April Reads
Categories: reading
Date: 12 May 2009 20:58:29
Most of my reads during April had a religious bent, as we approached Holy Week and Pascha, or as I finished books I had been reading for quite some time. I also managed a few more 'wordly' reads too.
Thinking Through Faith: New Perspectives from Orthodox Christian Scholars was one of the books I received as part of my St Vladamir's Seminary Press Club [and I received the latest order yesterday so more books to read from them]. This is a fascinating and diverse collection of twelve essays from young Orthodox scholars. They are of varying quality and varying readability, but I think any reader would find at least several essays of interest to them. If I had to pick my top three they would be "What are we talking doing, talking about God? The Discipline of Theology" [John Behr], "Reading the Lives of the Saints" [James C Skedros] and "The Meaning and Place of Death in an Orthodox Ethical Framework" [Perry T Hamalis]. Two interesting essays looked at Orthodoxy in the West in the 20th/21st century also.
Orthodox Readings of Augustine is another collection of essays, and another book I received through the SVS Press Club. I am unsure if the study of IT Governance meant I had had enough of theory, or I wasn't in the mood for this area, or if these were simply too theological for simple me. There are some interesting essays, and the topics covered seem comprehensive, but I found it too difficult a slog as a read for interest, and did not read most of it. Perhaps this may be better suited to academic use and those with more knowledge and education than myself.
The Mesopotamian School & Theodore of Mopsuestia by Father Andrew Younan is a book I have waxed lyrical on before, and I could easily go on and on about it again. And will. Fr Andrew has written a most wondrous book. The first part looks and defines the Mesopotamian "School of Thought", present in works from Gilgamesh to Enuma Elish, to the Babylonian Talmud, to the Saints of the Church of the East. In the second-half, Mar Theodore of Mopsusetia and Mar Narsai are looked at in detail as continuations of this school, with extensive information on their lives and ample quotes from their works. The true treasure of this book for me was its extensive quoting from Saints I was unaware of, or only knew a little of, and finding a treasury of hymns, prayers and theological explanations. There are numerous quotes and explanations from the Church of the East's Liturgy, as well as of its many Saints [among them Apharhat, Ephrem, Theodore of Mopsusetia and Narsai], and four appendices contain translations of some moving, challenging and beautiful works [Mar Narsai's Sermons 16 and 35, Mar Narsai's Dialogue between the Watcher and Mary, and "Shrara Gayla Badeq", a liturgical hymn]. If you want to know more of the stream of thought, and the liturgical life, of this ancient Christian Church, and its glorious Saints, I highly recommend this book.
The lengthily titled In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How It Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture by Alister McGrath is a book I have read previously, but felt like another read for some reason. As enjoyable as it is educational, this book is not only an informative look into the production and acceptance of the KJV, but an extremely readable one. McGrath looks back to earlier English, and other language, Bibles, and investigates thoroughly, and with a good dose of humour, the machinations behind the prohibition and then acceptance of English Bibles. A great read.
Another re-read, St Germanus of Constantinople's On the Divine Liturgy is a fascinating insight into and explanation of the Divine Liturgy at the Hagia Sophia by one of the Church's great Saints. The introduction and anlaysis, by Paul Meyendorff, of the time, St Germanus' life, and the different ways of explaining the Divine Liturgy are fascinating and informative. Two quotes may give an indication as to the wondrous content of this book: "The Church is an earthly heaven in which the supercelesital God dwells and walks about."; "The Gospel is the coming of God, when He is seen by us: He is no longer speaking to us as through a cloud and indistinctly, as He did to Moses through thunder and lightning..."
The Spiritual Meadow by John Moschos is a book I have been reading for several years. It is a collection of sayings and stories from the deserts of the 6th Century, faithfully recorded by John Moschos and his companion Sophronius [who later became Patriarch of Jerusalem]. Given the sheer number of sayings, I took my time with this book, reading a few at a time, so it is a book that lasted me a long time. And each saying or story challenged and encouraged me, and at times gave me a smile as well. The historical notes are also very interesting and informative.
Another re-read, Saint Francis of Assisi by G K Chesteron is a fascinating and unique look at St Francis by one of the greats; rather than simply detailing St Francis' life in biography form, Chesterton takes events from St Francis' life that show his uniqueness, and then weaves theology and Franciscan practice around them. Thus the life and beliefs of this great Saint are explained in ways an "ordinary" biography could not. A wonderful book.
Another SVS Press Club book, Macarius of Jerusalem: Letter to the Armenians [AD 335] is a relatively short, but intriguing , book that translates and details a letter written to the Church in Armenia in the fourth century. That mayd be reason enough to want to read this book, but Abraham Terian's commentary on the letter adds to the interest and worth of this book. To read such an eary letter, and one that contains descriptions of the early Church's beliefs on Baptism, the Eucharist and the Clergy, is a most wonderful thing.
Another re-read, John Behr's The Mystery of Christ: Life in Death is an engaging and challenging book that seeks to, and in my opinion does, show how the apostles used Scripture [the OT] to come to the realisation that Christ is Lord, and how theology was formed from these Scriptures and the life, and in particular death and Resurrection, of Jesus Christ [as opposed to theology being formulated and re-read into the Scriptures]. A number of deep theological insights are treated here, and I felt that I, as a layman, could understand and be challenged in my own understanding and practice by them. The Revd John Behr definitely does have a gift for explaining concepts, and I shall attempt to get ahold of his two books on the Council of Nicea for further understanding.
Terry Pratchett's Interesting Times: interesting, and strange!, times indeed. Cohen and the Silver Horde are a wonderfully odd group, always good to see Rincewind and his luggage in action [and the luggage has some interesting "action" of its own!] As always, wonderfully entertaining and with great twists on historical facts.
In the Teeth of the Evidence by Dorothy L. Sayers is an enjoyable and varied set of murder mystery tales from a superb author. This series of short stories had me wanting more and more, and I enjoyed the short story character Monty Egg, though Lord Peter Wimsey remains the firm favourite -- he is an exceptionally well-written and rounded character.
The Metaphysical Poets is a book I borrowed from the uni library when a textbook I needed was not there -- so I decided to go for something interesting instead! I dipped in and out of this great and varied collection of metaphysical, and more, poets; and my knowledge of the genre was wonderfully enhanced. Sadly, some fool tore out some pages of the book so I was into a poem and turned the page, only to discover the remainder missing. Bah. Dame Helen Gardner has put together a great collection and written an interesting introduction as well.