The Wiley-Blackwell Companion to the Anglican Communion Ian S Markham, J Barney Hawkins IV, Justin Terry, and Leslie Nunez Steffensen Wiley, £120, hb According to the preface, this book aims to be a reference book on the Anglican Communion. It is not a historical survey nor is it focussed on the current problems of the [...]
On Heaven and Earth Jorge Mario Bergoglio and Abraham Skorka Bloomsbury, hb, £14.99 The election of Pope Francis has produced a number of books that set out to provide his biography. Most are simply a rehash of what has already appeared in the press. By far the most illuminating book to have appeared is this [...]
The Sacredness of Human Life David P Gushee Eerdmans, hb, £23.99 There are many factors that make this book attractive. It ranges over a wide field, including biblical studies, church history, the history of philosophy and contemporary ethical issues, but the author never loses command of the material. He has read widely and knows [...]
IVP, hb, £19.99 According to the author this volume in IVP’s history of evangelicalism has been too many years in the making but it is not hard to see why this should be so. Brian Stanley’s subject is the history of evangelicalism in the second half of the 20th century when it grew into a [...]
As many commentators have pointed out, Ukip’s success in the recent local elections forms part of a pattern in which populist parties or parties that are against the ‘system’ are doing well in many parts of Europe. Disillusion with mainstream politics is at an all time high. In Britain it is reflected not only in [...]
In Febr uar y of this year we cele- brated the 200th anniversar y of the bir th of Charles Dickens. One of the most popular of Dickens’ works has proved to be a novella he pub- lished in 1843 called A Christmas Carol. At the centre of Dickens’ stor y stands Ebenezer Scrooge, a [...]
Instead of talking about an ‘Olympic legacy’ it might be better if we asked what lessons can be learnt from London 2012. One immediate lesson is that you can’t value anything in cash terms. Before the Games started we heard from prophets of doom who told us we would never get back the £9bn it [...]
As the House of Commons broke up for the summer recess the Coalition seemed in trouble. Divisions between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats cast doubt on its future and opinion polls showed a fall in public confidence in its competence. David Cameron’s personal ratings were down and Ed Miliband’s were up although in a YouGov poll [...]
There can be little doubt that one important reason for the success of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations was widespread appreciation for the near flawless way in which the present Queen has carried out her role. When she has made mistakes, she has been ready to correct them. She has not been an out and out [...]
Earthly Visions, TJ Gorringe Yale, hb, £25.00 In this fascinating study, Timothy Gorringe challenges the idea that art has become secularised since the 15th Century. Just because artists have not concentrated on religious themes we should not conclude that their work is without religious interest. To support his thesis Gorringe makes use of the concept [...]
