The Last of the Mohicans

The Last of the Mohicans
J. Fenimore Cooper
Purnell and sons Ltd
Printed by Dean & Sons

This is an old book, but nevertheless and fantastic story. It is set in the Americas, where the French and British are in dispute over various territories. The local red-Indian tribes have moved from their traditional hunting grounds, either because they have to, or to follow their new masters.

We start out with a simple journey; two young women are to be escorted home through difficult territory by a young Major. He has an Indian guide, but the guide is not all he appears. The journey is not completed, and the adventure begins. Without ruining the story I can say that they do not all get home safely – the story is too realistic for that. Friendships are made, savages prove to be both savage, and civilised (though the book does not admit so much, it is implied in many scenes), and the white man is not shown in too bad a light. There is plenty of action, particularly towards the end, when war breaks out.

It’s the characterisations that make a story, and these are all real people, but remember that the language is old, and sometimes difficult to penetrate. Each chapter starts with a short quote, often from Shakespeare, which I assume is suppose to set the scene, as in the introductions to chapters in some books that start “In which our hero …”. For me this didn’t work, perhaps it was the language, or perhaps it was my lack of knowledge of the classics. I’d recommend an up-to-date version if you’re going to read it.

Four Gospels, One Jesus?

Four Gospels, One Jesus?
Richard A. Burridge

SPCK (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge)

ISBN:0281047804

Another level, to help you get closer to the real person

How do you read the Bible? I think it can be read in a number of ways, too often we read it just as a reference book, which is not the way it was intended of course. When we study the Bible, we look at all the information we can get to find the context for the stories we're reading about. We try to understand what life was like in Jesus lifetime, we look at who wrote the gospels and when. All this is to help us to get a better understanding of the one Jesus that we a so concerned about learning about and from.

Jesus was a real person, so what was he like? There are some things that we can get from the texts we read. Even a superficial reading will give the impression that Jesus was clearly a charismatic teacher, ans someone who is not afraid of confrontation. I should add that he was also a Jew, with some amazing gifts, who made some astonishing claims. Quite quickly we arrive at the “God, mad or bad?” question, which tells us that Jesus is someone who is difficult to ignore.

To find out more we read the Gospels more carefully and try to understand who the author was, who he was writing for, and where he got his material. That gets us a little closer, but from the texts we still struggle with some of the apparent contradictions. Why are there four accounts? Are they just accounts from different reporters? Can we assume that these 'eye-witness accounts' suffer from the same problems as modern eye-witness accounts? Does that account for the differences? Did it all really happen?

If you're still with me, then you should read Four Gospels – One Jesus. The approach here is to try not only to understand some of the answers to the questions above, but also to understand how early Christian writers and their contemporaries wrote biographies. The approach they use is not the same as 20^th Century writers. Each Gospel is examined for its main theme using characterizations from the early church as a base. For example, in Mark, Jesus is a Lion; In John an Eagle. The use of these images is carefully explained, and can be a helpful way of remembering the main themes. For those who are familiar with Lord of the rings, Tolkein is referenced often, sometimes this is a strain, as in the description of the eagles who rescue Frodo and Sam from the mountain. In John, Jesus the Eagle is not under the command of anyone, but G... is clearly being directed by Gandalf, so the analogy breaks down too early.

Overall, this is a helpful book if you are really trying to get closer to the character of Jesus. It generally has an easy style, and is thought provoking, without getting too technical. If, like me, you finish the chapter on John, and ask “How are we ever going to get back to one Jesus now?”, then just read on.

Here are some links that might help:

http://www.eharper.nildram.co.uk/stm/fourone.pdf

http://www.spck.org.uk/cat/show.php/0281047804

Reign of Terror, Reign of Love

Reign of Terror - Reign of Love

Kefa Sempangi

A first hand account of life and death in Amin's Uganda

An Aslan Lion Paperback ISBN 0 86548 192 0 - First UK edition 1979.

Have you ever had a book scream "READ ME!" every time you walk past it? I bought this one ages ago, at a book sale somewhere, because the back cover starts "There were five of them, they stood between me and the door of the church vestry, pointing their rifles at my face." The author obviously survived because he wrote the book and I just love stories that show Gods power. It turned up while I was browsing through the book cabinet, and sat on top of the pile waiting to be read.

These stories are often moving and challenging, so I don’t always read them on the train. This one took my mind off having to stand for forty or more minutes.

As the book opens Kefa Sempangi is a professor at the Makerere University in Uganda and is also a leader of the Revival Fellowship. The mood is positive after the overthrow of Obote. We follow Kefa, his church and the developing situation in Uganda. Kefa starts a home for destitute children, and learns from God that he cannot save every one. Jesus says "Kefa, you are not the Messiah. You are not in charge of my vineyard. You are only one small worker …. This is the child I want you to take".

The church achieves amazing growth through the belief and dedication of its leaders. The leadership holds all night prayer meetings to resolve their problems, and seek Gods direction. It must leave them tired the next day, but there are never any complaints. Their commitment was my first challenge. As problems start with Amin’s assassins Kefa does not know how to pray for the children who have witnessed the massacre of their family, so he simply reads them John Gospel. The child is healed. There are many other healing, dramatic escapes from the assassins, victories over witch craft, and unexpected conversions as the church and Kefa grow. God is also seen to teach them in unexpected ways. In the middle of a crisis a woman asks them to pray because she needs a bed. Kefa is annoyed with her, agrees and sends her away. Next week she is back, praising Jesus excitedly – she has a bed. Kefa is more annoyed and tries to keep her quiet. From this he learns that "A religion is true if it works, if it meets all the needs of the people". My second challenge is to understand what this means for us 2001.

The story of Kefa’s escape from Amin is too good to tell here, so I’m keeping it for a talk at some time, unless of course you all read the book!!

My biggest challenge was early in the book, where there is a description of their confession. Kefa finds it a difficult experience, confessing all his "personal jealousies" and other very private sins. One of the other elders explains that when they hear confession (it happens in a group!), it is not the sins that they hear, but Jesus power of forgiveness. They seem to derive enormous power from Jesus’ forgiveness. That seems to me to be a part of Christianity that we are missing.

Pete Fisher 10/1/01