The Bible is central to the Christian faith. But it’s also long, complex and parts of it are offensive to many people. And that includes a lot of Christians… I have always found much of the Old Testament difficult, especially books like Joshua which contain so much God-instructed genocide. What are we to make of… Continue reading A great gift to the Church: ‘Paradoxology’ by Krish Kandiah [Review]
Category: Recommended books & reviews
Head over heart: the case against emotional empathy
In the mid-1990s, I worked in a large hostel for 140 homeless people. One resident (lets call him Brian) had incredibly strong body odour. His lack of personal hygiene and reluctance to wash his clothes became a real issue. It led to snide comments from other residents and frustrations grew among those who shared the… Continue reading Head over heart: the case against emotional empathy
Is the Church just ‘an NGO with a pointy roof’?
Photo by Kamil Zubrzycki on Pexels.com Vincent Donovan was a Catholic missionary who worked among the Masai tribes-people in Tanzania in the 1960s. He became increasingly concerned about the state of missionary work. Donovan observed that after a 100 years of missionary activity in East Africa, the Catholic Church was very busy, running several schools,… Continue reading Is the Church just ‘an NGO with a pointy roof’?
‘For Good: The Church and the Future of Welfare’ – Samuel Wells with Russell Rook & David Barclay [review]
In the 1990s, I used to buy just about every book I could find on Christian social action. Around the turn of the century though, I had to become more selective. One reason was because the number of books published on the subject increased so much. But also I had a nagging guilt about spending too… Continue reading ‘For Good: The Church and the Future of Welfare’ – Samuel Wells with Russell Rook & David Barclay [review]
Eugene Peterson’s Subversive Spirituality
Twenty-five years ago I bought Eugene Peterson's book Subversive Spirituality. I had not heard of Peterson at the time as it was before his paraphrase of the Bible, The Message, became popular. I only bought it because I was intrigued by the title. It turned out to be a great purchase. It's a book that… Continue reading Eugene Peterson’s Subversive Spirituality
Re-discovering Narnia and rinsing out stale thinking about Christianity
I grew up in a Christian home as the son of a vicar. In retrospect it gave me loads of things that I am grateful for, but in many ways I disliked being the ‘vicar’s son’ in a large church. People treated you differently: Sunday school teachers really did say things like ‘I would have expected… Continue reading Re-discovering Narnia and rinsing out stale thinking about Christianity
Inspirational but OTT: review of ‘Dirty Glory’ by Pete Greig
The ambition to 'form a movement' is one I have heard expressed by many leaders over the years. Movements are perceived as exciting, purposeful expressions of collective will and spiritual energy. They often stand in contrast to the more mundane task of managing an organisation. Pete Greig is one of the few contemporary Christian leaders who can legitimately… Continue reading Inspirational but OTT: review of ‘Dirty Glory’ by Pete Greig
I Believe in a Thing called Sin
A few years ago, I was on the south bank in London, near Waterloo station, and I got talking with a homeless man called Richard. He had approached me asking for money. He was in a bad state. He showed me the most terribly infected open wounds on both his arms and legs caused by… Continue reading I Believe in a Thing called Sin
‘Dethroning Mammon: making money serve grace’ by Justin Welby – a review by Gordon Kuhrt
Mammon is money or possessions when they are enthroned. The author says there is nothing wrong with money in itself, but when it exercises supreme power (is enthroned) it becomes mammon: evil, destructive and dangerous. A Foreword commending the book is from Jean Vanier, founder of the L’Arche movement which now has nearly 150 communities worldwide.… Continue reading ‘Dethroning Mammon: making money serve grace’ by Justin Welby – a review by Gordon Kuhrt
“In reaching out to the lost, I think I have found myself” – The Genius of the Poor [review]
“Somewhat ironically, my 12-month journey amongst the unlearned and unschooled has taught me more insights and life lessons than all my privileged education had achieved back home.” In 2012, Londoner Thomas Graham arrived in the Philippines expecting to stay one month. His assignment was to write an investment report on the Philippines, ‘one of the… Continue reading “In reaching out to the lost, I think I have found myself” – The Genius of the Poor [review]
