Reading
Here’s a list of some of the books I’m frequently returning to and recommending at present. It’s not an exhaustive list but there’s a lot here that informs and inspires my own theology and practice. Towards the foot of the page you’ll find some of the current reflections on Anglican priestly ministry, and at the foot of the page a listing of some books on the World Faiths
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Here’s a book that will make Advent for you. Here’s a book that we’ll be using in Bramhall to get a grip again on what it’s all about. Here’s Beginnings and Endings: accessible teaching and encouraging reflection. Here’s a favour to the Church, a right royal blessing, an Advent in itself.
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I think that this is one of the most important books to appear on parish bookshelves for a long time. Make the time to get to the end of this book and see if you’ve not been changed in the process.
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15th May 2007: The 2007 Michael Ramsey Prize for theological writing has been won by Timothy Radcliffe, for his book What is the point of being a Christian?
… “Shot through with humour, friendship and wisdom, the pages of this book outline a manner of living which is at once faithful to the teachings of Jesus and rooted in the tradition of the church and at the same time responsive to the turbulence of the modern world. He is a prophet for our times.” …
And from a Review by the Rev Dr Sam Wells, published in Church Times, 11 May 2007 …
TIMOTHY RADCLIFFE has written a wholly admirable statement of what it means to be a thoughtful, receptive, faithful, and generous Christian in the West today. There is no point to being a Christian — that is, Christianity is not a stopping point on the way to something more significant or fulfilling. None the less, in the great Christian humanist tradition, Radcliffe displays the Christian life and tradition as being deeply enriching, and does so in language the world can understand. The book is a little episodic. It starts with hope, moves to freedom and happiness, and takes in courage and truthfulness, before concentrating on diversity and unity … Radcliffe admits he detests the word “leadership”. He has no “great man” theory of history. But the hero of this book is none other than Rowan Williams, a leader whom Radcliffe quotes time and again. If there are Anglicans who say they can’t understand our Archbishop, this is the book they should read; for it articulates Williams’s radical Christian humanism in terms no lay person should find daunting.buy at Blackwell -
Encouragement to think, to question, to dig deeper into the truths of existence as a way of deepening spirituality rather than accepting rigid dogma
Encouragement to open doors to those of all faiths and even to those who profess no faith at all … and by so doing … better understand the powerful promise of Christianity
Encouragement to get past tribalism while heeding the call to unity; to appreciate the poetry, metaphor, and mystery of religion while avoiding strict literalism; to appreciate how non-Christians can sometimes be more Christlike than others who profess Christianity
“A bracing breath of spiritual fresh air, an intelligent, witty, and passionate reclaiming of the goal of religious practice—the conversion of the heart to kindness and peace as the common faith in which we can all be believers”
buy at Blackwell
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Buy at Blackwell.
Here’s an unmissable book for, on the one hand, excellent discussion around the question the title poses, and on the other, and for me perhaps especially, for Maggi Dawn’s brilliant The Use of Scripture - Whose text is it anyway?
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“Pip likes to ask questions … really important questions about life and God and everything …”
“Travel with Pip on a journey of discovery that will take you to the edge of heaven itself”
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Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a little book that set out some of the things that Anglican Christians know about themselves instinctively but can’t always quite find the words to articulate? This may well be that book for you.
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“A companion guide for new Christians just setting out on the journey, and for more experienced travellere who feel they may have lost their way and need to re-set the compass. This book gives help and instruction in major areas of the Christian life, such as: prayer; reading the Bible; worship; relating faith to daily life; sharing our faith; seeking God’s kingdom. Each chapter explores a theme and has a selection of readings and prayers.”
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The late and great Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Basil Hume, was one of the best known, best loved, and most admired religious figures in the UK, not to mention the wider world, during his archiepiscopacy. In this most delightful little book the Cardinal sought to help people “make sense of the blundering after God”
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“The Bible describes a universe in which we are not the only created beings. There are other creatures who are not human, not animal and not God. Angels are one of those orders of being. In this beautifully illustrated book, acclaimed author Jane Williams explores the world of angels in Scripture and what we can learn from them today. Chapters include: Angelic messengers; Stern angels; Angels of the Incarnation; Guardian angels; Fallen angels; Beyond the Bible; Angels and God.”
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Love that gives, gives ever more,
gives with zeal, with eager hands,
spares not, keeps not, all outpours,
ventures all, its all expends.
Drained is love in making full,
bound in setting others free,
poor in making many rich,
weak in giving power to be.from: Morning glory, starlit sky
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buy at Blackwell
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From chapter 15: “I think it can justly be said that we have discovered a fairly clear and consistent unifying strand which from the first both marked out Christianity as something distinctive and different and provided the integrating centre for the diverse expressions of Christianity. That unifying element was the unity between the historical Jesus and the exalted Christ, that is to say, the conviction that the wandering and charismatic preacher from Nazareth had ministered, died and been raised from the dead to bring God and man finally together, the recognition that the divine power through which they now worshipped and were encountered and accepted by God was one and the same person, Jesus, the man, the Christ, the Son of God, the Lord, the life-giving Spirit …”
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buy at Blackwell
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buy at Blackwell
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Here’s one to look forward to: to be published on 29 August 2006
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buy at Blackwell
… “What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”
“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.” …
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Buy at Blackwell
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Buy at Blackwell
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