St John's Cathedral Community News October 2017 #91

NEW BOOKS FOR YOU IN THE BOOK CENTRE

Dear readers, If you have been browsing the shelves, unable to find anything tempting enough to read, here are some newly-acquired titles you might try. Philip Yancey, The Jesus I never knew, USA, 1995 This is a really helpful and enjoyable book to read. I’ve been reading it at home for the first time, and am so impressed that I’ve gone to Koorong to get a new copy for you. John Dougill, In Search of Japan’s Hidden Christians , 2012 Written in Japan by a Westerner living in Kyoto – and also published in Japan – this is an historical account of persecuted Japanese Christianity, first brought to the island of Kyushu by Francis Xavier’s Spanish mission in 1549. That’s the mission dealt with in the novel and recent film, Silence, so if you missed Silence, here’s the non-fiction version of events to bring you up to date. Richard Rohr, Breathing under Water, USA, 2011 Richard Rohr and Joseph Martos, The Great Themes of Scripture , USA, 1988 Readers have been recommending Rohr to me for some time, and at last I have bitten the bullet and purchased two of his books. This first purchase develops the obvious similarity between ‘conversion’ and the Twelve Steps program of Alcoholics Anonymous (which is a comprehensive health- regaining plan for living originating in America). Both start with an empty house – and, in my experience, a rock-bottom feeling of brokenness and depression – and fill it gradually with hope and salvation. The second purchase offers to clarify Scripture. Please let me know if its aim has been successful for you. Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses Luther wrote these discussion points by hand in Latin – the language university scholars wrote in at the time – and displayed them on the timber front door of the church where he was serving as priest. (He had previously joined the Augustinian order of monks in response to a promise he had made when his life was in danger!). He had hoped to engage in some scholarly debate among friends, but soon the theses had been translated into German, printed on a printing press and distributed across Germany. The Reformation – of which our theology is a product – had begun; but what did Luther actually say? Happy browsing and reading till next time, Coralie

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OCTOBER 2017