Reviews Articles
The Difficult Conversation, by Journeymen Theatre
This play was commissioned by Quaker Concern Over Population, and visits a whole raft of pressing issues. Dave and Lynn Morris, the authors and performers, write: ‘This play is not able to provide answers to the complex environmental changes we are now seeing and the adaptations our children and grandchildren...
Stories We Tell Ourselves: Making meaning in a meaningless universe, by Richard Holloway
In A Little History of Religion, Richard Holloway, a retired bishop of Edinburgh, devoted a whole chapter to Quakerism. Much of what he writes here will also be welcome to Friends, especially those of us who are more non-theist than theist. The author calls himself a Christian even though he...
Quaker Shaped Christianity: How the Jesus story and the Quaker way fit together, by Mark Russ
The Woodbrooke tutor Mark Russ is known for encouraging Quakers to engage with radical theology. In Quaker Shaped Christianity we learn something more of his journey: first rethinking the Christianity he encountered as a child, then discovering more inclusive spaces like Greenbelt and the Society of Friends.
The Shell Seven, by Margaret Heffernan, for BBC Radio 4
Just over twelve months ago, a group of Extinction Rebellion (XR) protestors made headlines when they were acquitted for criminal damages to Shell’s headquarters, despite having no defence in law, and being indisputably guilty of the charges.
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.