Books reviewed

Reviewed by Sophie Rudland, University of Warwick

Reviewed by Paul Ballard, Peterborough

Reviewed by Ben Edsall, University of Oxford

Reviewed by Andrew Angel, St John's College, Nottingham

Reviewed by Steve Moyise, University of Chichester

Reviewed by Christopher Hays, University of Oxford

Reviewed by Stephen W. Need, Essex

Reviewed by Lisa Isherwood, University of Winchester

Reviewed by Jonathan Clatworthy, Modern Church, Liverpool

Reviewed by John Saxbee, Haverfordwest

Reviewed by Vaughan S. Roberts, Warwick

Publisher's review: If religion is characterised by the recruitment of God to serve our agendas, and faith is about putting our agendas at the service of God, then clearly there is too much religion in the world, and not enough faith. The first eight chapters of this book apply this religion/faith dichotomy to some crucial areas of interest to those exploring what it might mean to be people of faith in a world saturated with religion. The remaining chapters address issues of crucial importance to the future of organised religion in general, and the role of the Church of England in particular. From mediaeval polyphony to Andrew Lloyd Webber the development of a given theme through a sequence of variations has proved attractive to composers anxious to demonstrate the sometimes surprising potential of a simple melody. "No Faith in Religion" is a modest attempt to do something similar with two concepts, religion and faith, which are usually seen as simply synonymous but which are in fact subtly different and subject to being interwoven in numerous complex and unexpected ways.

Reviewed by Peter Sedgwick, St Michael's College, Llandaff

Reviewed by David Brown, University of St Andrews

Reviewed by Theo Hobson, New York

Reviewed by Michael Brierley, Tavistock

Reviewed by Michael Brierley, Tavistock

Reviewed by Mary Ann Stenger, University of Louisville, Kentucky

Reviewed by Jody Stowell, Harrow Weald

Publishers notes: These memorable, beautifully written reflections reveal the concerns and passions of the first woman presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church as she looks back on the first two years of her episcopate. Leading the Episcopal Church during a time when many have held it responsible for the threat of schism hich faces the Communion, has been stormy at times and she has had her fair share of vitriol, yet her calm and unhurried demeanor belies a profound wisdom and unwavering spiritual stability. Here she openly writes about the joys and the trials of being appointed to an office that she never sought, she engages imaginatively with scripture, she considers the fraught internal issues she has faced in the church and - more important to her - the scandal of poverty and violence that cripples so many lives worldwide and its prophetic challenge the Church to rise above its own preoccupations and bring healing and release.

Reviewed by Nicholas Henderson, Ealing Common, London

Reviewed by Patricia Rumsey, Sarum College, Salisbury

Reviewed by Tim Gorringe, University of Exeter

Reviewed by Paul Hedges, University of Winchester

Reviewed by Ian Markham, Virginia Theological Seminary

Reviewed by Anne Richards, Church House, Westminster

Reviewed by Brian Macdonald-Milne, Waterbeach

Reviewed by Alex Hughes, Southsea

Reviewed by Jenny Gaffin, Parkstone, Poole

Reviewed by Adrian Thatcher, University of Plymouth

Reviewed by Christopher H. Evans, Boston University, Massachusetts

Reviewed by Jeff Astley, North of England Institute for Christian Education

Reviewed by Morna D. Hooker, Robinson College, Cambridge

Reviewed by David Parker (short review), University of Birmingham

Reviewed by Alister E. McGrath (short review), King's College, London

Reviewed by Andrew Shanks (short review), Manchester Cathedral

Reviewed by Donald Reeves (short review), Soul of Europe, Crediton