Reviews From St Peter's Bookroom

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, heads a distinguished list of contributors to this original and lively collection. The theme is Christology. As the words of Jesus to the disciples, 'Who do you say that I am?' are recalled, the reader is invited to reflect on Christ the High Priest: Christ who, in Dr William's phrase, restores the image of God in everyone, and so restores the capacity for worship. David Brown and Ann Loades explore approaches to Christ, and especially to his crucifixion and resurrection, in the arts: in music, both classical and contemporary, and in painting. Christopher Hill and Mary Tanner examine the recent history of Anglican-Roman Catholic relations in the light of the unity to which Christ calls all humanity. Paul Richardson explores how the mission of Chriat – to preach good news to the poor – might be realized in the 'mission field' which is England (and the entire Western world) today.

Throughout this book, it is the theology of Incarnation, of God's involvement with the world, which is uppermost. Ever to the fore in the Catholic tradition of Anglicanism (from which many of the contributors to this volume come), readers will find such a theology refreshed, renewed and reinvigorated on every page. They will be reminded, also, of some of the present challenges to Anglo-Catholicism in an increasingly divided Church of England.
from the Publisher

David Broughton Knox, principal of Moore College, Sydney from 1959-1985, remains a major influence in the Anglican Diocese of Sydney a decade after his death. He presided over the training of more than a thousand students, who have changed the nature of Evangelical Anglicanism in Sydney. Among his achievements are the raising of academic standards at Moore College and shaping its curriculum, the purchase of strategic real estate that has enabled Moore to grow, and the growth of its library into the largest theological collection in Australia.

A dearly loved husband, and to many a wise and approachable mentor, counsellor and friend, he was nontheless a controversial figure in college and diocesan affairs. Marcia Cameron provides us with a fascinating insight into both the domestic and public life of Broughton Knox, demonstrating the considerable achievements of this enigmatic man who inspired such a range of reactions in others.
from the Publisher

Austin Farrer (1904 - 1968) was an original, creative, yet profound thinker in the three fields of biblical studies, theology, and philosophy. But his brilliant academic explorations only occupied a portion of his time and energy, for he was also a priest and college chaplain at Oxford, dedicated to the care and nurture of souls. A Baptist turned Anglican, at once independent and orthodox, intellectual and devout, Catholic and Reformed, impossible to pigeonhole or predict, he embodied the characteristic Anglican reverence for scripture, tradition, and reason.

This reader is the first attempt to bring together in one accessible volume for a general audience Farrer's best and most characteristic thought. It consists of classic selections from Farrer's books, sermons, meditations and essays. Since almost all of his work is currently out-of-print, it provides an invaluable starting point for new students of Farrer; a convenient collection for clergy, teachers, and scholars; and a rich resource for contemporary Anglican theology.
from the Publisher

John Main effectively put the desert tradition of prayer to work in our own day. The World Community for Christian Meditation which continues his mission is for me ... a taste of what a commitedly contemplative church might look and feel like.
Rowan Williams

The Benedictine monk John Main was one of the most profoundly influential spiritual teachers of our age. His belief that the desert tradition of meditative prayer practised by the earliest monastic communities had an immediate and contemporary relevance gave rise to the vision of a totally new kind of community, one made up of men and women scattered throughout the world yet united in their daily practice of Christian meditation..

To this fledgling family – which today has grown to over 100,000 members in over 100 countries – John Main wrote a series of intimate letters notable for their deep coherence and simplicity. Tradition and personal experience, church and society, meditation and prayer are the themes that weave in and out of these letters, but at their centre is a sense of the presence of Christ permeating every dimension of living – solitary and relational.
from the Publisher

Sheila Cassidy is perhaps best known as the young doctor imprisoned and tortured for treating a wounded revolutionary in Pinochet's Chile. On her release and return to England, she became an outspoken advocate for human rights and the author of the international bestseller Audacity to Believe.

In Made for Laughter, she writes with stark honesty of her struggle to overcome depression and insomnia, and her courageous but unsuccessful attempt to establish a new kind of religious order for women. She returned to medicine, worked with the terminally ill and developed new approaches to the care of young cancer patients, before training as a psychotherapist.
from the Publisher

The long-awaited new book by one of the most exciting and original writers on religion and violence, on gay/straight issues, and the recovery of an authentically Catholic vision of life. James Alison challenges readers inside and outside the churches to transform their understanding of Christianity and of human desire.

'James Alison continues to teach us to drink at the refreshing stream of scripture, provided we are ready to emerge and take up a different sort of life. For he shows us how to see and to act from the underside of a world fascinated with power, so inviting us to enact the cross of Jesus as the only life-giving power there is. Challenged to strip away our pretensions, we then have at least a chance of entering the kingdom.'
David Burrell