Culture

Viking (Penguin), 2011, RRP $45 Reviewed by Gary D Bouma. AUSTRALIAN historian Geoffrey Blainey has provided with his latest book a clear and dependable history of Christianity. This is not a scholar's reference work, but a very accessible, engagingly readable story. It combines organisational detail and theological controversies with the sense of what it was like to be a Christian ...

2011, DVD RRP $24.95, Kit (forthcoming; visit notafan.com.au) RRP $69.95 Reviewed by Harlee Cooper. NOT a Fan is a whole-of-church study resource that could just as easily be used by individual home groups. It's a six-week program with a feature film followed by small-group studies in weekly episodes. Each is focused on "encouraging individuals to journey from being a fan ...

Circle of Belief Productions, 2010, DVD RRP $29.95 Reviewed by Fa Ngalaufe. JESUS Freaks traces a journey of spiritual transformation in the wake of tragedy. On 9 December 2007, the Colorado dorm of US organisation Youth With A Mission (YWAM) woke to a gunman opening fire, killing two and injuring two others. Although Jesus Freaks doesn't detail this event, it ...

Victory Books 2012, RRP $29.99 Reviewed by Dr Shirley Coulson. CONTRARY to what the title might lead you to believe, this book is not about having a great sinful time walking through Spain! Rather, it is about the remarkable journey of Ailsa Piper, an Australian writer and actor, who offers to "walk off " the sins of others on a ...

Scribe Publications, 2012, RRP $29.95 Reviewed by Lyn Burden. THE word "pilgrimage" evokes many images of journeys – primarily, for me, of people walking along a dusty trail with their backpacks. Throughout the ages millions of people have ventured out on pilgrimages to distant places, very often for religious reasons. Thus have Lourdes, Mecca and Santiago become household names as ...

Monarch Books, 2012, RRP $7.99 Reviewed by Wendy Scott, Kenmore Uniting Church PUZZLING Questions is a Bible study handbook for those who want more than to just turn up to a Bible study group, read four verses of scripture and share a scripted analysis followed by a sociable chat over a cuppa. If that's your cup of tea, of course, ...

Even Before Publishing, 2012, RRP $18.95 Reviewed by Lynette Seckold, Kenmore Uniting Church THE faith of Frank White and his trust in the Lord Jesus Christ is an inspiring example of the life and service of a missionary in China during World War II. He overcame obstacles of language and culture to spread the gospel to the Chinese. We follow ...

Wombat Books, 2012, RRP $17.95 Reviewed by Wendy Scott, Kenmore Uniting Church JAC is a feisty 17-year-old Christian Queenslander in her final year of school, whose mother died five years previously. After a car crash that kills her father, Jac awakens from a coma. And this is all in just the first few pages. Set in Queensland with very believable ...

Grandview Records, 2012, RRP $20.00 Reviewed by Wendy Scott, Kenmore Uniting Church. I hadn't heard of Indie music before, but this album is in a folk style, with guitar and simple instrumentals backing the husky whispering vocals of Greg Atwells. The hymns have been arranged as ballads, and Atwells gives clear enunciation of the all-important lyrics. All of my favourites ...

Pleroma Press, New Zealand, 2010, RRP $24.99 Reviewed by Wendy Scott, Kenmore Uniting Church THIS 56-page paperback deals with the issues faced by older women, and contains an index of all the categories of prayer. Each prayer is biblical but not overly pious – think David and his psalms – sometimes grateful, sometimes railing at God, but always connected and ...