This is a summary of recent books read by Martin Davie, compiling his evaluations and the commendations of others. In this edition: You Shall Be Clean': A Biblical Theology of Defilement and Cleansing by G. Geoffrey Harper. This is a book written by a scholar for other scholars, for those who are already familiar with the biblical and extra-biblical material and who want to examine in more detail what this material has to say about defilement and cleansing. Those who come int

O all ye who pass by, behold and see; Man stole the fruit, but I must climb the tree; The tree of life to all, but only me: Was ever grief like mine? The Sacrifice, George Herbert Through the cross and empty tomb, life is offered to a world condemned to die. For many early Christians, this paradox at the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was visualised through the image of the cross as the Tree of Life. The Tree of Life stood in the heart of the Garden of Eden, offering

The pain of loss can feel unbearable. It can come close to breaking us. The absence of the one we love, the fear, the disbelief, the anger, the changes, and the disorientation that bereavement can bring has to be one of the hardest things any human can go through. It’s no surprise grief is hard. Death is humanity’s enemy. Death was not part of Eden’s design – it won’t be part of the new heavens and the new earth – it is a product of the fall, and one that we all rail against.