relentlessly by the method of reductio ad absurdum, and after a while this becomes rather tiresome. All in all, therefore, I cannot recommend this one-sided and inadequate book as a balanced discussion of the very real and important issues it raises.
Philip Clements-Jewery
The Concept of Nature
John Habgood
Darton, Longman and Todd, London 2002; 188pp; £10.95; ISBN 0 232 52439 4
The author, a former Archbishop of York, is, as the cover blurb tells us, “one of the most influential and popular thinkers in the Church”. In this volume, distilled from the 2000 Gifford Lectures of the University of Aberdeen, he sets out to study the origins and concept of nature and to throw light on many of today’s controversial issues, including sexuality, GM foods and designer babies.
In chapter 1, Habgood explores the many meanings of the word ‘nature’ and notes that there are basically three groups of meanings. First, there is nature as referring to essential characteristics. Second, the word is used to refer to a force which makes things as they are. Finally, he reflects on the use of the word to describe everything that is.
Chapter 2 argues that it is scientific arrogance to assume that we can have a god-like overview of the universe. Chapter 3 then goes on to raise questions about environmental issues. He asks whether there is a natural world to be conserved or a balance of nature to be respected, and whether environmentalism has a convincing intellectual basis.
Chapter 5 addresses the way in which human beings have, throughout history, attempted to improve on nature by means of such things as landscaping and selective breeding of plants and animals. He explores the fact that, with our new powers of ‘improvement’, we need much firmer ethical grounds on which to base future decision-making processes.
Finally, Habgood comes to the question of how all this relates to the ‘givenness’ of a world created by God. He discusses how nature, in all its meanings, may have an incarnational significance as a means through which the grace of God can be discerned and received.
This book is not an easy or comfortable read. This reviewer found it challenging and thought-provoking, as well as intellectually stimulating. Nevertheless, if you are interested in ecology, genetics, environmentalism, and the relationship between God and his creation, this is a book well worth the effort of reading.
Alun Brookfield
How Blind is the Watchmaker?
Neil Broom
InterVarsity Press, Leicester, 2001; 224pp; £9.99; ISBN 0 85111 554 3
New Zealander Neil Broom is an associate professor in the department of chemical and materials engineering at the University of Auckland, but here he writes mostly about genetics and biology. I wonder if the book would have even more force if it had been written by a specialist in those disciplines. To engage with the likes of Richard Dawkins surely requires an adversary working in the same field as he.
Be that as it may, this book is a vigorous defence of a theistic interpretation of the facts as science uncovers them. However, the author is no obscurantist fundamentalist. It turns out that Broom is an advocate of theistic evolution, although this does not become fully evident until the reader reaches an extended footnote about two thirds of the way into the book. Nevertheless, the main concern of the book is not to build a positive case for theistic evolution, but rather to demolish the reductionist arguments of naturalistic materialists such as Dawkins. Hence the title of the book, which picks up Dawkins’ own “The Blind Watchmaker”.
Against Dawkins et al, Broom rightly observes that talk of a “selfish gene” introduces concepts of intentionality and even consciousness that suggest a final cause lying beyond the material world. Genes, after all, are simply codes or a set of instructions for building a more complex entity. They do not build that entity all by themselves, but depend upon an already existing system. What science describes so convincingly and successfully points to a dimension that transcends the processes and systems in nature.
Even so, this cumulative and convincing demolition of naturalistic materialism gives a rather negative slant to the book, and readers could be forgiven for wishing that the intention of the book was indeed to argue the positive case for theistic evolution in order to counter the arguments of the creationists, as well as those of the materialists. It is especially disappointing that towards the end of the book, when Broom goes beyond naturalism to introduce God into the discussion, all he can do is point the interested reader to C. S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity. Why cannot Broom direct his readers to theologians and apologists of greater stature and of a more recent generation than Lewis? I think I know the answer to that question, and so, I suspect, do most readers of this review.
So a qualified welcome for this book. It would be useful to put into the hands of an enquiring undergraduate (and others) who might be swayed by the dominance of naturalistic materialism in our scientific culture, and especially by the apparent persuasiveness of popular presentations of such ideas. The book contains many illustrations, explanatory diagrams and even cartoons - all of which is to be commended. There is also an appendix filling in the history of modern science from Bacon and Descartes to James Clark Maxwell (but why stop there?), an index, but disappointingly no bibliography.
Philip Clements-Jewery
God Save the Queen - The spiritual dimension of Monarchy
Ian Bradley
Darton Longman and Todd, 2002; 204pp; £14.95; ISBN 0 232 52414 9
This is an unusual offering, the relevance of which is made by the twin events of the Golden Jubilee celebrations and the surprisingly vigorous displays of popular loyalty provoked by the recent death of the Queen Mother. For a just-about monarchist, as I am, I confess that I am not strongly persuaded of the virtues of the hereditary principle behind the appointment of our Head of State. I agree that, with our present Queen, it works reasonably well. But for me, Bradley does not make a strong case for a significant spiritual dimension in the institution he regards so highly. Supposing the Queen’s late uncle, with his reported admiration for Hitler, had remained on the throne together with Mrs Wallis Simpson as his consort, or the late Princess Margaret had enjoyed the advantage of seniority, how would we be assessing the system today? What will our successors make of it once the Queen’s present family have had a go in their own right - if indeed that happens and the amazing longevity possibility does not phase them all out first. Maybe the author’s point is that God has spared us these possibilities because of His love for the system too. In that case, is he not being a little unfair to our friends in the Irish Republic, France and Germany and the USA?
In any case, Bradley is on distinctly shaky grounds in the basic biblical case that he makes. Admittedly there is a monarchy system instituted in the days of Samuel, but I have always understood that Yahweh’s agreement to it was very reluctant. Does he not say that it is because the people have rejected Him, not Samuel? Do they not go for it for no better reason than to ape the ways of their pagan neighbours? And surely the difference in the Kingship of Jesus is that His rule is utterly contradictory to any other expressions of sovereignty then or since.
Still, Bradley helpfully advocates a change in the establishment of the Church of England akin to the order for the Church of Scotland and various changes in Coronation processes too. To be fair, the system does work at present here. The Queen and her family give a lot of service to the community through the vast range of their interests for which we are grateful. Perhaps it is a bit like the high drama associated with an Anglican service in St Paul’s or Westminster Abbey or a similar beautiful place. So long as we enjoy the spectacle and do not take the pomp
and the pageantry too seriously, it is fine. But once we press the significance too far, there is a radical response in me which cannot be stifled.
Douglas McBain
Befriending our Desires
Philip Sheldrake
Darton Longman and Todd, 2002; 144pp; £9.95; ISBN 0 232 52446 7
Philip Sheldrake, Vice Principal of Sarum College, Salisbury, is the highly acclaimed author of two standard texts in the areas of Spirituality and Theology and Spirituality and History. In this book he invites us to discover the relationship between our sexuality and our spirituality in prayer and spiritual growth. Since our sexuality is close to the heart of our self-understanding, the journey he takes us on is fascinating and subtle. As he shows, it is not enough to disdain the obvious down to earth meaning of the text in the Song of Songs, and opt for the surreal interpretations of traditional evangelicalism. There is spiritual worth in the erotic. But Sheldrake is not so clear on the balancing fact that this enjoyment is also dependent on covenanted qualities of faithfulness, loyalty, and integrity too. Because erotic love may lead us to an understanding of divine intimacy, it does not follow that erotic love escapes from destructive sinfulness too. I commend this as an interesting read in an area that needs to be free from furtiveness and open to wholesome reflection.
Douglas McBain
Spirit and Beauty
Patrick Sherry
SCM, 2002; 184pp; £14.95; ISBN 0 334 020865 5
This is the second and revised edition of a book that was first published in 1992. It was warmly reviewed - ‘a little masterpiece’ - and in some ways is a pioneering work. The revisions are modest, with a seven page postscript.
It is a rich and fascinating exploration of the connection between beauty and the Holy Spirit. The author seeks to bridge the gap between a view of God which takes little account of beauty, and Dostoevsky’s remark that ‘beauty will save the world.’ For Sherry, divine beauty is to be explained in Trinitarian terms: “The Father’s glory is reflected in the Son, his perfect image, and diffused through the Holy Spirit; that Spirit has the mission of communicating God’s beauty, both through creation, in the case of natural beauty, and through inspiration, in that of artistic beauty; that earthly beauty is thus a reflection of divine glory and a sign of the way in which the Spirit is perfecting creation; and that beauty has an eschatological significance, in that it is an anticipation of the restored and transfigured world which will be the fullness of God’s kingdom.”
Exploring a range of writers from Irenaeus and Aquinas to Barth, and particularly Urs von Balthasar, he tackles the key issues. The chapter headings reveal his range of concerns: The Holy Spirit and Aesthetics; Types of Beauty; God’s Beauty; The Holy Spirit and the Trinity; Inspiration and Imagination; Reflections of Divine Beauty; Anticipating the Final Transfiguration of Things. He feels that beauty has been treated as something of a Cinderella and he is aware of Tom Wolfe’s sweeping judgement that “today, art...is the religion of the educated classes.”
This is a disciplined and sensitive work and his explorations of the Trinity from Eastern and Western points of view are illuminating. In one way this book could be seen as only of interest to specialists, but at another level he is touching on the fundamentals of our faith. As Barth suggested, if we ignore the beauty of God in his trinity, “we at once have a God without radiance and without joy (and without humour).”
Julian Reindorp
Reasonable Enthusiast - John Wesley and the rise of Methodism
Henry Rack
Epworth Press (Third Edition), 2002; 554pp+indices; £19.95; ISBN 0 7162 0552 1,
If history books are meant to be interesting, informative and illuminating then this one is outrageously successful. Although the subject matter may seem remote from our own time and circumstances, Rack brings an unexpected clarity and relevance to it. Having taken on board the usual assumptions about the saintly founder of Methodism and the heroes of the evangelical revival, I found it refreshing to discover that Wesley was as flawed as the rest of us and the evangelical revival could easily have slipped into chaos without the firm hand of John and, to a lesser extent, Charles Wesley.
Rack is neither wilfully iconoclastic nor excessively reductionist. He makes a careful analysis of contemporary material and offers comprehensive criticism of important commentary and biography from the last two centuries. He has a most satisfying characteristic: when another scholar offers an original insight on a subject Rack gives his assent and then a reasoned assessment of the available material in support of that view. There is no competitive scholarship here, but a shared exploration. I felt that I was sharing in the exploration too and that helped to make it compelling reading.
The style of English is unobtrusive, and only once did I reach for the dictionary: ‘ratiocination’ (p.81) was worth looking up because it is pertinent to so much of Wesley’s approach to life. I did find the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church a useful companion to remind myself of the many obscure sects and movements of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The footnotes are nearly all references to sources, so it is not necessary to keep referring to them. On the few occasions I used the index, it fulfilled my needs.
So, what of the subject matter? This book is full of insight, surprise and even humour. Rack’s quotation from Gibbon describing the clergy (p.61) made me laugh aloud; Burton’s letter to Wesley before the latter’s departure for Georgia (p.112) could have been written to me. The greatest surprise was to discover that Wesley was not carried along by a post-Aldersgate Street charge of charismatic fervour. Much of his speaking and writing was informed by the observation and interpretation of the experience and behaviour of the people around him. In a letter he wrote in 1786, he said (p.548/9), “Almost ever since I can remember I have been led in a peculiar way. I go in an even line, being very little raised at one time or depressed at another...I am very rarely led by impressions, but gently by reason and by Scripture. I see abundantly more than I feel. I want to feel more zeal and love for God.” If only I had read those words three decades ago, what comfort I could have brought to countless modern day Methodists who have felt second class Christians because their faith has been rational rather than fervent!
I came to this book as a reluctant reviewer. I continue with it wishing I had read it twenty years before it was first published. My recommendation? Buy, don’t borrow! My copy is dog-eared and bristling with bookmarks and sticky labels. It is a book to return to often in the course of twenty first century ministry.
Chris Gardner
The Old Religion in a New World: The History of North American Christianity
Mark A Noll
Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2002; 340pp; £17.99; ISBN 0 8028 4948 2
To understand North America today, you have to understand religious beliefs and how they have developed. Mark Noll has produced an excellent, concise, readable study of the history of Christianity in North America. He steers us skilfully from the colonial days through three centuries of expansion, fragmentation, innovation, revival and decline, in a culture which became a greenhouse for cults and denominations - there are 60 recognised Baptist denominations! Much is reported factually without comment, but he shows the factors which have made American Christianity unique. It is a very wide-ranging portrait, ranging from revivalism to Catholicism, the biggest denomination with 61 million adherents.
He seeks to show how the American culture affected the thought of the churches, from the influence of the former motherlands, the churches’ desire to be scientifically acceptable, its geographical space and its constitutional freedom. Populist theological innovation found great soil here for growth and spread, Charles Finney’s ‘commonsense arminianism’ being an obvious example. Much theology ‘from below’ has begun in the United States and has had a profound effect worldwide, including Pentecostalism, the Charismatic renewal and the more pragmatic megachurches of our present day. As we are often the recipients of such populist spirituality, this makes the book timely and relevant.
Noll has a masterly grasp of the whole period and he doesn’t avoid the more shameful periods of the church as in their dealing with the slaves and Indians. He also includes a chapter on Christianity in Mexico and Canada.
Many of us have a real debt to the richness of their leaders’ theology and praxis, from the puritans, reformed, holiness, pentecostal leaders and from their philosophers and evangelists. Noll highlights, for example, Jonathan Edwards as America’s most compelling theologian who has been a gift to the whole church. But as he says “it is not so much in thinking as in acting that American Christians have affected the world.”
In a land where the Bible has had such an immense influence, and where 35% profess conversion to Christianity, he ends the book with a sobering question fuelled by quotations from Bonhoeffer, Blaser and Siebald. He asks whether, given that North American Christianity is so intermingled with the democratic, voluntaristic and innovative aspects of American society, the situation can be evaluated positively as an instance of incarnated faith carrying the message of a God incarnated in human flesh into its surrounding society; or negatively, as a peculiar instance of secularization where an anthropocentric religion of self realization and salvation through productivity replaces a theocentric religion of divine revelation and salvation in Christ.
This is a wonderful read by a wise church historian with an encyclopaedic knowledge of his subject. Well worth the time given to read, even by the busiest pastor, and to learn the lessons it teaches.
J Stuart Reid
Spirituality of Struggle - Pathways to Growth
Andrew D Mayes
SPCK, 2002; 152pp; £8.99; ISBN 0 281 05420 7
The author is a parish priest in Ovingdean serving also in further ministerial education in the diocese of Chichester. Through a series of Bible studies on some of its great characters, the point is helpfully brought home to us that we cannot grow in our life in God without the element of struggle and the often harsh experience of lonely strife too. For those who are on the lookout for easy alternatives to these realities, this is salutary. Each chapter includes some questions for group discussion. There are also some suggested prayer exercises for each of the themes of identity, change, stress, anger, suffering, vocation, prayer, acceptance, and human nature.
I wonder whether the author might have included something more on the struggle that many Christian ministers face in a very demanding form. It is that of knowing how to deal with the burden of unreal expectations that others wish on us, because we live in an age that treasures success almost at any cost. Yet in the church, most Christians are dogged by the sense of the loss of their resources, often their numerical support, and most significantly their influence. But this is to underline the value of this book. In identifying many of the issues that are a struggle for us, Mayes also provokes to an awareness of more besides. That doubles its value immediately.
Douglas McBain
Perspectives on Prayer
Fraser Watts (ed.)
SPCK, London, 2001; 111pp; £9.99; ISBN 0 281 05367 7
This brilliant collection of essays has its origin in a series of eight public lectures given in Cambridge. The contributors are all based in or around Cambridge, and include such well-known names as Jeremy Begbie, Charles Elliott, John Polkinghorne and Angela Tilby. The scope of the essays is wide-ranging, linking prayer with the Bible, society, science, psychology, poetry, music, sexuality and the body. While the book is written firmly from within the Christian tradition it is also not afraid to be open, where appropriate, to insights from other faiths. At the end of each chapter the contributors also make helpful suggestions for further reading.
Do not suppose that the academic origin of these essays indicates a reductionist view of prayer. It does not. Of course, due attention is given to the effect on us when we pray, particularly in Fraser Watts’ piece on prayer and psychology, but several of the contributors, including Watts himself, are also clear that prayer can make an objective difference to the world. In this respect, the contribution of the scientist, John Polkinghorne, is fascinating in its insights into the ways prayer might “work”.
By turns profound, insightful, devout, intelligent and inspiring, this book is head and shoulders above many other, possibly more “pious”, contributions to the subject. Charles Elliott’s chapter on prayer and society ought to be compulsory reading for anyone who leads prayers of intercession. The last chapter, on prayer and the body is helpful in its practicality as well as being deeply spiritual in its approach. One of the most fascinating contributions so far as I was concerned is that by Jeremy Begbie on prayer and music. He suggests that there is no reason why spirituality should, as often appears, be synonymous with slow, quiet music. He also makes a telling connection between the childish desire for immediate gratification that is expressed in some forms of Christianity with the tendency (he describes it as a “deadening predictability”) of contemporary music for worship to rush too quickly to a resolution of musical tension, thus losing the “not yet” dimension of Christian faith.
Of course, no reader is going to engage equally with every single contribution in this book. The opening essay on prayer and the Bible, structured around the Lord’s Prayer, I found somewhat dissatisfying; and the chapter on prayer and poetry a little too dryly academic. And if you ask how it was for me in relation to Angela Tilby’s piece on prayer and sexuality I would have to say, disappointedly, that the earth didn’t really move for me here!
Nevertheless, buy this book. Its value far outweighs the ten pounds you’ll spend in acquiring it. Read, and reread it, and let its wisdom inform, challenge and deepen your own prayer life, both in public and in private.
Philip Clements-Jewery
Henri Nouwen: In My Own Words
Robert Durback (ed.)
Darton, Longman and Todd, London, 2001; 140pp; £6.95; ISBN 0 232 52463 7
The editor of this compilation of Henri Nouwen’s writings is a former monk who was a personal friend of Nouwen for more than 20 years and is thus able to speak with considerable authenticity about his friend.
The book is in six sections: setting, awareness, response, turning point, commitment, completion. They refer to the stages of life as one explores the reality of who one is in relation to God and other people. The Nouwen quotes are well chosen and thought-provoking throughout, so this book lends itself very naturally to being used as part of daily devotions.
Skimming through for this review ( I shall add it to my daily devotional ‘diet’ in due course), I found many gems. For example: “The resurrection doesn’t answer any of our curious questions about life after death. But it does reveal that love is stronger than death. After that revelation, we must remain silent, leave the whys, wheres, hows and whens behind, and simply trust”.
Buy and enjoy!
Alun Brookfield
Undersong: listening to the soul
Peter B. Price
Darton, Longman & Todd, 2002; x+181pp; £8.95; ISBN 0 232 52440 0
Formerly General Secretary of the USPG, Peter Price has recently been appointed as Bishop of Bath and Wells. Here he has written a first-rate book of intelligent spirituality.
“Undersong” is a concept borrowed from Ralph Waldo Emerson who defines it as “the emotional current that carries us along through the very life of the inner world.” Peter Price interprets the idea in terms of the spiritual reality that undergirds the whole of life in its personal, social and political dimensions.
There is a tendency in some quarters to think of spirituality in terms of tranquility, individualism and withdrawal from the world. Nothing could be further from the truth so far as Price is concerned. In this book he deals with the underlying spiritual structure of community, peacemaking, justice and poverty as well as dealing with the more expected aspects of spirituality that have to do with personal conversion, prayer, and loving.
Price is ruthlessly honest about his own faults and errors, but he is also able to draw on the wide international experience he has gained over many years, and he has a fund of stories and experiences to draw on. Inevitably, the anecdotal style does create some unevenness in quality, and there are a few places where the reader might discern an absence of structure and onward movement in the writing. However, these are few and far between and overall this book can be recommended, not least as an antidote to the prevalent more pietistic kind of spirituality.
Philip Clements-Jewery
Journeying with God: an Exploration of Ignatian Spirituality
Malcolm Rothwell
Epworth Press, Peterborough, 2001; 144pp; £9.95; ISBN 0 7162 0549 1
This helpful book is the result of the author’s experience of a 30-day silent retreat following the spiritual exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola. Malcolm Rothwell is a Methodist minister and confesses that he began the retreat wondering if he was out of his mind. By the end of it, he had discovered exactly the opposite was true. The space gave him time to reflect on many aspects of his own ministry and this book is therefore a record of those reflections rather than a laborious account of how he did the exercises and what he learned from them. Most helpfully of all, it is a very vulnerable book as the writer exposes his most painful experiences on retreat as well as the moments when he felt he was making progress.
After a brief introduction, Rothwell begins the book by exploring the process which led to his going on the retreat. He speaks of the need to “recharge my batteries, if not to completely refit my spiritual life” (p.16). He then goes on to speak about confronting the meaning of prayer, the need for forgiveness, the search for spirituality in a post-modern world, discovering the meaning of the cross through being a clown, heart-spirituality as opposed to head-spirituality and discerning the will of God. His penultimate chapter explores the use of the imagination (which is at the heart of many of the Ignatian spiritual exercises).
Rothwell’s final chapter is only two pages in length and challenges the reader to take seriously the need to follow the foolishness of the cross rather than the foolishness of the world.
This book is challenging throughout and this reviewer certainly intends to read it again at greater leisure as part of a future retreat. It did my soul good to meet Malcolm Rothwell through these pages and I am confident that others in the front line of Christian ministry would benefit from reading them.
Alun Brookfield
Soul Space: making a retreat in the Christian tradition
Margaret Silf
SPCK, 2002; xiv+162pp; £19.99; ISBN 0 281 05317 0
This is a comprehensive and first rate guide to retreats for people who have never been on one but are either thinking of doing so, or simply wondering what they are all about. After a helpful introduction, explaining what is meant by “retreat” and how to use the book, there follow five sections. The first of these, “Beginning where you are”, expands on some of the themes in the introduction. The second section, “The Questions You Didn’t Like to Ask”, deals with ethical issues about withdrawal from daily life as well as more practical matters. A following section considers preparation for retreats, how to make the most of one and keeping the experience alive. A fifth section takes the form of a fact file, or glossary. It provides explanations of technical terms and information about many different kinds of retreats. In other parts of the book, topics explained in this section are highlighted in bold print. A final section, “Retreatants Speak for Themselves”, provides personal testimonies to various forms of retreat experiences. Finally, there is a list of contact addresses, a short bibliography and an index.
This is not a book that is necessarily to be read from cover to cover. If it is, the reader will find a lot of the inevitable repetition of a work that is intended to be a handbook. I also felt that more could be said to reassure inexperienced retreatants who may be worried because they tend to fall asleep during periods of prayer and meditation. That is a normal part of the retreat experience and nothing to worry about!
However, my major gripe about this book is that twenty pounds seems steep for a paperback of less than 200 pages. I am not sure who would buy it at that price. It is not a book for being made available in Retreat Houses themselves, because it needs to be consulted before getting there. Maybe it is intended for ministers or church libraries to buy as a book to lend. I should certainly want to lend it to people who have never been on a retreat and want to find out what they are about. That said, this is a highly recommendable and inclusive guide to its subject.
Philip Clements-Jewery
Sharing Spaces? - Prayer and the Counselling Relationship
Jessica Rose
Darton, Longman and Todd, 2002; 140pp; £9.95; ISBN 0 232 52387 8
Jessica Rose, counsellor, teacher of pastoral care and member of the Orthodox Church, in this book describes “the struggles and rewards of those who seek to integrate two intensely practical enterprises: prayer and counselling.”
Counselling and prayer are different routes that can take us deeper into our inner journey; each enables us to learn the art of being, and each affects our relationships with others.
The author draws both on her own experience of travelling these two routes over the past fifteen years, and on the responses of counsellors whom she interviewed. Rose makes it clear that she is concerned, not with explicitly Christian counselling circles “where prayer may form an explicit part of the work’, but with some of the dilemmas which face people who pray as part of ordinary life, and who are also involved in counselling.” As a counsellor wearing the label ‘professional’ working in an agency which is Christian, I found her approach both stimulating and helpful.
Sharing Spaces? looks at ways in which prayer can inform and nourish the counselling relationship, as well as ways in which the two can be difficult to integrate. It raises questions that need to be tackled by all counsellors for whom the Christian faith is important. While being intensely practical at one level, the book also challenges the reader to rethink the nature of being in relationship.
It is possibly of greater interest to counsellors than to pastors.
Sue Clements-Jewery
Outside Verdict - An Old Kirk In A New Scotland
Harry Reid
St Andrew’s Press, Edinburgh, 2002; 276pp; £12.99; ISBN 0 7152 0799 7
A former moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland initiated this work during his moderatorial year. Harry Reid, an experienced journalist, had just retired as editor of The Herald, Scotland’s foremost daily broadsheet, when he was engaged to write a critique of the Church of Scotland. Reid had been brought up in the Kirk and considered himself a Christian, but was neither a member nor an active participant in Church life.
He attended Church meetings and services, read extensively, interviewed many people, and from that produced this book which he says “looks at the situation, state and prospects of Scotland’s national church. Respectively, I regard these as dire, confused and hopeful.” You might rightly conclude from that opening comment of Reid’s that this is a work which can be hard-hitting, speaks honestly, is from an outsider’s perspective and yet shows respect and endeavours to be sympathetic.
Some of his concerns say more about him than about the Kirk per se. He is a journalist, so is very concerned with the Church’s image and its relationship with the media. He has a traditional church background, so is sympathetic to the established or national aspects of church life, and is steeped in clericalism. He is a Scot, concerned about national life and sees a role for the Church in that, but wants to cut back on overseas involvement, and he gives a surprising amount of time to the Kirk’s complicity in Scotland’s sectarianism.
The advantages of the book are that it is fresh, and comes at things from angles that we might not expect and so puts them in an alternative light. The disadvantage is that he has had a short time to be familiar with what is a complicated beast and some of his comments are already being seen as misjudged. He is himself, for example, backtracking on his idea of selling off all manses, thereby raising funds that would enable the Kirk to pay her ministers a housing allowance and still leave plenty of cash over to, for example, employ youth workers.
The book is likely to be of limited interest and use outside of Scotland, and the Kirk in particular. It has already created quite a stir in the Church and we are grateful to Mr Reid for keeping going and helping the debates about what kind of Church it is called to be.
His intention to make a real contribution and difference is shown in gathering together the ideas and suggestions, which occur throughout the book, in a chapter called “The Twenty One Proposals.” Some of these (e.g. making Easter, not Christmas, the major Christian festival; pruning and reshaping central church administration) are more helpful than others (e.g. putting a statue on top of Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh).
Gordon Palmer
Australian Worship Collection Books 1 and 2
Kevin Mayhew, Great Britain, 1998/2000, 141/100 songs
Hillsong, the group behind these song books, is an independent church based in Sydney with a congregation of over 12,000. They are known internationally for their worship ministry and many regard these books as being at the cutting edge of contemporary praise and worship. They contain well-known songs such as ‘My Jesus, my Saviour’; ‘I Walk by Faith’ and ‘Jesus, What a Beautiful Name’, although most will be unfamiliar to a British audience.
Among the songwriters featured are Darlene Zshech, Russell Fragar, Reuben Morgan, Geoff Bullock, Andrew Ironside and Mick Dalton. In her foreword to the first of the books, Darlene Zschech tells us that “worship is not about great songs or great music. It is about you, your heart and your relationship with God”. Well, yes and no. Surely musicians are called to be skilful in the use of music and language? The greatest hymns and choruses release us in worship because they reflect the perfection of the works of God.
The ‘gebrauchtsmusik’ approach suggested by the introduction is evident in most contemporary chorus books, so those who buy these may not be troubled by it. However, there are problems. Many of the songs are very personal and soloistic in tone, with lines like “I love the way it feels”, “Can’t stop talking about everything he’s done” and “I can’t wait to worship the Lord”. Sometimes I find it very difficult to appropriate these kinds of emotions early on Sunday morning and end up feeling rather inadequate or, worse, lacking in integrity!
However, there are many good things here. There is a strong blues and gospel vein running through some of the songs which brings a welcome note of joy and exuberance. Many have interesting harmonies (one goes through four different keys!) and some of the piano parts are unusually well written.
Doctrinal points (some of which are rather dubious) are often flung at songs with no real pattern to suit a melodic hook, for example:
Because of your love, everything’s changed, because of your love, I’ll never be the same, Your love is perfect, and I’ll never be afraid, I have this confidence that God is on my side, All of my days are in your hands, Love so amazing that it cannot be denied, That every day I’m in your plan.
The melodies tend to be fussy transcriptions of a solo singer and are frequently difficult to sing in a congregational context. It’s not uncommon for nearly every word to be sung off the beat which can become very boring as well as being a real headache for the music group.
Many of the slow songs lie too high in the voice to sing with comfort, although songs like “Breathe on Me” and “Heaven Above and Earth Below” (book 2) are lovely.
Neither book has a thematic index, which is unsurprising as the focus is on general praise and worship, although there are some ‘cool’ children’s songs, such as “Let there be Joy” which was used by Kings Kids at Spring Harvest this year. There is even a reasonable attempt at a rap song in the second book: “Jumping to the Jam”. No tempi or style indications are given in the first book, although this is remedied in the second.
I recommend these books be used by worship leaders as an addition to established texts. Most need a backing band to bring them to life. There are not many familiar songs but if you are willing to kiss quite a few frogs, there are some handsome princes to be found.
Ian Wilson
Release - 120 songs from new and established writers
World Wide Worship, 2002
Release - High Above the Nations (CD)
Oh dear - far too many frogs here, I’m afraid. This publication has all of the failings of the Australian collection, but none of the strengths. The established songwriters, such as Graham Kendrick and Chris Bowater, don’t seem to be on form, although Kendrick contributes some superior lyrics. The rest of the writers are peddling the sort of bland stadium rock that gives Christian music a bad name. One song (“Holder of my heart”) contains the line: “and every fear that takes me hold” - and no, I haven’t muddled the word order.
I regretted listening to the CD that accompanies the book before studying the written music. The production is very competent, but lacks punch and uses cheesy keyboard sounds. The result wouldn’t go amiss in a lift in a House of Fraser store.
Most of these songs will never see another compilation - this book is for completionists only.
Ian Wilson
Short Notes - by Paul Beasley-Murray
Be Not Afraid: Overcoming the Fear of Death (Plough Publishing House, Robertsbridge, East Sussex; 202pp; £8.00; ISBN 0 87486 916 1) by Johann Christoph Arnold is essentially a book of stories of individuals facing up to death. A book, perhaps, to give to somebody terminally ill.
David Beer has written a lively book entitled Communication That Connects (Kingsway, Eastbourne 2002; 156pp; £7.99; ISBN 0 85476 989 7), looking at such issues as preaching, worship, and the media. This would perhaps be of particular help to those beginning their ministry.
A Time to Search: Discovering Meaning and Purpose in Life (Kingsway, Eastbourne, 2002; 254pp; £7.99; ISBN 1 84291 016 7) by Joe Boot, an evangelist for the Zacharias Trust in Oxford, abounds with quotable quotations and stories, and is a gold-mine for ministers wanting to preach ‘apologetic’ sermons.
Michael Botting’s compilation of 50 Sketches for All Occasions (Kingsway, Eastbourne 2002; 222pp; £8.99; ISBN 0 85476 945 5) is a useful resource tool. Some of the sketches first saw the light of day in Drama for all the Family in 1993.
Steve Chalke’s Faithworks Unpacked 3: A Practical Manual To Equip Churches For Community Involvement (Kingsway, Eastbourne, 2002; 252pp; £7.99; ISBN 1 84291 028 0) is a welcome resource. I liked the quote from an agnostic journalist: “Your God has... got a serious case of verbal diarrhoea when it comes to his chosen flock, but when faced with the rest of society, he’s been struck dumb. He’s lost his nerve or lost his interest, or both”.
A useful resource, perhaps, for a young couple about to get married, is God’s Wisdom for your Money (Kingsway, Eastbourne 2002; 125pp; £7.99; ISBN 0 85476 912 9) by Jim Dunn. With its ‘Eight steps to financial health’, it is a very basic guide to financial management.
Kingsway have recently (re-)published several popular books on healing and exorcism written from a ‘charismatic’ view. These include Saints Alive: Healing in the Church (Eastbourne, first published 1990, this edition 2002; 137pp; £12.99; ISBN 1 84291 040 X) which, together with an accompanying work-book (64pp; £3.99; ISBN 1 84291 041 8) by Roger Vaughan, who acts as the Lichfield Diocesan Adviser in the Ministry of Healing and Deliverance, consists of a very basic 9-week course at a relatively high price; and The Reluctant Exorcist (Eastbourne, 2002; 159pp; £6.99; ISBN 1 984291 074 4) by Canon Ken Gardiner, offers a sane pastoral guide to any who find themselves having to deal with the para-normal.
How to Love Again: Moving from Grief to Growth (Darton, Longman and Todd, London 2002; 166pp; £9.95; ISBN 0 232 52451 3) by the Canadian psychologist and priest John Monbourquette, is a revised edition of To Love Again: Finding Comfort and Meaning in Times of Grief, which was first published in French in 1993 and has sold over 175,000. A work-book for people undergoing loss, whether through death or through divorce, its essential premise is that “every loss can be transformed into a gain, into an opportunity for personal growth”. Although clearly death and divorce are both types of bereavement, I confess that I am not sure whether it works to deal with both in one and the same book. Nonetheless, this innovative approach has clearly been appreciated by many.
The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the worship of the Christian Church IV: The Age of the Reformation (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 2002 - distributed in the UK by Alban Books, Edinburgh; 556pp; £32.99; ISBN 0 8028 4775 7) is part of a monumental multi-volume study by Hughes Oliphant Old. The eight chapters of this volume cover the Reformation, the Counter-Reformation, the Puritans, Anglican Preaching, the Flowering of Protestant Orthodoxy in Germany, France and the Netherlands, and the Age of Louis XIV. Remarkable learning, but sadly of little relevance to today.
Those wanting a diary with a difference will perhaps be attracted to Radical Readings Diary 2003 (SCM, London, 2002; £7.95; ISBN 0 334 02868 X). Each week covers two pages. Radical quotes abound, and there are twelve short essays (one per month) on such issues as Christian socialism, feminist theology, gay and lesbian theology, peace and reconciliation. At the back there is a directory of notable radical organisations. I was particularly struck by the space devoted to ‘Things loaned’! The chief drawback is that the diary is a little too big to fit into my pocket.
Hodder and Stoughton have published a cheap paperback edition of The New Testament: Today’s New International Version (London, 2002; 314pp; £2.50; ISBN 0 340 78710 4). Today’s NIV builds on the NIV with about 7% change. These changes include the introduction of ‘generic language where the meaning of the text was intended to include both men and women’. Other changes relate to ‘clarity’ and ‘sentence structure and grammar’.
By contrast Collins are responsible for publishing in Britain The English Standard Version Bible (London, 2002; Hardback £15.99; ISBN 0 00 710748 X). Using the RSV as a base, it is an “essentially literal” translation, with the emphasis on “word-for-word” correspondence. Although “any one” replaces “any man”, for the most part this is not a gender-friendly translation. The ESV is the product of conservative evangelical scholarship and is likely to appeal only to conservative evangelical Christians. Personally, I shall keep to the NRSV for private study and use the Good News Bible for public reading and preaching.
The SCM ‘Classics’ series continues to grow. Recent offerings include: The Making of the Creeds (first published 1991, this edition 2002; 121pp; £9.95; ISBN 0 334 02876 0) by Frances Young, with a brief introduction by Gareth Jones, which sketches the development of the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds; The Eternal Now (first published in 1963, this edition 2002; 132pp; £9.95; ISBN 0 334 02785 2) which consists of sixteen sermons by Paul Tillich together with a preface by David Kelsey; Speaking in Parables: A study in metaphor and theology (first published in 1975, this edition 2002; 172pp; £9.95; ISBN 0 334 02874 4) by Sallie McFague with a preface by Gerard Loughlin, which examines the importance for theology of narrative and story; Sexism and God-talk: Towards a Feminist Theology (first published in 1983, this edition 2002; 247pp; £12.95; ISBN 0 334 02877 9) by Rosemary Radford Ruether, with a preface by Susan Frank Parsons, a key ‘iconic’ feminist text dealing with doctrines such as creation, Christology, ministry and eschatology; and Theology of Hope: On the Ground and the Implications of a Christian Eschatology (first published in English in 1967, this edition 2002; 327pp; £12.95; ISBN 0334 028 787) by the then young Jürgen Moltmann, with a preface by Richard Bauckham, still providing a remarkable dose of optimism to a world without hope.
The Damaris group have done it again and with What does the Bible Say about... Iris (Scripture Union, Bletchley, 2002; 24 (A4) pp; £3.00; ISBN 1 85999 669 8) have produced yet another creative series of Bible studies, this time centring around the themes of living, communicating, caring and dying. Wonderful stuff!
Praying by the Book: Reading the Psalms (Paternoster, Carlisle, 2002; 189pp; £9.99; ISBN 1 84227 129 6), edited by Craig Bartholomew and Andrew West, originated in a Lenten course given by staff or research students of the University of Gloucestershire. The six contributions look at Psalms 1 and 2 (‘The Way of Blessing’); The Picture of the Faithful in Psalms 15-24; Psalms 73 and 89 (‘The Crisis of Faith’); Psalms 90-106; Psalms 145-150; and use of the Psalms in the New Testament. Although the book is intended for group use, it would take a fairly gifted group of people to use it with profit - sadly it is not sufficiently ‘popular’ in style for the ordinary punter, nor is the price sufficiently ‘people-friendly’.
The Drew Lecture on Immortality was founded in 1907 by John Drew of Haringey Park, Middlesex. It was his wish that “instruction, assurance and inspiration should be given as to the soul’s destiny and as to the nature and reality of life hereafter, directly or indirectly, in the interest of personal immortality”. Until 1977, the Drew Trust was administered by the Congregationalists of New College, London, but with the demise of that College the Trust was handed over to the Baptists of Spurgeon’s College, London. In 1979 a selection of Drew Lectures was published under the title of Resurrection and Immortality (Samuel Bagster, London) edited by Charles S Duthie. Now a further selection of lectures has been published under the title of Called To One Hope: Perspectives On Life To Come (Paternoster, Carlisle 2002; 266pp; £17.99; ISBN 1 84227 063 X) edited by John Colwell. It consists of 17 lectures divided into three sections: i) Biblical Perspectives; ii) Historical perspectives; iii) Doctrinal and Philosophical Perspectives. Contributors include such luminaries as James Dunn, Howard Marshall, Tom Wright, Tom Torrance, Richard Bauckham, and Colin Gunton - as well as some less high-flying Baptists! A mind-stretching read.
The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids and Paternoster, Carlisle, 2002; 719pp; £39.99 hardback; ISBN 0 75364 576 0) by R T France, the recently retired Principal of Wycliffe College, Oxford, is the latest contribution to the New International Greek Testament Commentary. The author sets out not to produce a commentary on the commentaries, but rather to engage in detailed verse-by-verse exegesis. Although clearly a work of scholarship, it is accessible to working pastors with a knowledge of Greek. There are, however, no short-cuts for the busy preacher - the hard work of applying the text to the world in which we live today is left to the reader. Beautifully produced, this commentary is well worth the price.
Hodder and Stoughton have published a paperback version of In Pursuit of His Glory: My 25 Years at Westminster Chapel (London, 2002; 312pp; £7.99; ISBN 0 340 78602 7) by R T Kendall. They have also republished Tom Wright’s excellent introduction to the Lord’s Supper, originally entitled Holy Communion for Amateurs (1999), but now with the new title of The Meal Jesus Gave Us: Understanding Holy Communion (London 2002; 82pp; £4.99; ISBN 0 340 78731 7). Another welcome re-print is Devotional Classics: Selected Readings for Individuals and Groups (London 2002; 524pp; £9.99; ISBN 0 340 60121 3), which provides 52 readings from writers such as C S Lewis and Julian of Norwich, with an introduction by James Bryan Smith and a meditation by Richard Foster. All of these have been reviewed in previous editions of Ministry Today.
Into God’s Presence: Prayer in the New Testament (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2001 - available in UK from Alban Books, Edinburgh EH4 3BL; 292pp; £19.99; ISBN 0802 848 834), edited by Richard N Longenecker, consists of twelve fairly academic essays by distinguished evangelical scholars, including Richard Bauckham, Joel Green, Ramsey Michaels and Howard Marshall, and Tom Wright. Four of the essays deal with prayer in the ancient world, four with prayer in the Gospels, and four with prayer in the rest of the New Testament. Solid, but unexciting. A book to borrow, perhaps, but not necessarily to buy.
Deuteronomy by J G (Gordon) McConville (Apollos, Leicester 2002; 544pp; £21.99 hardback; ISBN 0 85111 779 1) is published as part of the Apollos Old Testament Commentary, which is intended primarily to serve the needs of those who preach from the Old Testament. Therefore in addition to the Comment section, with its detailed exegesis of the historical and theological meaning of the passage, there is also an Explanation to each section, which offers an exposition of the message. Although there is no contemporary application, nonetheless the preacher is given much more help than in traditional commentaries. This is therefore a ‘must’ for anybody contemplating preaching from Deuteronomy. I eagerly look forward to further contributions in this important series.
Hugh Montefiore’s Confirmation Notebook: A Guide to Christian Belief and Practice (SPCK, London 2002; 85pp; £6.99; ISBN 0 281 05521 1) is now into its sixth edition. In this present edition existing chapters have been updated and, in most cases enlarged, while new chapters have been added on ‘Common worship’, Christian festivals and fasts, Christian responsibilities, Christian behaviour, and the Christian view of sex and marriage. Here is an example of liberal Anglicanism at its best.
The Bible in a World Context: an experiment in contextual hermeneutics (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 2002 - available in the UK from Alban Books of Edinburgh; 80pp; £7.99; ISBN 0 8028 4988 1), edited by Walter Dietrich and Ulrich Luz, emphasises the role that context plays in interpretation. An illustration of the difference made by context is given by three ‘non-Western’ scholars (Elsa Tamez from Latin America, Justin Ukpong from Africa, and Seiichi Yaga from Asia), each of whom contributes a short Bible study on Luke 2.1-20. More an academic than a practical book, this slim collection is unlikely to appeal to the average pastor.
In spite of its title, Stanley Ott’s Twelve Dynamic Shifts for Transforming Your Church (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids 2002 - available in the UK from Alban Books, Edinburgh EH4 3BL; 113pp; £8.99; ISBN 0 80 28 4949 0) is, for a North American book, an unusually modest church growth ‘primer’. For example, instead of forcing the entire package on the reader, the author recommends that “you choose one or two shifts that appear to be of greatest significance to your ministry”. Full of common sense born out of practical experience, the author reflects on how he has enabled his own church to grow and develop. His basic philosophy is to “bless” the old and to “add” the new. His twelve “shifts” are divided into four sections: i) shifts concerning vision and expectation; ii) shifts concerning ministry to people; iii) shifts concerning congregational programme; and iv) shifts concerning the practice of leadership. To highlight just one of these shifts: his fourth shift is “from an emphasis on friendliness to a ministry of friendliness and hospitality, where hospitality is defined as ‘Come and share my life’. This book could be usefully studied by ministers with their lay-leaders.
This Is The Day: Readings and Meditations from the Iona Community (Wild Goose Publications, Glasgow 2002; ISBN 1 901557 63 4), edited by Neil Paynter, consists of extracts from published and unpublished writings arranged to be read over a period of four months. The wide range of subjects covered include hospitality and welcome; prayer; justice and peace; the environment; healing; social action; church renewal; worship; work; racial justice; women; and sexuality. In addition there are prayers, a list of Bible readings, and quotations from the Iona Community. With regard to the quotations, I was challenged by some words from Ralph Morton: “We must often be bitterly ashamed with ourselves for our petty status-seeking and comfort-loving and fairly blameless and largely useless private lives”.
The Lincoln Institute for the Study of Religion and Society, under its director Martyn Percy, is rapidly making a name for itself in the publishing world. Further evidence is Fundamentalism, Church and Society (SPCK, London 2002; 189pp; £16.99; ISBN 0 281 05188 7), edited by Martyn Percy and Ian Jones, a collection of eight wide-ranging papers, together with a foreword by James Barr. Essentially divided into two parts (there is in fact a third part which consists of a brief “Conclusion” by Martyn Percy), Part I looks at “The Contours of Contemporary Fundamentalism”, whereas Part II deals with “Fundamentalism as a Global Phenomenon”. To my mind the most stimulating and illuminating of essays is the very first, “Fundamentalism in a Protestant Context”, in which Harriet Harris, Chaplain of Wadham College, Oxford, looks at the very diverse range of meanings the term “Fundamentalism” may have for Christians.
Essentially an undergraduate text-book, The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts: Then and Now (Paternoster, Carlisle, revised edition 1999; 370pp; £17.99; ISBN 0 85364 758 5) by Max Turner, gives a very sane and helpful overview of what has been a highly controversial area within evangelical life. The author espouses a ‘via media’ between charismatics and non-charismatics. His theological position comes to clear expression in his concluding comments, where on the one hand he accepts that Pentecostals and charismatics have “downgraded thoughtful understanding of the Gospel”; on the other hand, Pentecostals and charismatics “have correctly pointed the church to the fact that Christianity is not merely a set of rational propositions about God, to be apprehended by the intellect. It involves every level of the church’s individual and corporate being”. This is undoubtedly one of the best recent books on the Holy Spirit.
New Testament History: A Narrative Account (UK publisher: Paternoster, Carlisle 2002; 430pp; £19.99; ISBN 1 84227 114 8) by Ben Witherington III is a highly readable account of the New Testament era from about 6 BC to AD 100. Although written by an academic (the author is Professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary), it is accessible to non-theologians - and all the better for that! However, even the theologically literate will benefit and learn from this account of the rise of the Christian faith, together with its exploration of the geographical, political, social and religious influences of the time.
The Last Things: Biblical and Theological Perspectives on Eschatology (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2002 - available in the UK through Alban Books of Edinburgh; 169pp; £11.99; ISBN 0 8028 4878 8), edited by Carl E Braaten and Robert W Jenson, contains a series of nine essays by nine distinguished theologians. If truth be told, not one essay truly sets the river alight. A book possibly to consult, but not worth buying for the average minister.
The Message of Numbers: Journey to the Promised Land (IVP, Leicester 2002; 308pp; £9.99; ISBN 0 85111 491 1) by Raymond Brown is published in the much-acclaimed Bible Speaks Today series. Although the author is not himself an Old Testament scholar (he is, in fact, a church historian), he is a thoughtful preacher. It is this latter aspect which makes this commentary of value to ministers, for on every page the Biblical text is constantly related to the world of today. I confess that I have hardly ever preached from the Book of Numbers. With this helpful resource tool I hope to make amends!
Steve Bruce, professor of sociology at the University of Aberdeen, has written a book which is bad news for the church! In God is Dead: Secularization in the West (Blackwell, Oxford 2002; 269pp; £14.99; ISBN 0 631 23275 3), the author argues that cultural diversity, egalitarian and liberal democracies that place the individual above the community, undermine religious belief. On the basis of statistics collected by people such as Peter Brierley, Bruce declares: “Unless it can find the secret that has eluded it for fifty years of decline or negotiate a reunion with the Church of England, the Methodist Church will finally fold around 2031. The Church of England will be by then reduced to a trivial voluntary association with a large portfolio of heritage property”. Furthermore, Bruce maintains the charismatic movement, far from representing a radical religious alternative to the secularization of the wider society, is simply an illustration of the staged way in which religion in Protestant cultures declines! The sooner churches face up to Bruce’s thesis, the better. The Lord apart, radical change to the way we do church and seek to make disciples is the only answer!
A good number of scholarly Bible commentaries are, alas, inaccessible to and of little value to the ordinary preacher. The Gospel According to Mark in the Pillar New Testament Commentary series (co-published by Eerdmans of Grand Rapids and Cambridge and Apollos Leicester, 2002; 552pp; £26.99; ISBN 0 8028 3734 4) by James R Edwards, professor of religion at Whitworth College, Spokane, Washington USA, is a great exception. Reading, for instance, the three pages devoted to the calling of the first disciples (Mark 1.16-20) made me immediately want to write a new sermon on this passage! Preachers would be well advised to buy a copy.
C Stephen Evans, Professor of Philosophy and the Humanities at Baylor University, has produced the Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics and Philosophy of Religion (IVP, Leicester 2002; 125pp; £4.99; ISBN 0 85111 263 3). With 300 entries, this is essentially a fairly basic, but nonetheless welcome, study aid for under-graduates. To quote but one entry: “Knowledge: True belief that is warranted or justified. A person cannot know what is false, but a mere true belief that is the result of luck or guessing does not appear to constitute knowledge either. Most philosophers therefore agree that knowledge requires a true belief that is justified or warranted or that has been acquired through a reliable process, though there is great disagreement as to what it is that warrants or justifies a belief”!
Ever since writing his Cambridge BD thesis on ‘Evangelism in the Early Church’, Michael Green has been fascinated by the evangelistic outreach of the early church. Thirty Years That Changed the World: a Fresh Look at the Book of Acts (IVP, Leicester 2002; 287pp; £9.99; ISBN 0 85111 261 7) reflects that continued interest. As is true of all Michael Green’s writings, the book is written with considerable verve and is a good read. My gripe, however, is that this book does not exactly contain ‘a fresh look’. The book in fact first saw the light of day in 1993, when it was published by Hodder and Stoughton under the title Acts for Today. Furthermore, much of the material was present in an earlier book, Evangelism Now and Then, published in 1979 by IVP and then in 1992 by Darton, Longman and Todd.
Avec Archives: Annotated Catalogue (Avec, Pinner, Middx HA5 3ER, 2002; 75pp; no price; no ISBN) lists all the working documents produced by Avec over the period 1966-2002, now housed in the Oxford-based Wesley and Methodist Studies Centre Archives. They record the inside story of a wide range of church and community work, community projects, in-service training programmes and consultancy services. Sadly Avec (the term is French and indicates the Avec approach of working ‘with’ rather than ‘for’ people) is no more. Researchers, however, will be grateful to have all their past efforts clearly catalogued.
The figures speak for themselves. For the seventh time, Bridge-Building: Effective Christian Apologetics (IVP, Leicester 2002; 286pp; £11.99; ISBN 0 85110 969 1) by Alister McGrath, first published in 1992, has been re-printed. This now classic introduction to apologetics needs to be on every pastor’s shelf.
Ian Haworth’s Cults: a Practical Guide (Cult Information Centre, London, 2001; 44pp; £3.99; ISBN 1 873166 84 2) is a brief yet highly informative guide to the world of cults written for ministers and other professionals, but also for families and friends of people involved in cults as also for ex-cult members to help them understand what happened to themselves. Cults are a relatively recent phenomenon. According to Howarth, every cult has all of the following five characteristics: (i) it uses psychological coercion to recruit, indoctrinate and retain its members; (ii) it forms an elitist totalitarian society; (iii) its founder leader is self-appointed, dogmatic, messianic, not accountable, and has charisma; (iv) it believes ‘the end justifies the means’ in order to solicit funds or recruit people; (v) its wealth does not benefit its members or society. In Britain there are currently some 500 of such cults. An interesting and alarming read.
IVP are to be congratulated on their new Dictionary of Contemporary Religion in the Western World (IVP, Leicester 2002; 390pp; £14.99 hardback; ISBN 0 85111 982 4) edited by Christopher Partridge. While all the contributors are committed Christians, every effort has been made to ensure that the articles are, as far as possible, descriptive. In the words of the editor, “While pure neutrality is arguably not a possibility, there has been a determined effort to avoid value judgements and, needless to say, misrepresentation”. The fact is that Christian misrepresentation of other faiths proves a stumbling block to good relationships with people of other faiths. “The point is that, whilst reliable knowledge certainly is not everything in the establishing of meaningful personal relationships, it is important, just as meaningful relationships are, in turn, important for meaningful interpersonal communication.” The Dictionary is divided into two parts. Part One deals with general and introductory issues. To list just the first few entries in this section, there are articles on: Blasphemy; Christian attitudes to non-Christian religions; Contemporary Christian mission and evangelism; Fundamentalisms; Interfaith Dialogue; and Millennialism and Apocalyptism. Part two contains articles on a broad range of contemporary religions and spirituality, ranging from aboriginal religion in Australia and New Zealand to Celebrity-Centric Religion; from the Church of Scientology International to New Age Therapies. Every article contains a brief bibliography. There are also detailed indices of names and subjects and an index of articles. Every minister should have a copy of this extra-ordinarily reasonably-priced book!
To my mind any book written by John Stott is always worth buying. His latest book, Calling Christian Leaders: Biblical Models of Church, Gospel and Ministry (IVP, Leicester 2002; 150pp; £7.99; ISBN 0 85111 257 9) is a sympathetic exposition of the first four chapters of Corinthians read through the lens of a Christian leader. In his introduction Stott speaks of Paul responding to the complex Corinthians situation “with admirable clarity, wisdom, humility, love and gentleness: pastoral qualities that are sorely needed by Christian leaders today”, and which, we can add, are exemplified by the author. The book concludes with a brief study guide, which makes it eminently usable in a ministers’ discussion group.
Excellence in Leadership: the Pattern of Nehemiah (IVP, Leicester 2001; 125pp; £4.99; ISBN 085111 4970) by John White was first published in 1986, then went through eight re-printings, and now has simply been re-issued in a new format. Although not a scholarly work, many will find it a stimulating devotional tool.
Collins Thesaurus of the Bible (HarperCollins, London 2002; 940pp; £34.99 hardback; ISBN 0 00 713430 4) by Colin Day is an updated and greatly enlarged edition of Roget’s Thesaurus of the Bible published by HarperCollins in 1992. It contains 990 categories common to Roget’s Thesaurus, with 115,224 Bible references. A corresponding PC version, available free to purchasers of the book, can be downloaded from the internet. Many will undoubtedly find this a useful accompaniment to a concordance.
HarperCollins have brought out a new edition of The New Testament entitled The Good News Bible with Archbishop’s Message (London, 2002; £7.99; ISBN 0 00 713096 1). The latter first saw the light of the day in 1999 when it was published under the title of Jesus 2000: The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Millennium Message and is a superb statement of Christian faith.
Recent offerings from Grove of Cambridge (all at £2.50) include: How to... Lead the Prayers: a training course (Worship 169, 2002; 24pp; ISBN 1 85174 494 0) by Anna de Lange and Liz Simpson - full of practical common-sense (and containing also a highly imaginative section entitled ‘Do something different’), this booklet will be greatly appreciated by many ministers; John Leach’s Community Transformation: A Beginner’s Guide (Renewal 8, 2002; 24pp; ISBN 1 85174 496 7) which illustrates the way in which charismatic renewal is now seeking to work itself out in the world as distinct from the church: “Revival”, writes John Leach. “is about what God wants to do with his church; community transformation is about what he wants to do in his world”; Globalization: Unravelling the New Capitalism (Ethics 125, 2000; 32pp; ISBN 1 85174 495 9) by Peter Heslam is a difficult read. The conclusion is, however, of interest, not least where the author states: “The account in John’s gospel of Jesus’ handling of the woman caught in adultery provides a model for the church in its interaction with the economic sphere.... The voice of the pastor [neither do I condemn you] is followed by the voice of the prophet [go and sin no more]. If the church’s engagement with the global economy is to open up the possibility of practical change, it is vital that both these voices are clearly heard... It is unlikely that people will hear the prophetic voice if they do not hear the pastoral voice. Similarly, the pastoral voice is likely to be increasingly ignored as of little consequence if the prophetic voice keeps silent”; Success: a Biblical Exploration (Spirituality 81, 2002; 28pp; ISBN 1 85174 497 5) by Simon Coupland is an excellent thoughtful guide to a difficult issue with which many ministers wrestle. Quotable quotes abound, not least the anonymous remark: “If God has called you to be a children’s worker, don’t stoop to becoming Archbishop of Canterbury”; Preaching for the Unchurched (Evangelism 58, 2002; 28pp; ISBN 1 85174 498 3) by Roger Standing examines the degree to which ‘seeker-friendly’ multi-media topical sermons are effective in winning people to Jesus Christ. His conclusion is that it is not the presentation which counts, but rather the willingness of people to bring their friends to church; Finding Support in Ministry (Pastoral 90, 2002; 32pp; ISBN 1 85174 500 9), edited by Nick Helm and Philip Allin, which very helpfully reviews the wide-ranging types of support now available, including spiritual direction, counselling and psychotherapy, supervision, mentoring, ministerial review, support groups and learning partnerships. Mission and Liturgical Worship (Worship 170, 2002; 28pp; ISBN 1 85174 499 1), by Mark Earey and Carolyn Headley, offers an answer to the question ‘Can a liturgical church also be a missionary church? with a resounding ‘Yes’! An Ignatian Approach to Reading the Old Testament (Biblical 24, 2002; 28pp; ISBN 1 85174 501 7) by John Goldingay is a lively and challenging read, and contains not simply an introduction to Ignatian spirituality, but also a 30 week Old Testament reading scheme. Highly recommended!
You are reading Book Reviews by Ministry Today Reviewers, part of Issue 26 of Ministry Today, published in October 2002.
Ministry Today aims to provide a supportive resource for all in Christian leadership so that they may survive, grow, develop and become more effective in the ministry to which Christ has called them.
© Ministry Today 2024