The arresting title of this book is just right for the captivating account it gives of missionary life in the Amazon jungle. Two young American missionaries are exposed to a world of witchcraft, fear, isolation and danger. How they face and overcome it is a story worth reading. Davey and Marie Jank are motivated…
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Dependency culture A ‘dependency culture’ is to blame for the ‘shocking state of the UK labour market’, the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has claimed. The Office for National Statistics’ Social trends survey of the UK labour market shows that the number of households where no one has ever worked has almost doubled between…
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The Apprentice An apprentice is a learner, someone who wants to develop new skills or enhance their current skills; someone who goes out and finds someone else who knows more, so that they can learn from them. Real apprentices never lose the thrill of learning something new, of staying on top of their game…
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Christians attacked Professing Christians are coming under increasing pressure to join the uprising in Syria or risk threats of violence, according to reports from Barnabas Fund (BF). Partners of the organisation who are in the country have said that Syrian churches have received threatening letters calling them to join demonstrations, while nominally Christian villages…
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Shameful failure A lack of training, equipment and compassion allowed an apparently suicidal man to drown, as firemen and police officers were too ‘handcuffed by policy’ to save him. According to reports from Associated Press, the stepmother of the 50-year-old man begged for help as he waded into the deep water in San Francisco…
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What happens when…? Peter CurrieDay One Publications; 155 pages, £6.00; ISBN: 978-184625-182-5 This aims to cover very concisely the pertinent foundations of the Christian life for new adult converts, or even unbelievers seeking the truth. Each of the 14 chapters takes about five minutes to read through. They cover the following topics: conversion,…
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The life of Charles Hodge A. A. Hodge Banner of Truth; 655 pages, £17.00; ISBN: 978-1-84871-090-0 Those familiar with Charles Hodge’s magisterial Systematic theology, his commentaries on Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and Ephesians, and his wonderfully succinct and erudite The way of life will warmly welcome this biography written by his son and…
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The Lord of glory — Day by day devotions with your children Jim CromartyEP Books; 767 pages, £17.99ISBN: 978-0-85234-684-6 This book has been written to encourage and help Christian parents take seriously their responsibility to lead their families in daily family worship. There is a two-paged, dated entry for every day of the year.…
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Rape charges A nursery worker has pleaded guilty to the rape of an infant in his care at the Little Stars Nursery in Birmingham. Paul Anthony Wilson told Birmingham Crown Court that he admitted the two rape charges, after police found images of the abuse. The 20-year-old also pleaded guilty to offences that related…
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ET COMMENT Celebrating superiority Have you ever noticed that the sins you hate most may just be the sins closest to your heart? I hate the sin of envy, and I think I hate it so much because it is so often very near to me, just waiting to strike, to cause me to…
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Courageous initiative In a courageous initiative, HM The Queen spent four days during May visiting the Republic of Ireland. Is this the beginning of a new era of reconciliation? The Queen’s visit passed without disruption, marking a deeply significant milestone in relations between the UK and Irish Republic. It was the…
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Exploring the fascinating life of Jesus Roger EllsworthEP Books; 295 pages, £10.99; ISBN: 978-0-85234-720-1 This book is subtitled ‘From Matthew to John in ten minutes a day’. It is made up of 46 short chapters, each one dealing with a different incident from the life of Jesus Christ. In the introduction the author…
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God stays More than 200 people gathered in Westminster’s St Margaret’s Church on 18 May to hear a special lunchtime lecture organised by Westminster Abbey. In partnership with Theos, Christians in Parliament and Christians in Government, the lecture was delivered by Prof. Alister McGrath. He spoke on the topic of Why God won’t…
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Who shall I marry? My worst subject at school was chemistry, but when I first met my wife I began to experience and enjoy the ‘chemistry’ that grew between us! Some Christian couples reach their golden wedding anniversary and love each other more than they ever did! Other married couples endure each other, as…
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Restoring values The Bible is the bedrock of British society and there should be a restoration of its values in politics, economics and medicine, a panel of experts told delegates at a symposium in the House of Lords. Attendees at the event, hosted by the Christian Broadcasting Council (CBC) and called by Olave Snelling,…
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Bible by the beach Bookings increased significantly for Britain’s third annual Bible by the Beach, a four-day convention held over the May bank holiday weekend. The event, which was initiated by the Anglican Bishop of Lewes, Wallace Benn, attracted more than 1000 adults and hundreds of children and young people. Bishop Wallace said, ‘This…
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Grace Baptist Mission — 150 years of God’s faithfulness In the Sunday school room of the church then meeting in Keppel Street, London, the Strict Baptist Mission (SBM) began its life! It arose out of a young men’s auxiliary of the Baptist Missionary Society (BMS) that became dissatisfied with the doctrine and practical…
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Church closure Seven churches in Algeria have been ordered to close, after a law was passed in government that required churches to register as a place designated for specific religious purposes. The Protestant Church in Algeria has allegedly received notice from a high police commissioner warning that a decision had been made to shut…
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A portrait of Paul Rob Ventura and Jeremy WalkerReformation Heritage; 207 pages, £13.99ISBN: 978-1-60178-090-4 Joel R. Beeke’s foreword states: ‘This is a great book that should serve as required reading in an introductory course on Christian ministry. Every minister should own a copy and read it’. However, it is equally true that it ought…
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Riposte The flamboyant Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, has spoken openly in defiance of Professor Stephen Hawking’s assertion that there is no God and no afterlife. In an interview with BBC’s Toby Foster, host of a weekday breakfast show for BBC Radio Sheffield, the archbishop said that Professor Hawking’s picture of heaven as a…
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LTS seminar Dr Peter Williams presented two papers to the London Theological Seminary (LTS) on Monday 13 June, as part of its series of Monday seminars. The series, which discusses the truth and trustworthiness of Scripture, is aimed primarily at those in the ministry or training for ministry, but is also open to any…
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EPC family day The August campus of Stranmillis University College, Belfast, played host to the Presbytery Family Day of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). Rev. Geoff Thomas was the special speaker at the annual event, which was held on Saturday 7 May. Mr Thomas gave two inspiring addresses: on the loveliness of Christ…
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Peace call Palestinian Christian parliamentarian and academic Dr Bernard Sabella has called on Israel to respond to uprisings in the Middle East by offering a ‘vision for peace’ in the region and by working to resolve the 63-year-old issue of Palestinian refugees. Dr Sabella said there were more than 7 million Palestinian refugees scattered…
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The fruit of the Spirit is…J. V. FeskoEP Books80 pages, £4.50ISBN: 978-0-85234-736-2 This is my kind of book! It is concisely written, brim full of scriptural and practical application and has only 80 pages of clear type. It is small enough to slip into a pocket and then take out to read at a…
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Katrina — revisited Hello! My name is Caitriona Campbell, and I live in the United States. Nearly two years ago, I wrote an article (ET, November 2009) about a trip I had taken down to Lakeshore, Mississippi, to help with Hurricane Katrina relief work. I would like to share with you some of the…
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Demonstrations The international community has been watching the situation in Israel escalate as protestors have been rushing towards the ceasefire line to the north of the border. As the Arab Spring continues across the Gulf and Middle East, protests have been escalating in the West Bank, with hundreds of people demonstrating at the Qalandia…
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Divorce allowed The strictly Catholic country of Malta has voted in laws that will allow divorce in a certain number of circumstances, despite fierce and public opposition. On 28 May, after a tightly-won ‘Yes’ campaign referendum victory on whether divorce should be allowed, Malta’s status as the only European country not to allow divorce…
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The authenticity of English version Bibles M. W. J. PhelanTwo edged sword Publications; 697 pages, £20.00ISBN: 978-19054-472-3-7 This is the eighth publication of Michael Phelan, who once picked up in a charity shop a book called Good news for modern man, read it, not knowing it was the New Testament, and as he read…
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European angle European judges in Strasbourg have ordered ministers to make a formal statement on whether it believes Christians’ rights have been infringed by decisions in the British courts. According to the Daily Telegraph, the move by the European Court was the result of a new legal challenge, led by four Christians who believe…
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While sitting in my parents’ back garden recently, I was struck by the very pleasant sound of the singing of birds and humming of bees. I would like to have recorded it. Playing it back, you would have been hard pressed to know that it was an urban, not a rural, setting. This got…
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Child protection Belief in witchcraft is widespread, but the incidence of faith-based child abuse in relation to this is low, according to a landmark report. Trust for London has launched the findings of its Safeguarding children’s rights initiative, a project to tackle child abuse linked to beliefs in spirit possession and witchcraft. The…
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Christ in Exodus — Using New Testament keys to unlock the truth of Exodus Stan K. EversGrace Publications; 160 pages, £5.99; ISBN: 0-946462-82-8 This little book proceeds on the basis of the old saying, ‘The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is by the New revealed’. After a short opening chapter…
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Wholesome law The annual general assembly of Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) met in Liberton Kirk, Kirkgate, Edinburgh, in May 2011 to discuss a range of matters affecting the FCoSC. This included an official time for the press and public to meet the new moderator, Rev. Graeme Craig, as well as other commissioners. The…
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William Tyndale — the man who gave England her Bible (4) William Tyndale – the man who gave England her Bible April 2011 (1) William Tyndale — the man who gave England her Bible (2) William Tyndale — the man who gave England her Bible (3) William Tyndale — the man who gave England her…
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In the school of God’s grace (2) In May 2008, my husband Arthur was diagnosed with a rare brain disease — progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). The PSP Association funded a specialist nurse who is on call 24/7. Her help has been invaluable. We lived in a tall, narrow town house with a lot of…
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Anti-sexualisation A report commissioned by Prime Minister David Cameron has detailed ways in which children are over-sexualised and suggests ways to halt the moral decline. The report, called Let children be children, outlines proposals to reduce the sexual imagery in music, advertising and clothing that is targeted towards children, for example, by removing overtly…
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Embracing the Trinity — Life with God in the gospel Fred SandersIVP; 239 pages, £9.99; ISBN: 978-1-84474-483-1 Fred Sanders’ concern is that, though evangelicals (for whom he is particularly writing) are implicitly Trinitarian, they do not appreciate this doctrine as they should. His purpose is to make them realise that they are the…
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World Mission Salt and light What do you think or feel when you hear the word ‘Muslim’? God has called you and I to be salt and light to them as well (Matthew 5:13-15). I think, if God had told me at first to go to a Muslim country and learn a related language,…
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Where there were no church — postcards from followers of Jesus in the Muslim world Editor E. J. Martin; Learning Together Press; 201 pages, £7.99; ISBN: 978-0-98306-590-6 The objective of this particular book, ‘a resource to help followers of Jesus to invite Muslims to follow him too’, is praiseworthy and needful. The book…
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Spurgeon on prayer ‘I have heard your prayer and your supplication’ (1 Kings 9:3) The wise men of modern times whose principal characteristic is that they think so much of themselves and so very little of anybody else, tell us that prayer is an excellent exercise, good and comforting and useful. But they…
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Making sanity out of vanity In his classic work, Pilgrim’s progress, John Bunyan escorts us to Vanity Fair. The Fair, he says, is open for business year round. And it’s not a new business, but was established from ancient times. The Fair offers all the wares and services typical to mankind, some inherently dishonourable,…
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AIDS awareness More needs to be done to combat the global scourge of AIDS, according to the Mildmay charity. Speaking on the 30th anniversary of the world’s first diagnosed AIDS case, which was recorded in Los Angeles in June 1981, Fi McLachlan, chief executive of Mildmay, said there should be a ‘renewed and definite…
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Another fine mess! Most people learn from their mistakes, but US preacher Harold Camping just kept making the same errors. ‘We have three months left until Judgement Day, which will happen on 21 October this year — but don’t change any plans, just in case’. This was the ironically desperate message from…
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Public scandals Every leading newspaper in the UK, Europe and US has recently been featuring sorry stories of high-profile leaders of society and role-models in sport and culture involved in sex scandals, bribes and allegations of corruption. This has occurred even though UK celebrities have been stifling public knowledge of their affairs with…
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Arab Spring Violence has escalated in Yemen after reports that the country’s president Ali Abdullah Saleh was more seriously injured in a rocket attack on his compound than originally thought. According to reports from Al-Jazeera and the BBC, it was revealed that Mr Saleh had 40 per cent burns, internal bleeding in his skull,…
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Ignatius of Antioch — the man who faced lions ISBN: 978-1-84871-093-1 Polycarp of Smyrna — the man whose faith lasted ISBN: 978-1-84871-092-4 Irenaeus of Lyons — the man who wrote books ISBN: 978-1-84871-094-8 Sinclair FergusonBanner of Truth; Each 40 pages, £8.00 ‘There are lots of “idols” these days. But do you have any heroes?…
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First EP conference in Kazakhstan Kazakhstan is the ninth largest country in the world; its territory is equal to that of Western Europe, yet its population only a little over 16 million people. It borders with Russia to the north and China to the south; it is the land of Genghis Khan…
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Guest Column Erroll Hulse Making sanity out of vanity In his classic work, Pilgrim’s progress, John Bunyan escorts us to Vanity Fair. The Fair, he says, is open for business year round. And it’s not a new business, but was established from ancient times. The Fair offers all the wares and services typical to…
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Faith unfeigned John Calvin (translated by Robert White)Banner of Truth; 183 pages, £14.50; ISBN: 978-1-84871-086-3 The great reformer is writing against the backdrop of the times in which he lived. Those who had turned from the idolatry of Catholicism often had their backs to the wall. Many, like those in Bloody Mary’s reign, paid…
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Bring out the battering rams! I was asked recently by an experienced minister, ‘In a prayer meeting, after you’ve asked God for something, what more can you do?’ The question reflects the accepted norm in many, if not most, contemporary church prayer meetings. People take it in turn to bring their requests to God,…
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‘Seek the peace of the city’ Around 2,600 years ago, the people of Israel were exiled to Babylon, a pagan and godless nation. Away from the Promised Land and living amongst these people, they must have had concerns for the future. How on earth were they to live godly lives in an ungodly land?…
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EMF open day Welwyn Evangelical Church was filled to capacity for the European Missionary Fellowship’s (EMF) School of Biblical Studies (SOBS) open day on Saturday 9 April. Among the attendees were ten students from Hungary, Israel, Moldova, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine. There was a morning and afternoon meeting and the day got off…
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Doctor attacked A Christian doctor with 28 years of unblemished practice has been threatened with an official warning by the General Medical Council (GMC) for sharing his faith with a patient. According to the Christian Legal Centre (CLC), Dr Richard Scott, who works at Bethesda Medical Centre in Margate, Kent, is under investigation after…
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Keeping strong ‘But how do they keep strong in their faith?’ This was the passionate heart’s cry of a young woman during a question and answer session in a Release Women conference. On 21 May, Release Women, part of the organisation Release International, serving persecuted Christians, held one of its regional ‘heart2heart’ conferences…
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The Genesis Flood — 50 years on (4) Since the 1960s, many creationists have followed Whitcomb and Morris in reinterpreting the geological record in the light of the biblical Flood. Several scientific models of the Flood have been proposed, the most promising of which is known as Catastrophic Plate Tectonics.1 This model explains how…
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Gay ministers Ministers from the Church of Scotland have started to step down after the vote at its general assembly in May allowed the ordination of gay ministers. According to the Herald, commissioners voted by 393 to 252 to allow ministers and deacons in same-sex relationships, ordained before 2009, to be inducted into pastoral…
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If the foundations are destroyed … The church’s responsibility There is always a temptation for Christians to wring their hands, and declare that what is wrong with the modern world is Darwin, Marx and Freud, who are popularised today by Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Richard Dawkins. Certainly, the West is a different place…
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Faith schools In its continued sniping campaign against faith schools, religious education lobby group Accord has criticised the Government’s new proposed admissions code for failing to ‘confront ongoing violations of admissions law by faith schools’. According to Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain, chairman of the Accord Coalition, the Department for Education’s proposals do not contain…
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A Reformation guide to Scripture – The translators of the Geneva Bible Banner of Truth; 152 pages, £5.50 ISBN: 978-1-84871-091-7 This volume contains the various prologues within the Geneva Bible to all the books of the Bible. These prologues give a general understanding of the Bible’s contents and each book’s place in biblical revelation. …
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Meet the ministers – 50 years of preaching (3) Peyton Jones discusses preaching with Peter Jeffery in this concluding article of a three-part series. This focuses on his advice to young ministers; part one (May ET) looked at the power of God in ministry, part two (June ET) the practicalities of preaching. Peyton: What…
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Borras Park On Saturday 14 May, members and friends past and present filled Borras Park Evangelical Church, for a service of thanksgiving for 40 years of evangelical witness in the town. The cause was founded by Rev. Glyndwr Jenkins, a former missionary to India and pastor of churches at Rossett, some…
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Guest Column Erroll Hulse What does redemption mean? One of the great texts of the Bible is where Paul declares: ‘It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption’ (1 Corinthians 1:30). …
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East Leake A lovely afternoon in April saw some 150 people come together in East Leake village hall to thank God for the ministry of Roger Hitchings. Together with his wife Cathy, he has served the Lord faithfully in the village, and further afield, since 1997. The afternoon began with a service of thanksgiving…
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Soft mentality Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali has warned that a soft-touch approach to Islam might usher in a ‘new tyranny’. Speaking after US president Barack Obama’s speeches to the British parliament and US state department, the Bishop, who is director of the Oxford Centre for Training, Research, Advocacy and Dialogue, said that a ‘romantic’ attitude…
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