Sura 72 The Spirits, 73 Folded in garments, 74 One wrapped up 75 the resurrection. 76 Time or Man

Meccan suras with no narrative
28 verses Some people took shelter among the Jinns which lied against God.
20 verses. The prophet who is folded in garments is to pray for less than half the night.
56 verses.  The wrapped up prophet is to deliver his warning.
40 verses. God is able to put the body together in perfect order at resurrection.
31 verses. Man created from a drop of mangled sperm in order to be tried.

Forty (ESV) Significance of forty

During my morning devotion, periods of forty days or years seemed frequent in the books of Moses.

1. God provided for them 40 years
Exodus 16:35 - The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan.
2.40 days for Moses to receive the law
Exodus 24:18 - Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Deuteronomy 9:9 - When I went up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the LORD made with you, I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water.
Exodus 34:28 - So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
Deuteronomy 9:11 - And at the end of forty days and forty nights the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant.
3. 40 more days after Israel sinned for Moses to intercede and again receive the law
Deuteronomy 9:18 - Then I lay prostrate before the LORD as before, forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all the sin that you had committed, in doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke him to anger.
Deuteronomy 9:25 - “So I lay prostrate before the LORD for these forty days and forty nights, because the LORD had said he would destroy you.
Deuteronomy 10:10 - “I myself stayed on the mountain, as at the first time, forty days and fortynights, and the LORD listened to me that time also. The LORD was unwilling to destroy you.
4. 40 days to spy out the land with 40 year old Joshua as a spy
Joshua 14:7 - I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart.

Numbers 13:25 - At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land.
5. 40 years wandering for faithlessness

Numbers 14:33 - And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.
Numbers 14:34 - According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’
Numbers 32:13 - And the LORD's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone.
Joshua 5:6 - For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD; the LORD swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the LORD had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey.
6. In the 40th year of Exodus Aaron dies
Numbers 33:38 - And Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor at the command of the LORD and died 
there, in the fortieth year after the people of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month.
7. The same year, six moths later Moses addresses Israel
Deuteronomy 1:3 - In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him in commandment to them,
Deuteronomy 2:7 - For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.”’
Deuteronomy 8:2 - And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
Deuteronomy 8:4 - Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these fortyyears.
Deuteronomy 29:5 - I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn off your feet.

What Does the Number Forty (40) Mean or Represent in the Bible?

October 3, 2014 by Jack Wellman 0 Comments

Numbers can often have meaning in the Bible so what does the number forty mean and what is normally associated with it?

Forty: the Number of Testing

The number forty usually has to do with testing in the Bible.  There are dozens of examples to show this and we will examine a few to see why this is so.  From Jesus to the children of Israel in the Wilderness, the number forty shows that testing and trials are sometimes associated with this number and so we read in the Scriptures that the number forty generally symbolized a period of testing, trial or probation.   As has been said, a faith that is not tested cannot be trusted.

The Flood of Forty Days and Nights Genesis 7:12 “And rain fell upon the earth forty days and forty nights.”

The flood symbolized God’s judgment on a sinful people and this trial by water lasted for forty days and forty nights, wiping out all those who refused to repent and turn to God at Noah’s preaching, even though Noah had preached to them for well over a century.

Other Significant Events and the number Forty

• Forty stripes was the maximum number allowed for anyone to be punished (Duet 25:3).
• The prophet Jonah prophesied of the impending destruction of Nineveh if they didn’t repent and gave them forty days to do so and they eventually did repent and the entire city-state was sparred.
• The prophet Elijah went forty days and nights without food or water while on Mount Horeb.
• Jesus appeared for forty days after His resurrection from the dead and the disciples and many others witnessed His appearance.
• King Saul reigned over Israel for forty years (Acts 13:21) as did David (2 Samuel 5:4, 1 Kings 2:11) and Solomon (1 Kings 11:42).
• Ezekiel bore the evil of the house of Judah for forty days (Ezk 4:6).
• The number forty represents the number of one generation as with the children of Israel who died in the Wilderness for their disobedience to the Lord.

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May 16: Rabbi Duncan

A Scottish Missionary to the Jews
by Rev. David T Myers

How about another mystery quiz on This Day in Presbyterian History? Who said the following:  “I am first a Christian. Second, I am a catholic. (Author: note the small “c”); Third, I am a Calvinist.  Next, I am a paedobaptist. Fifth, I am a Presbyterian. I cannot reverse this order.” If you answered, “John Duncan,” or better yet, “Rabbi Duncan,” give yourself a proverbial pat on the back.

John Duncan's years were 1796  to 1870, mostly in Scotland. His parents were  humble but pious Christians. They had a trying time in that all of their children had died in infancy. Indeed, son John developed a a case of small pox at a young age which almost killed him. In the process, it left him blind in one eye. Despite  his father's employment as a shoemaker, son John entered at age 9 the prestigious grammar school in Aberdeen, Scotland, from which he graduated at age 14. With that he entered Manschal University, earning a master of arts in 1814.

His interest was that of becoming a minister. There was only one problem. Despite his parent's godly heritage in the Associate Church of Scotland, young John was an atheist. Entering the theological college of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland, he graduated in 1821, still holding atheistic views! After being denied entrance into the Presbytery of Aberdeen because he couldn't affirm the Westminster Standards, he switched from atheism to theism. But he was still without Christ as Lord and Savior.

His licensure took place by the Presbytery of Aberdeen on June 24, 1825 however! (Author: Where were their minds?) John Duncan was still outside of Christ. One year later, after a personal conversation with  Rev. Cesar Milan, he finally bent his knee to Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior. After this experience, he had a lifelong dread of  superficial Christianity. On April 28, 1836, he was ordained a minister of the gospel.

In 1837, he married Janet Tower, with whom he had one child.  The difficult birth of their second child ended in both the death of his wife and child.  Looking at his wife's body in the casket, he quoted Shorter Catechism number 37, “The souls of believers are at their death make perfect in holiness, and do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves, till the resurrection.”  This  catechism answer comforted him.

It was around this time that he began to have an interest in, and sympathy for, the Jewish people, especially for their salvation. The Church of Scotland set up in 1839 a Committee for the Conversion of the Jews. Two years later, on This Day in Presbyterian History, May 16, 1841, John Duncan, his new wife, and two others moved to Hungary

His ministry there was only for two short years, but his passion for the souls of Jews caused many to dub him “Rabbi Duncan.”  Through Sabbath peaching of the gospel and what we would call “friendship evangelism” today, countless Jews became Christians.  Famous among the latter was Alfred Edersheim.  The Disruption of 1843 took place in Scotland and John “Rabbi” Duncan traveled home to his mother country.  Joining the Free Church of Scotland, he took the chair of Hebrew and Oriental Lanuages at their new college, where he stayed until his death of 1870.

Words to Live By:
There is no doubt John “Rabbi” Duncan had a spiritual journey which was long in coming.   His story cries out for our Sessions and Presbyters to make sure  that a work of saving grace has occurred in the souls of our members and candidates for church office.  Remember Jude 3 and 4.

Sura 69 Sure Reality, 70 The ways of ascent. 71 Noah

52 verses.  Meccan. What is real? Thamud and Ad branded as false calamity to come. Thamud destroyed by storm, Ad by furious wind. Pharaoh, those before an the cities overthrown committed habitual sin. Disobeyed apostles so their Lord punished them with abundant penalty. The flood of Noah is a message to bear lessons in remembrance. So on that Day you will be brought to judgement.
44 verses. God is Lord of the ways of ascent and the judgement day.
28 verses. Noah sent as a warner. People refused to listen. Would not leave their gods. So drowned in flood and entered the fire.

Sura 65 Divorce, 66 Holding something to be forbidden, 67 Dominion, 68 The pen

11 verses. Two people to hear evidence. Prescribed period before divorce, for post menstrual women, three months, for pregnant, until birth.
12 verses. Wives of Noah and Lot false to husbands. Mary guarded her chastity and God created into her body of his spirit.
30 verses. Blessed be God in whose hands is Dominion. He over all things has power.
52 verses. Muhammad is not mad or possessed. God knows who has strayed and who received guidance.

Sura 62 The assembly, 63 the hypocrites. 64M muual loss and gain.

11 verses. When the call to prayer is proclaimed on Friday hasten earnestly to the remembrance of God and leave of business.
11 verses Hypocrites say Muhammad is the apostle of God but they lie.
18 verses. The day God assembles you all will be a day of mutual loss and gain. Believers will have ills removed and admission to gardens where rivers flow. Those who reject faith will be for ever companions of the fire. No king of calamity can occur except by the leave of God.

Sura 59 The gathering, 60 The woman to be examined 61 Battle array

24 verses. God got out the unbelievers among the People of the Book from their homes. Banishment for them.
13 verses. Take not God's enemies as your friends. Abraham prayed that his father be forgiven. Examine believing women refugees. Do not send them back to unbelievers but pay their dowry.
14 verses. Jesus, son of Mary, spoke to Children of Israel saying he was apostle of God. He came to confirm the previous law and give glad tidings of an apostle to come, Ahmad (Muhammad),

Sura 57 Iron, 58 the woman who pleads

This is the start of the Medinan suras.

30 verses. We sent down iron for mighty war. Sent Noah, Abraham, apostles and Jesus son of Mary. Bestowed on him gospel and some who followed had compassion and mercy. But monasticism not prescribed. People of the Book have no power over the grace of God It is entirely in his hand to bestow on whomsoever he wills.
22 verses. God has heard the statement of the woman who pleads concening her husband, carrying her complaint to God. God hears the arguments between both sides. Divorce by pagan custom, Zihar, is iniquitous and false. Penalty was to give a slave freedom.

Sura 55 God most gracious, 56 The inevitable event,

78 verses. Which of the favours of your Lord will you deny? Two gardens with all kinds of trees, two springs, fruits. Recline on carpets. Chaste maidens.
96 verses.Mountains fall. Three classes. Comanions of right hand and left hand. Left hand on thrones of gold served by youths of perpetual freshness. Right handshake, water, fruit, thrones, Others from left in fire.
So far 9/10 of Quran covered and it is Meccan Now come 10 Medinan suras.

Sura 52 The Mount, 53 The Star, 54 The moon

62 verses. The doom of thy Lord will indeed come to pass. Thrust down to the fire of hell. The righteous in gardens and happiness.
62 verses. Star went down and conveyer inspiration to the Prophet. Pagan Arabs had three female gods, Lat, Uzza and Manat. They are human inventions with no authority. God is lord of Sirius the mighty star. He destroyed the Ad, Thamud, people of Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah.
55 verses. People of Noah rejected their apostle. Flood but Noah borne in Ark. Sent against Ad a furious wind. Thamud rejected warners. They hamstrung the she camel and tried to monopolise the water depriving the poor. Great wind sent. People of Lot rejected his warning of showers of stones. God blinded them when they tried to seize Lot's guests. People of Pharaoh rejected all the signs sent. Unbelieving Quraish will have no immunity.

Sura 50 Qaf, 51 the Winds that Scatter

45 verses. People of Noah, the companions of the Rass, the Thamud, the Ad, Pharaoh, the brethren of Lot, the companions of the Wood and the people of Tubba all rejected the apostles. God nearer to man than his jugular. Two guardian angels on right and left noting deeds and words. They will bear witness on the day of resurrection.
5 - 60 verses. Guests of Abraham said, peace. Brought them fatted calf. Did not eat. Gave glad tidings of a son but the wife laughed. Messengers would go on to people deep in sin and bring a shower of brimstone, only evacuating one house of believers. Moses sent to Pharaoh who rejected him as a sorcerer. God threw him and his forces into the sea. The Ad ruined by devastating wind. Thamud judged with an earthquake.

Sura 46 Winding sand-tracts, 47 Muhammad, 48 Victory, 49 Inner apartments

35 verses. Quran similar to earlier scripture given to Israel. Moses age forty prays to work righteousness. Hud (Ever) prophesied to Ad concerning winding sand-tracts. They accepted they would not turn from their gods bur receive calamity a great wind.
47 - 29 verses. Those who believe the revelation sent to Muhammad will have there ills removed., their condition improved.
48 29 verses. God forgives and punished whom he wills. Gave the victory in the midst of Mecca so they could enter the sacred mosque.
49 -18 verses. Those who shout out to God from without the inner apartments, most of the lack understanding.

Sura 42 Consultation, 43 Gold adornments, 44 Smoke, 45 Bowing the knee

53 verses.  Same religion established for you as for Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus.
43. 89 verses. Abraham said to his father and people he would only worship his creator. Moses sent to Pharaoh with signs. Ridiculed. Jesus son of Mary ridiculed too.
44. 59 verses. The book was sent down at night. Pharaoh was aggressive. Israel to march through the sea.
45. 30 verses. Granted to the Children of Israel, the book.

Sura 39 The Crowds, 40 The believer, 41 Abbreviated letters

85 verses. Unbelievers will be led to hell in a crowd.
40 - 85 verses. Pharaoh, Hasan and Korah wanted to slay the sons of Moses' people. Pharaoh wanted to kill Moses but God protected him. Pharaoh wanted Hasan to build him a palace to reach up to heaven.
41 54 verses The Ad rejected apostles dos God sent furious wind. Thamud preferred blindness to guidance and suffered humiliation.

On 2nd May 1559 JOHN KNOX RETURNS TO SCOTLAND FOR THE FINAL TIME TO FURTHER REFORMATION.

John Knox's name is now nearly synonymous with the Scottish Reformation. History remembers him as the “Thundering Scot”—so outspoken by the standards of his own age that even his own friends sometimes considered him an embarrassment. 

But the movement got started before he did. Patrick Hamilton (martyred in 1528) and George Wishart began the preaching of Lutheran doctrine in Scotland. Knox was a friend of Wishart’s. When Cardinal Beaton arrested and burned Wishart in 1546, some young noblemen retaliated by assassinating Beaton. These noblemen persuaded Knox to serve as their chaplain. When Scotland’s French allies captured his noble patrons, he was sent to the galleys (galleys were ships propelled by rowers, who often endured difficult and dangerous conditions). 

The galleys were a dreadful experience for Knox. He stoutly resisted re-conversion to Catholicism but fell ill and nearly died. In a dark hour when it seemed his life was over, his galley rowed within sound of St. Andrews Cathedral. There he gained hope for the future. “I shall yet live to preach there,” he resolved. It was then that his health began to mend. 

After he escaped the galleys, Knox journeyed to England and then to Geneva before returning to Scotland in 1555, where he did missionary work in secret. Other Protestants preaching in Scotland at that time included John Willock, John Row, John Douglas, William Harlaw, and Paul Methven. Three of these men, along with Knox and two others, later drafted the first Confession and first Book of Discipline of the Presbyterian church. Many nobles—including as William Keith, the Earl Marischal—heard Knox describe the new Scotland he envisioned in which the true kirk (church), with Christ at its head, would triumph. They supported him when the queen regent forced him to appear for trial at Blackfriars in Edinburgh in 1556. The regent had to drop the case against Knox, but Scotland was not hospitable to his brand of reform, and so he returned to Geneva. 

Not until this day, 2 May 1559 did Knox return to Scotland for good. As he writes in his own history of the Scottish Reformation, “the second of May 1559, arrived John Knox from France, who lodging two nights only in Edinburgh, hearing the day appointed to his brethren, repaired to Dundee, where he earnestly entreated them ‘that he might be permitted to assist his brethren, and to give confession of his faith with them,’ which granted unto him, he departed unto St. Johnstone with them, where he began to exhort, according to the grace of God granted unto him.”* 

He thundered so loudly for reform that riots broke out in Perth. The rioters smashed Roman Catholic images and looted the wealthy friaries of the city. These riots provoked the Queen Regent, Mary of Guise, to raise an army. Protestant and Catholic forces clashed for several years. 

After Mary Queen of Scots, daughter of Mary of Guise, assumed the throne, Knox confronted her, solemnly warning her, “I am sent to preach the evangel of Jesus Christ to such as please to hear it; and it has two parts, repentance and faith.”

Mary, who continued in the Catholicism of her parents, fought two battles with the Protestants. She routed them at Stirling in 1565, but suffered defeat at the Battle of Langside in 1568. Although John Knox drifted in and out of favor with the Scottish people and was in danger of losing his life several times, he remained prominent in the life of his nation. He was a key player in formulating the constitution of the Church of Scotland. Mary eventually was forced to abdicate in favor of her young son, James VII, because of scandals in her personal life. 

Knox died in peace, having done as much as anyone to bring into being the Scottish Presbyterian Church. -- Dan Graves

The Burning Bush and the Presbyterian Holocaust

From John Ross

The Burning Bush holds a special place in the hearts of Scottish Presbyterians. In May 1691, the Assembly papers printed by a George Mossman included for the first time a symbol of the Burning Bush, surrounded by a Latin motto. Why the burning bush? 

1691 was no ordinary year. For years before, both Charles II and James II tried to dictate their people’s religion. The Presbyterian Church of Scotland was repressed and persecuted. Services were held in remote corners of hills and glens. And as the ministers preached and prayed, armed guards kept watch. 

During those Killing Times, there had been a holocaust of Presbyterian ministers and Christians. They were driven out of their churches. Hundreds had been killed, many more imprisoned and some sold as slaves in America. And all for no greater crime that obeying their conscience and, against the law, attending services held by Presbyterian ministers. 

In 1690 all this changed. William III became king, James II was defeated, and Presbyterianism restored to Scotland. For Mossman the burning bush was a parable of Presbyterian survival. The church had seemed to go up in flames, but it had not been consumed. The motto Mossman chose was Exodus 3.2 from the Latin text of a Bible version by a Jewish Christian called Immanuel Tremellius. Tremellius translated Exodus 3.2, "Yet it was not consumed" as: "Nec Tamen Consumebatur". Ever since Mossman's unofficial decoration it has been the Scottish Presbyterian motto.

Picture: Illustration from H.E. Marshall's 'Scotland's Story', 1906.

Sura 38 One of the abbreviated letters

88 verses Before, rejecters of apostles, people of Noah, Ad, Pharaoh, Thamud, Lot, Companions of the Wood and Confederates. Two disputants climbed into David's private chamber. One had 99 ewes and wanted his brother's one. David realised he was being tried and asked God's forgiveness. God had made David vicegerent to judge men and not to follow the lusts of his heart. David given Solomon for a son. The wind andmen made subject to him. Job suffering told to strike with his foot and receive refreshing water. Restored double the number of his people. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Ishmael, Elisha and Ezekiel. sent.

Sura 35 The Angels, 36 Abbreviated letters, 37 Those ranged in ranks

45 verses God made the angels messengers with wings.
36 - 83 verses. You are one of the apostles on a straight way.
37 -  182 verses. Sincere servants of God, fruits in gardens of felicity. A cup free from headiness. Chaste women.Noah we delivered with his people from the great calamity. Abraham reproved his father for false gods. Asked for a son. God commanded sacrifice of son. Ransomed him with momentous sacrifice. Gave him Isaac. Delivered Moses and Aaron from their great calamity. Elijah questioned the worship of Baal. Lot delivered. Jonah swallowed by big fish. Repented and cast forth on shore. Caused gourd to grow over him. Sent to 100,00 or more who repented.

Films seen May 2017

1.Elizabeth I  DVD. Helen Mirren (Actor), Jeremy Irons (Actor), Tom Hooper (Director) 

An enjoyable portrayal of history though occasionally I believe we have fiction for AFAIK Elizabeth never went to meet her imprisoned cousin. Mirren is superb, Isaacs good. I found the armada was treated too briefly. Keeping down production costs.? Also the strength of Leicester's protestantism was downplayed. But a great film of a great queen. The second part was not so gripping. Was the queen so antagonistic to courtiers' contact with James Stuart. Dis she not recognise him as her heir?

2. The Scandalous Lady W Natalie Dormer (Actor), Shaun Evans (Actor), Sheree Folkson (Director) 

Well acted, especially by Natalie Dormer and her husband, an actor we now know better as the young Morse. He is a perverted voyeur who persuades his bride to have sex with his friends while he watches through the keyhole. The sex could have been portrayed with more subtlety and not so explicit. It turns out there were 27 lovers, all exposed in court where the husband secures a pyrrhic victory. After the court case the true story is condensed. As another reviewer says, the film lays on the feminist angle strongly. But it was an age when a wife and all she brought became a husband's property. It is an amazing story and a scandal for any age It is a pity that the lady did not tell he husband that the vow to obey did not encompass adultery.

3. Girl With A Pearl Earring [DVD] Scarlett Johansson (Actor), Colin Firth (Actor), Peter Webber (Director) 

Set in 17th century Delft it all looks very period realistic. Colin First was so well disguised as Vermeer that it took me a while to recognise him and the disguise of Tom Wilkinson as the lecherouds rich patron was so complete that I dod not twig it was him until the credits. An innocent servant is the eponymous girl. She suffers under a shrew of a mistress and her wicked little daughter. It is beautifully filmed but very slow and I was left wondering if there was any message

5. King Charles III [DVD] [2017]

It may be totally improbable fiction but I loved it. However I think this is a marmite item. My wife hated it so I expect opinion to be divided. Piggot-Smith's last role was great acting. Harry, Willian, Kate and Diana were good look alikes if not Camilla. The constitutional crisis could conceivably happen but I would not expect non-british viewers to understand that the king can only act on the advice of his ministers. The prime minister's examples of when the Queen had signed only out of duty not agreement could have better cited laws on abortion to homosexuality but to cite that would not be pc. The last monarch to refuse assent was Queen Anne. Willian IV did dismiss parliament but he went to the House of Lords to do so. I had better say no more as it would be a spoiler. Harry eventually giving up love for duty was a nice touch, a reversal of 1936. I thought Diana's ghost as duplicitous as she was in real life. Charles a troubled man less popular than his heir all seemed true to life. I loved the blank verse, truly Shakespearean. Finally the title is wrong. He will be George VII.

6. Quo Vadis [1951] Robert Taylor (Actor), Deborah Kerr (Actor), Mervyn LeRoy (Director) 

I believe this was the first film I ever saw in a cinema. I was six and taken by my father who was not normally a cinema goer. We went to see Quo Vadis for it has a strong Christian theme. The heroine is a Christian captive in the house of a now Christian retired Roman general. She is torn between her devotion to Jesus and her love for the returning victorious Roman army commander. The Christians are sympathetically portrayed. Peter's sermon is powerful. The one inaccuracy is Paul telling the pagan Commander to free his slaves. Paul did not tell even Christians that in the Bible. The martyrdom of the Christians following the incendiary emperor's false charges concerning the fire of Rome is hoffitic but they triumph in death. The bull fight is a high point and I wonder how the stunt was staged. Usinov is a brilliant mad Nero. The portrayal of his deaths not at all accurate. This was the first Holywood biblical epic and it is on a grand sale.

Books read May 2017

1. Fifty-Six: The Story of the Bradford Fire by Martin Fletcher  (Author)

An horrific account of a 12 year old bot going to football with his father, brother, uncle and grandfather but returning alone with the marks from a fire that killed 56 people. Amazingly, later he was also present at the Hillsborough disaster. His story. an emotional roller coaster is well told as is his investigation into why the official enquiry was so brief and reached a questionable verdict. The civil case brought by his mother found negligence and brought considerable compensation. Reviewers have criticised his research into the fire but it seems reasonable to me and totally incredible that the team's chairman could be without any culpability when his businesses had so often gone up in flames and he was enriched by insurance money. But if he was still alive would the publishers have printed the book as it is?  Minor criticism. Why no photos? Why only one map of the stand and that diagram far too late in the book. The author was of course chronically affected by his experience but he was also at times very unwise in his behaviour. One feels for him.

2. Victorian Pharmacy Remedies and Recipes by Jane Eastoe  (Author), Ruth Goodman (Foreword)

As a retired pharmacist I found this an informative and enjoyable rad. It starts with health and disease in Victorian Britain. It was nor a healthy plan, especially for the poor. There was ignorance as to the causes of diseases and few specific cures. The development of pharmacy is related with the licensing and appearance of chemists and druggists who complemented the traditional apothecaries, surgeons and physicians. Recipies for many  cures are given. I spotted one mistake. Cinchona bark does not come from South Africa but from South America. I started in pharmacy six decades after the end of the Victorian age and learned how to make many of the kinds of products described here but by 1963 pills were no longer made though they were still with us as a misnomer for tablets.

3. John Newton - Walter Chantry (editor)

2007 saw the bicentenary of the death of Newton. This issue of the Banner of Truth magazine commemorates the event with nine excellent articles, staring with John Newton 'a wonder to myself' by Iain Murray who as ever is an exceptionally accomplished historical author. The articles give a real feel for Newton, the catholic calvinist, warm and wise, an exceptional pastor.

4. Cricket and All That Hardcover by Henry Blofeld (Author)

Published in 2001 we have here an entertaining history of cricket  but it stops short of the 20:20 game. Sadly the history here begins and ends with gambling. How it affected the integrity of early cricket is not clear. But the love of money is the root of all evil and the modern affliction with Asian gambling has had a sad effect, some of which we will never know as it seems to have been officially hushed up. But the stories are great. Never again will I look upon Grace as a hero. Amazing cricketer he was but venal and unscrupulous totally belying his name. A game full of characters well portrayed by a gifted journalist.

5. Understanding the Scriptures: How to read and not to read the Bible (Christian perspectives series) by Arnold H De Graaff  (Author)

This is co-authored with Calvin G Seerveld and comes from Canada but its background is Dutch Reformed . Its purpose s to give what it calls a reformational reading of scripture. First it rightly asserts the Bible is not a book of moral tales to instruct in right and wrong but a history of God's covenantal dealing with his people. A covenant theology is the lens though which the progress of revelation is seen. At first I found disconcerting the view that the Bible does not teach propositional truths about God. But what this means is made clearer when the usual ways of reading Scripture are critiqued. These are put as fundamentalist evangelical which seeks to draw moral lesson, neo-orthodox which deconstructs text by rationalistic literary criticism and finally an orthodox scholastic approach which sees task as to  the find theological doctrines in Scripture. A case study is given in how to understand Numbers 22-24 from a covenantal perspective. I believe the authors are right. If you merely want moral lessons any literature can provide it. You might as well studyuyy Shakespeare. But the Bible is salvation history and must be read from the perspective of the saving acts of the covenant God.

6.Christianity and Islam under colonialism in northern Nigeria by Jan Harm Boer (Author)

This booklet was written in response to a Nigerian newspaper article in 1974 which the writer equated British colonialism in northern Nigeria with christianisation. Boer did his doctorate on the relation between colonialism and a Christian mission in this country and this booklet draws on that more detailed study. British missionaries were supporters of the colonial enterprise. They were children of their age. They especially welcomed it for putting an end to the slavery which is horrifically described here. But the British government chose to rule through the Muslim emirs and not to disturb their political hegemony by allowing the missionaries to evangelise. Missions were restricted to the area of followers of traditional African religion. The missionaries believed such restrictions unwarranted, a denial of religious liberty. They also objected to being told that for their own health they could not live within 440 yards of the locals. It was erroneously thought that mosquitoes could not fly that far.There was co-operation in some work. notably education but the missionaries were concerned that government grants meant government control and secularised education. The general conclusion of this book is that the colonial regime was more helpful to the spread of Islam rather than being in cahoots with Christian missionaries, some of whom took very courageous stands against the powers that be and on one occasion maintained discreet silence so as not to embarrass Britain in WWI. A most excellent small corrective to the myth of colonialism being the friend of Christian mission. Remember, the British kept Carey out of their India. The one spect of colonialism praised is the abolition of the slave trade as soon as the British came to rule. However he fails to mention that slavery was not outlawed until the 1920s.

7 Christians and mobilization by Jan Harm. Boer (Author)

The author was a career missionary with over 30 years service in Northern Nigeria. His concern is the mobilise the Christian poor to communally take action against injustice and corruption. He investigates why the rural peasants have traditionally been subservient, suffering under an often unjust authority structure. He also sees submission to hierarchy in church life too. Pastors may be part of the problem. So this is his liberation theology for northern Nigeria.

8 .Wholistic health care of, for and by the people by Rev. (DR.) Jan H Boer

When an African is helped by Western type heath care, he may go to a practitioner of African Traditional Medicine for further help. Boer says this is because what he calls biomedicine is concerned solely with the physical aspects of life to the neglect of the whole man who is a spiritual psyco-somatic unity. How to make biomedicine wholistic is the theme of this book. It describes a practical programme for wholistic health care by Christians in Northern Nigeria.

9, Can We Have Our Balls Back, Please?: How the British Invented Sport by Julian Norridge

If you want to know the origins of a given sport, look here. Some, like baseball, will surprise you. Only one big sport, basketball, has no British links. This British history of sport is inextricably intertwines with two things, class and gambling. Perhaps a chapter on the history of bookmaking would have been appropriate.

10. African Art (World of Art) by Frank Willett  (Author)

Here we have a comprehensive guide to the study of African art. Its history is examined as is African architecture and sculpture. The highlight is many illustrations most in colour.

11.The Christian Idea of the State (University Series Historical Studies) by Herman Dooyeweerd (Author)

The Dutch Christian philosopher, Dooyeweerd is not easy to read. I never mastered his New Critique of Theoretical Thought so the latter part of this work which draws on his modalities of theoretical thought is hard going. Tis is the translation of a 1936 address to the youth movement of a Dutch political party. Dutch political youth in 1936 must have had a much superior understanding. But they would have been familiar, as I am, with the concept of sphere sovereignty. The study starts with rejection of the nature/grace dichotomy and dualism which comes from Aristotle and Aquinas. I can see here where Schaeffer later derived his views on Aquinas, nature and grace. He shows how the pagan idea of the state puts reason at the centre of being. The state is the highest bong of human society and societal relationships are but dependent parts. This leads to the totalitarianism  of National Socialism. He shows the Roman Catholic view of the state falls away from the Christian conception of the kingdom of God over all. Similarly Lutheran dualism falls short with its law gospel polarity. He says Calvin had the Scriptural view of law as boundary between God and creature. He critiques the modern humanistic world and life view. He sees this producing an individualistic idea of the state. State absolutism holds absolute sovereignty of state over church which is relegated to the private sphere only. Sphere sovereignty opposes autonomy of the state controlling all of life. There are separate sovereign law spheres. The state exists because of sin and therefore unilateral national disarmament is a denial of the duty of the state to protect its citizens. The state is not subject to an ecclesiastical creed . But I am unclear as to the place of religious pluralism. Not an easy read but much to provoke thought and discussion.

12. Psychology: The encounter of Christianity with secular science (Foundation series) by Robert D Knudsen (Author)

Written from the perspective of Reformed Christianity means that this booklet asserts there is no such thing as a neutral psychology as the secularist would advocate. Trends in psychology are examined as per the 1980 setting of the booklet. Fundamental to Christian understanding is a Christian philosophical anthropology. The traditional doctrine of the soul is rejected in favour of man as a unity. with transcendental relations. The implications are examined for counselling and the phenomenology of religion. Not the easiest of topics to understand.

13. Road Accidents: Prevent or Punish? by J.J. Leeming  (Author), G.M. Mackay (Author), K. F. M. Pole (Author)

Written in 1969 this excellent book is in need of an up to date revision as things have moved on in the last 48 years. But the basic thesis of the book is still relevant. Why is the motorist always held to be the one responsible for road traffic accidents? The principle author, a road traffic engineer shows this is wrong. Other factors like the condition of the road or signage are often to blame. There are contributions from both a lawyer and a doctor who both question received wisdom. Some of the points raised will be a surprise. What evidence is there to show that  banning drivers prevents accidents? Are absolute offences like exceeding the arbitrary blood alcohol level  just laws? One concludes that good points have been made by the authors but they have been ignored by the powers that be and by prejudiced public opinion.

14.The Holy Qur'an: Transliteration in Roman Script with Arabic Text and English Translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali (Translator)

My copy was first published in 1934 and I was given it in 1983. I have read it once before. It is the only book I have read a second time out of duty not for pleasure.  Roman script translation into English of commentary as Muslims would say as the Quran is only in original Arabic.  There is additional helpful commentary which gives the resumed setting of the various chapters. Why it is revered in this seemingly random order is a mystery to me for they are not chronological concerning their supposed revelation. The order seems random not orderly. Comparison with the Bible is inevitable but unreal. Here is no variety of literary style. No history, psalms or epistles and certainly no gospel. There are many references to Bible characters but no detailed telling of their stories. The nearest is probably Joseph and here there is some difference in the history. Overall this book does not move me but bores. It is often about hell fire in each sura. Salvation is by the will of God according to works. Any grace is an arbitrary judgment of an absolute ruler. 

15. It's All Free for Seniors: Cash Sources and Free Benefits by John Clarke 

This is not a list of freebies for OAPs but a handbook for claiming benefits and getting credit. If you have money do not spend it on this.

17. The encounter of Christianity with secular science: Sociology by Robert D Knudsen

Mine is a 1981 edition. Modern sociology is considered in terms of foundation problems, form and content, norm and fact, general and specific. Then the problem of individual and community, universalism, individualism. Marxist sociology is examined. The author rejecting any secular, neutral common ground moves to formulate a Christian sociology from a largely Dutch reformed perspective. From a reformation view of calling we move to Kuyper's development of sphere sovereignty examining family, state, industry and church.

18. Understanding the Times by G. I. Williamson

Published in 1979 but still relevant this seems to be a study guide for Christian groups a each chapter concludes with questions and projects. The storm of rejecting of traditional Christianity is described in different spheres of life, the the causes, attempted solutions and the biblical answer. The author draws a lot on the work of Francis Schaeffer and this book sums ups lot of Schaeffer's thought and  work.