Month: May 2017

Women in Ministry: Emerging Questions about the Diaconate by Phyllis Zagano My rating: 3 of 5 stars The primary reason this book received three stars rather than four is a simple one. This wasn't a book that developed one single argument across its very short 56 pages, but rather a collection of three essays. The… Continue reading Review: Women in Ministry: Emerging Questions about the Diaconate

Leaving Christendom for Good: Church-World Dialogue in a Secular Age by James Gerard McEvoy My rating: 4 of 5 stars There can be little doubt in this reviewer's mind that this work by James McEvoy is tough going. There were times when I found it difficult to grasp, though I suspect that says more about… Continue reading Review: Leaving Christendom for Good: Church-World Dialogue in a Secular Age

The Roots of Betrayal by James Forrester My rating: 4 of 5 stars The second volume in the Clarenceaux series by James Forrester continues the story begun in his first book, Sacred Treason, picking up the tale just a few months after the conclusion of that volume. The intrigue, murder and mayhem surrounding the Clarenceaux… Continue reading Review: The Roots of Betrayal

Sacred Treason by James Forrester My rating: 4 of 5 stars Another thriller mystery set in the Elizabethan era, with a wonderful undertone of the religious turmoil experienced in the time. Written by an historian, Sacred Treason is the first book of the trilogy focussing on the exploits of Mr William Harley, Her Majesty's Clarenceux… Continue reading Review: Sacred Treason

Befriending Silence: Discovering the Gifts of Cistercian Spirituality by Carl McColman My rating: 4 of 5 stars An engaging book on the Cistercian approach to the Rule of St Benedict written by a Lay Cistercian who has embedded himself firmly in the spiritual tradition that originated in the Abbey of Citeaux, France. Examining the particularly… Continue reading Review: Befriending Silence: Discovering the Gifts of Cistercian Spirituality

Vatican I and Vatican II: Councils in the Living Tradition by Kristin M. Colberg My rating: 4 of 5 stars As Kristin Colberg rightly observes, there can be a tendency among theologians, commentators and the Christian faithful - especially of a particular theological bent - to see the Second Vatican Council as a 'correction' to… Continue reading Review: Vatican I and Vatican II: Councils in the Living Tradition

Crimes of the Father by Tom Keneally My rating: 3 of 5 stars I didn't want to read this book and, in fact, had no real intention to do so, until I was asked to provide an opinion on it. Having said that, I have to confess that I found Keneally's book a strange combination… Continue reading Review: Crimes of the Father

Lamentation by C.J. Sansom My rating: 4 of 5 stars Another masterful mystery has been created by C.J. Sansom, featuring the by now well-known group of characters that have been our constant companions throughout the books of the Matthew Shardlake series. Set in the period towards the end of the reign of Henry VIII, amidst… Continue reading Review: Lamentation

The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is by N.T. Wright My rating: 4 of 5 stars A thoroughly engaging and challenging book that requires, nay demands, the reader to reconsider the need to engage in the historical process of attempting to discover Jesus, not in terms of the Christian presentation of Jesus,… Continue reading Review: The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is