the Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents

This book by Terry Pratchett is one I've read already for this blog, hence the link going back to my prior post. But oh man, was it worth a re-read... Sardines, Darktan, Peaches, Dangerous Beans, the stupid-looking kid, and of course Maurice himself - these are just fantastic characters. And the plot rocks. This is a book that stays with you for life.

THIS ISN'T MECHANICAL & DOESN'T REALLY KILL ANYTHING PROPERLY [annotated personal version]

This is a book I wrote in 2017-8, so see prior post for a link to a free copy of it on my Google Drive - though this particular version of it is one that I made extensive annotations in during the course of a psychotic episode in the summer of 2020; about thirty pages have been ripped out & the margins on about two-thirds of the pages remaining have detailed (and mental, frankly) scribblings in them. Re-reading the fruits of my madness was somewhat embarrassingly illuminating as to what was going through my head at the time.

What?

Haven't I read this one before? So what if I have? Do I still find it hard to believe that the whole book (apart from the final word, which is "yes") is written entirely in questions? Do I?

The Hobbit

This book is J.R.R. Tolkien's famous children's adventure novel; I've read it on this blog before, hence that link going back to my original post - this time however I've been listening to it a chapter a week (more or less) on Tolkien Trash's streaming channel, which has been very entertaining.

the Church in the Power of the Spirit

This book is the third in Jürgen Moltmann's trilogy of general theological ruminations, and easily the most straightforward to read and most practical to apply. With the first book centred on the possibility & virtue of hope, and the second on the self-abandonment & suffering of Christ, this volume deals with us as Jesus's followers in the present here & now, living in history as the Church as we both struggle in our finitude & are aided by the ever-helpful Spirit.

   This volume covers a huge amount of ground so my summary of its contents will be more cursory. After defining the dimensions of a modern doctrine of the Church, we explore how that has manifested & changed throughout history & how God's fingerprints are all over this; we then examine the specific implications of what it means for Jesus Christ to be the head of the Church, and concomitantly their twin role in bringing about the promised Kingdom; the next two chapters focus on the role of the Holy Spirit, firstly by being present & active in the sacraments, then by being powerful & creative in generating new possibilities for human community. The final chapter goes back to basics in light of everything discussed and reviews what it means for the Church to be "one, holy, catholic and apostolic".

   I found this book an absolute pleasure to read (compare dates on the posts - I read this in less than half the time any of Moltmann's other books have taken me) and eminently spiritually and humanly practical. Any Christian, especially in a leadership role, would benefit enormously from digging deep into the wisdom of the reflections given here.

Theology of Hope

This book is Jürgen Moltmann's first* and probably his [second]-most famous. As it says on the tin, it is a deep-dive into the theology around hope as understood in a Christian sense.

   After an introduction meditating on the nature of Christian hope, we then plunge into a buttload of abstract theory. The first chapter is on the interrelations between eschatology and revelation, then relatedly the second on promise and history. The third chapter gets a bit more concrete by placing Christ front and centre - how his resurrection speaks into the future in a illimitably hopeful way. Chapter four applies this to real history - how God speaks in revelation & promise into humanly-percieved time to create a hopeful sense of direction. Then the final chapter considers what the church's role in all this is.

   Don't be surprised - this is a very academically and philosophically dense book. I feel I only understood long passages of it because I've already read Moltmann's later systematic theology series, which is where I'd recommend newcomers to this most ecumenical of theologians start rather than here with his actual first book. Nonetheless, an inspiring and edifying read, that given a lot of intellectual patience I'm sure almost every Christian would get a lot out of.

* Though I read (and linked to) an updated version for the 21st-century, which includes a lecture Moltmann gave on the book's themes in addressing the pressing issues that make modern life so often feel hopeless. If you're interested the lecture is available here.