Book Reviews

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Written by: Michelle Monro

Created: 01 December 2023

Behind the Tears:  Understanding, Surviving  and Growing from Suffering 
Dr Bruce Robinson
Macsis Publishing, 2023
Reviewed by Michelle Monro

“Behind the Tears” is a book for those who are suffering,  have suffered and are caring for those who suffer… in  other words, for all of us.

If the reader is looking for a rich theological exploration  of theodicy; or a radically transformative and perfectly  argued perspective on godly suffering, this book should  not be your first port of call. Dr Bruce Robinson is a  medical doctor, not a theologian, and he readily admits  that there is a wealth of other resources that address the  question of suffering from an academic viewpoint.

Yet this is where the book’s value is to be found. Not only  has the author spent many years journeying professionally beside those who suffer, Dr Robinson has personally experienced pain and loss on many different levels. The  breadth and depth of his experience enable Dr Robinson  to write on the topic of suffering with compassionate  clarity.

Read more: Book Review  Behind the Tears

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Written by: Michael Stead

Created: 01 December 2023

 Religious Freedom in a  Secular Age
Rev Dr Michael F, Bird
Zondervan, 2022
Reviewed by Bp Michael Stead

Religious Freedom has become a lightning rod of  controversy in many Western societies, over whether and  how religious freedom needs to be limited in order to  protect the rights and freedoms of others, especially the  LGBTQI+ community. Bird’s book Religious Freedom in  a Secular Age was written largely between 2016 and 2020,  at a time when both Australia and the wider world were  increasingly embroiled in political conflicts about this,  arising from the intersections of religion, government,  the public square and personal belief. Bird proposes a  way forward that challenges those on the political left  who are antagonistic to religion freedom, and those on  the political right who seek to weaponise it.

Chapters one and two seek to give a positive argument  for secularism, and to distinguish this from militant  secularism. Bird argues that secularism is a “post- Christendom political settlement concerned with  negotiating space for religious beliefs, diverse beliefs and  unbelief in a society no longer dominated by a single  homogeneous religious worldview.” (15). Secularism arose  out of both the Reformation and the Enlightenment,  emerging as the best way to ensure religious freedom in  nation states made up of diverse religious adherents  living in proximity to each other, set within the  framework of fresh philosophies of political rights and  freedoms. Bird argues that “secularism with the  separation of church and state is a genuinely noble way  to carry Christianity forward in a free, democratic and  pluralistic environment” (54). Bird contrasts this to  militant secularism, which seeks to both to remove  religion from the public square and to subject religions to  regulation by the state. Secularism is based on state  neutrality to religion; militant secularism seeks to  neutralise religion

Chapters three, four and five collectively make a positive  case for religious freedom. Bird argues that Christians  should not pursue a civil religion (such as Christian  Nationalism) nor should they accept the imposition of a  civic totalism driven by progressive authoritarianism, but  instead pursue a confident pluralism. Confident  pluralism is Bird’s articulation of classic liberal pluralism,  in which individuals and groups have liberty to live and  act in according with their own values, and the state  should only limit this liberty where necessary to protect  the freedoms and rights of others. Freedom of religion is  critical in this, because it is the litmus test of overall  freedom in society and overall human rights. Bird argues  that “the society that ensures the free exercise of religion  is more likely to uphold the rights of those who are  vulnerable, marginalised, and despised for being ‘other’”  (114).

Chapter six and seven propose a strategy for maintaining  a Christian witness in a post-Christian society. Bird briefly  canvasses other possible responses (political theocracy,  living as “Christians in exile”, the “Benedict Option” and  “faithful presence”), before articulating his own proposal,  “the Thessalonian Strategy”. Bird argues that, like the  church in Thessalonica described in Acts 17, we need to  turn the world upside down by a counter-cultural living  out of the gospel, while holding out a more compelling  worldview that Jesus, not Caesar, is Lord. As applied to  our modern secular context, “the Thessalonian strategy is  a two-pronged approach. First, positively, we must  champion confident pluralism as a sociopolitical  philosophy, demonstrate community in action, love our  neighbours, and live in such a way that those who hate us  cannot give a reason for their hatred. Second, negatively,  we must challenge the new legal structures being erected  around us, expose the hypocrisies and prejudices of those  who claim to be committed to tolerance, confront  incursions into religious liberty, and disrupt the secular  narrative that religion is bad for social fabric.” (131) We  should work together in the public square with Christians  across the denominational spectrum, and with other faith  groups as well. We need to be apologists who defend not  only our own beliefs but also the freedom of all faiths by  articulating the case for a confident pluralism and  advocating for a fair secularism.

This book is a very helpful and eminently readable  account of the basis of, and argument for, religious  freedom in secular liberal democracies. It is not, and does  not seek to be, a work of political theology. Bird’s  articulation of the “Thessalonian Strategy” is not the only  possible way that Christians could seek to apply biblical  principles to respond in the modern secular age, but in my  view Bird’s proposal is a good option for our current  context. I commend it warmly.

Bishop Dr Michael Stead is the Anglican Bishop of South Sydney and Chair of Freedom for Faith.

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Written by: Stephen Hale

Created: 01 September 2023

Shedding Light: a history of St Columb’s Anglican Church Hawthorn through its stained glass windows
MALCOLM WOOLRICH
Port Adelaide: Green Hill Publishing, 2023

REVIEWED BY STEPHEN HALE

Malcolm Woolrich’s history of St Columb’s Anglican Church, Hawthorn is a remarkable achievement. There are many church histories of particular parishes and each in their own way are useful records of the life of a particular church. Most are reasonably modest publications for understandable reasons.

Shedding Light is remarkable in both its scale, quality and ambition! 500 pages, full colour, meticulous research from a wide range of sources, hundreds of pictures. I was tempted to weigh it on the scales because it is in every sense weighty!

Malcom initially set out to write a book about the 32 stained glass windows in the church. This evolved into using the windows to tell the story of the church and to use the windows to thematically capture the many different aspects of the church and its life, worship and witness since it was founded in 1883. More especially it is a wonderful reflection on the Christian faith as captured in each of the windows.

The book starts with a fascinating introduction on the place of stained glass windows in church history and the journey from the 3rd century to today. It is then broken up into 7 chapters that thematically reflect on the key themes reflected in the 32 windows in the church. If it was just a beautiful book with lovely photos and a description of each window that would have been good, but one could suggest, of limited interest. Rather each of the windows is put into its context and then connected with what was happening in the world (especially two world wars), society and the church in Melbourne and Hawthorn.

Hawthorn in 1883 was an outer suburb and it grew rapidly. As the suburb grew so did the church. In its heyday over 500 people filled the pews at each of the three Sunday services. It had a huge Sunday School and groups for just about anything you can think of – sporting, social, welfare, musical, educational, women and men, the wealthy and the needy. We all know it was a different world from today and it is a remarkable insight into the nature of that era. We tend to assume that it was a time when church attendance and involvement was not connected to deep faith, but more a standard part of middle-class society. The book dispels that myth with the stories and depictions of mission endeavour, both local and abroad. There was a keen sense of worship, growing in faith, as well as a desire to serve and actively support the needy and the marginalised.

The book is full of surprises like the outreach to the Chinese market gardeners and the challenges offered by the clergy in responding to our first nations people, which must have been controversial in their day. I did like the line on page 241 ‘parish leadership appeared unconducive to good health’, which went on to describe a bout of illness suffered by Rev Nash.

The book tells the stories of hundreds of people and their lives, faith and actions. The decline of St Columb’s in the late 20th Century is described as well as its renewal under the leadership of Rev Neil Bach and those who have followed on from him. St Columb’s distinctive and unbroken commitment to being an evangelical church is also captured. A fascinating appendix tells of the Nash controversy in the 1930’s!

Shedding Light is full of theological and pastoral insight, especially as it describes the wonderful windows which capture the range of the words and actions of Jesus. As such it is more than history, but a beautiful work of devotion as we seek to respond to and live out Christ’s example and teachings today.

Bishop Stephen Hale is Chair of EFAC Australia and EFAC Global.

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Written by: Tim Collison

Created: 01 September 2023

Biblical Critical Theory
Christopher Watkin
Zondervan Academic, 2022

Reviewed by Tim Collison

I was in Koorong with every Australian Christian’s favourite present: a Koorong Gift Card. I’d recently heard Dr Christopher Watkin speak about why Augustine’s ‘City of God’ was the first critical theory. My plan was to buy his most recent book, which I had heard many good things about. In my memory it is the most talked about book in Evangelical circles since Timothy Keller’s ‘Reason for God’.

This seemed to be borne out when I went to the counter to request a copy, after finding none on the shelves. The sales assistant thought they had put a lot out that day. They were selling fast. It is difficult for any book to live up to such pressure!

My short review is that ‘Biblical Critical Theory’ is worth reading. It may take six or seven weeks, but it rewards the time spent in it. Dr Watkin defines what he wants to do in his introduction: a critique of our culture. Then how the story of the Bible helps us understand, unpack, and critique it. He does this by ‘interweaving reflections on the unfolding biblical storyline with examinations of modern life and culture’ (p.25).

Dr Watkin’s pedagogical background shows in how he scaffolds understanding. Each chapter has a series of questions to help the reader engage with and reflect on what they have read. It also means some (very intense) small groups would find this an interesting way to explore this book.

All readers will find something that will interest them in this book. Dr Watkin builds his narrative through the book, but it is possible readers could read a section out of order.

The usefulness of this book is also found in its ability to make the reader think. There will be ideas or thoughts which may be new to the reader, or difficult to understand. The reading will stick with you and provoke new ideas and pathways of thinking. Or at least it did for this reader! The final quarter of the book was where I found the most mileage. Dr Watkin has the same ability as Timothy Keller to synthesise and share from his own engagement with authors many of us would never read. Many people will be familiar with the inevitable quoting of C.S. Lewis, but he also engages with and exposes the reader to a wide range of other thinkers running from Arendt to Zizek. In the final quarter I found his engagement with Foucault around the idea that ‘sexuality has become more important to us than our soul’ (p.515) particularly compelling.

While Dr Watkin hopes that this book will also help non- Christians engage in a fresh way with Christianity. Like Keller’s ‘Reason for God’ and Lewis’ ‘Mere Christianity’ it will be most helpful shaping the thinking of Christians for their discussions with those who don’t yet know Jesus.

Tim Collison, is curate at St Mark’s Camberwell, Melbourne