This is a summary of recent books read by Martin Davie, compiling his evaluations and the commendations of others. This time Martin has not focused on newly published books, but on five books he has been reading recently and which he thinks are very valuable. In this edition: What Is Marriage?: Man and Woman: A Defense by Sherif Gergis, Ryan T. Anderson and Robert P. George. This a hugely important piece of Christian philosophical apologetic that Christians need to be aware
It was in St Paul’s cathedral last year that I learnt something about myself: I’m scared of heights! Climbing the stairs to take in the view from the dome at the top I began to feel dizzy. Then, stepping out onto the balcony I wondered how on earth what we were doing was supposed to be fun. And, despite my best efforts to the contrary, my fear was obvious to my wife. The classic advice, of course, is “don’t look down”. The poet Hugo Williams puts it this as, “Don’t look down,
E. L. Mascall (1905–1993) is a hidden gem of twentieth-century British Anglican theology. By “hidden” I mean unfashionable: he did not seek prominence, avoided popularism and rhetorical sparkle in his writing, and—particularly in later assessments—failed to fit neatly into any prevailing theological narrative. He is remembered as neither a prophet, like Karl Barth, nor a storyteller, like C.S. Lewis. None of this, of course, counts against him—quite the opposite. Mascall was