Reviews Articles
Dowlais Educational Settlement and the Quaker John Dennithorne, by Christine Trevett
Merthyr Tydfil has a long, colourful history. The valley is made up of many distinctive communities, including Treharris (with its Fox, Fell and Penn Streets), through Quakers Yard (with Friends’ burial ground), and on to Aberfan and Dowlais. The area was once famous for iron works and coal mines, but...
Paul Among the People: The apostle reinterpreted and reimagined in his own time, by Sarah Ruden
This book is an attempt to look again at the accusations of homophobia, excessive puritanism and general grumpiness that are routinely levelled against the apostle Paul. Sarah Ruden is a Quaker scholar, and her approach is to set Paul in the context of his time. This is not an attempt...
Beyond Belief: How Pentecostal Christianity is taking over the world, by Elle Hardy
Pentecostals now comprise one quarter of the world’s Christians, up from just six per cent in 1980. By 2050, one billion people will be part of the movement. The cliché about Pentecostalism is that it is about health, wealth, and the second coming of Christ. It holds that after forgiveness we...
The Jesus Myth: A psychologist’s viewpoint, by Chris Scott
This short book is an accessible, non-scholarly exploration of who Jesus was, and what his life and death can mean for us. It challenges what it regards as the Anglican Church’s interpretations or misinterpretations, offering a fresh look at Jesus and the myths that surround him. It looks at â€...
All is One Love by Stephen Sayers
All is One Love: Reflections upon the transpersonal psychology of time and eternity The title All is One Love certainly attracted me, but what in heaven’s name is ‘transpersonal psychology’? Stephen Sayers, with his decades of experience, defines it as ‘setting out to develop the rich synergistic opportunities promised...
Prisons of the World, by Andrew Coyle
This is a remarkable tour de force by Andrew Coyle, an enlightened, experienced governor of prisons, and professor of prison studies.
An Enchanted Place, by Jonathan Stedall
Our Friend Jonathan Stedall is best known as a documentary maker. But after retiring he began writing. His first book was a spiritual autobiography, Where on Earth is Heaven?, followed by No Shore Too Far, poems after the death of his wife. This is his first fiction.
Sowing Seeds for the Future: Exploring the power of constructive nonviolent action, by Andrew Rigby
This is an important book and merits a place in every Meeting house. It is an exploration and evaluation of techniques and concepts by which nonviolent protest can become most productive – or, as Andrew puts it, ‘the intention to bridge the gap between what is and what ought to be’.
A Sudden Mirror: Collected poems, by Roger Iredale
This well-crafted collection of poems is a distillation of its author’s experience and reflection acquired through travels all over the world. The poems conjure up images of people and their plights that are especially relevant for Friends concerned with truth, peaceful relationships, and the alleviation of poverty.
The Gospels: A new translation, by Sarah Ruden
Online searches for ‘Quaker Bible’ tend to find Anthony Purver, who spent thirty years translating both Testaments. He struggled to find a publisher until the Quaker physician John Fothergill bought the copyright and published it in 1764. It was not a success.