Age appropriate
Book | Old Old Age: A Brief Guide | Ian Hansen
This book is written by a man in his late 80s. He tells of how the world has changed greatly from the one he grew up in.
Early in his life there was no electricity or any of the ...
Apostle’s journey
Book | Paul: A Biography | Tom Wright
A new book from Tom Wright is always notable, even at the pace he churns them out. Here he returns to probably his biggest topic, Saint Paul.
This book is conceived as a popular biography, rather than another book on Paul’s theology, ...
What Did Jesus Look Like?
BOOK | WHAT DID JESUS LOOK LIKE? | JOAN TAYLOR
Review by Nick Mattiske
Jack Broadbent is an English blues guitarist who has been described as having the ‘Jesus’ look.
We can instantly picture this – thin, European good looks, full beard and long straight hair – almost certainly, ironically, not how Jesus actually looked.
Food for thought
Book | Call of the Reed Warbler| Charles Massy
Our supermarket shelves may be groaning under the weight of stock, but it is increasingly obvious that our food economy is a problem.
Monoculture crops and overly processed foods can lead to obesity, heart disease and cancer with fewer nutrients ...
Rising hope
Review by Karel Reus
Book | The Day the Revolution Began | TOM Wright
Wright seeks to answer these questions, or at least throw light on them, in the context of a continuing theological debate. He argues that neither conservatives nor liberals have “seen the bodily resurrection as the launching of God’s new creation within the present ...
Mental battle
Review by Jean Warriner
Book | Joy Interrupted | Geoffrey Lilburne
This book could be very helpful to any Christian who has ever struggled with mental illness, especially depression, or knows someone close who has done so.
Christians can sometimes feel, or may even have been told, that if they are mentally ill it is ...
Star struck
Review by David Southwell
TV | Louis Theroux: Savile | ABC iview
Louis Theroux has made a career out of asking awkward questions but in this documentary he has to answer them.
Louis Theroux: Savile is a 2016 follow-up to the previous program When Louis met Jimmy, where Theroux spent several days inquisitively ...
Wicket behaviour
Book | The Character Gap |Christian Miller
Review by Nick Mattiske
The ball tampering cricket scandal has put moral character in the headlines again. While disciplinary action has been taken, deeper questions remain about why it happened – why on Earth the players thought they could get away with it and what sort of culture has allowed the cricketers ...
Test of faith
Review by TIM LAM
FILM | PAUL, APOSTLE OF CHRIST | M
Paul is one of the most significant figures in Christian history, so it is surprising there has yet to be a major Hollywood production about his life.
Paul, Apostle of Christ details the final days of Paul (James Faulkner, Game of Thrones) as ...
There’s something about Mary
Review by TIM LAM
FILM | MARY MAGDALENE | M
Mary Magdalene is arguably one of the most enigmatic characters in the Gospels. She has taken on numerous roles in the popular imagination: a penitent prostitute, the first to witness the resurrected Christ, even the wife of Jesus according to Dan Brown.
Burrowed time
Review by DAVID SOUTHWELL
FILM | PETER RABBIT | PG
Undoubtedly for many parents and grandparents considering holiday movie entertainment/time-out the most important metric is how long a film will keep the kids quiet and in their seats.
Peter Rabbit kept my three-year-old and four-year-old hushed for the first half hour and mostly ...
Asking the big questions
Book | A Little History of Religion | Richard Holloway
The ‘Little History’ series is aimed at a younger audience or those wanting a layperson’s introduction to a subject. In this title, Richard Holloway, a one-time bishop who is something of a sceptic, aims to foster critical thinking about religion rather ...