New Kid on the Blog

 I think I might have been overconfident about getting two reviews done quickly! It's been a busy couple of weeks, with some heavy stuff to deal with, but I did get Zach's book read! What a delight this book is! Really worth five stars - it's accessible, written with clarity and depth, there's a warmth about it that is engaging and encouraging.  Zach reminds us (because many of those who claim to be Christian don't believe it) that we all read the Bible through interpretative lenses. I grew up in a Church tradition which thought that it read the Bible in the 'right' way - that the interpretation given by the pastor was the only way we should look at Scripture. As soon as I started studying Theology I realized how many different ways the Bible is read - and that more often than not, more is read INTO the Bible than actually comes from Scripture.  'better ways...' looks at three of the lenses which are used in many Churches and which cause hurt and har...

Every now and then I get books to review - and I am very glad I got this one!  Have enjoyed, and am enjoying it very much...  Here's a copy of the review I added to Amazon.ca Awakening Faith - James Stuart Bell Interesting insight into early Christian writings and an inspiring devotional So often, as was the case in my own studies, introductions to that group of bishops, theologians, monks, writers etc that we call 'The Church Fathers' (not so many women, unfortunately) are only found in dense, dry, academic collections; so this gathering of devotions is a pleasant alternative which gives some idea of the breadth and depth of the Church in it's formative years. With a substantial, but not overly taxing, amount of writing for each day (one page) along with a verse of Scripture, there is the opportunity to see something of what these early Christian's were wresting with, considering, praying over and formulating. Remembering that the Bible...

...I did a book review Here's one that came on my jaunt to Paris last weekend. It's a very well written, well researched book, which gives a massive (and well informed) overview of how the Jewish and Christian Scriptures came to us. Talking about origins, construction, with historical and sociological insight, alongside a consideration of how Scripture has been viewed and used over the past twenty or more centuries, Karen Armstrong presents a beautifully crafted and accessible insight into exactly what the Bible is, where it comes from and the many different understandings of how it should be used, studied, considered and critiqued which have accompanied its development. Some of a more conservative bent might be concerned by the way she states as matter of fact that, for instance, Genesis has no concern to be a literal work, or that other compilers of scripture freely contradict, re-interpret and re-cycle each others ideas. It does present, though, a pretty dispassionate, th...

My next book is one which has sat on my sidebar for ages... actually they all have, about time to change them I think Anyway a deep, moving, grace filled book which I would say comes high up my top ten Christian books of all time, it's called 'Free of Charge' by Miroslav Volf Volf's exploration of 'Giving and forgiving in a culture stripped of Grace' as the subtitle describes it is rooted in everyday life, yet is an expansive vision of God's love and Grace and the understanding of God as the ultimate giver. It challenges us to consider again our attitude to all that we have, and to consider the very foundation of our faith. In between these mind-blowing concepts are some very personal stories which he shares to illustrate his thesis. There is a lot of theology in this book, but it is neither overly dense nor over abstract. It is a book that I found gripping, though others in the book group that I shared this with said it took some effort to read but was w...

Well, not a bad start, two days in a row is pretty exceptional for my level of blogging over the past coupla months... today's book Theissen does a great job of writing a book about Jesus, without actually having Jesus in it. All the stories are told from the periphery of events in Jesus life, and the result is an intriguing and thought provoking book. Theissen himself is a Biblical scholar and theologian, so has a very broad understanding of the 'source material' and context of the Gospel stories. I should also say, it's entertaining and a good read.

Not got to my NaMoWriMo start yet, in fact am drawing a total blank over that, but here is my first posting for NaBloPoMo I thought I might try a book a day for November, these will be books I've read, or am reading, or even want to read, so you might find a combination of heresay, (hopefully not heresy!), opinion, critique, misunderstanding and perhaps even some useful information in this lot! A strange choice, perhaps, for the first day - as being a Christian Minister, some might wonder at why am I promoting someone who is so blatantly anti-religion - but lets start with something different Yes, Richard Dawkin's 'The God Delusion' is one of the books I've read very recently, in fact I've mentioned it before in these postings. It isn't a bad book, really! I quite like Dawkin's style, and despite the fact he is very misinformed, one sided, and has very little understanding of faith as opposed to religion this book is full of stuff that should make any Ch...