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.

This is a summary of recent books read by Martin Davie, compiling his evaluations and the commendations of others. This time Martin has not focused on newly published books, but on five books he has been reading recently and which he thinks are very valuable. In this edition: What Is Marriage?: Man and Woman: A Defense by Sherif Gergis, Ryan T. Anderson and Robert P. George. This a hugely important piece of Christian philosophical apologetic that Christians need to be aware

It was in St Paul’s cathedral last year that I learnt something about myself: I’m scared of heights! Climbing the stairs to take in the view from the dome at the top I began to feel dizzy. Then, stepping out onto the balcony I wondered how on earth what we were doing was supposed to be fun. And, despite my best efforts to the contrary, my fear was obvious to my wife. The classic advice, of course, is “don’t look down”. The poet Hugo Williams puts it this as, “Don’t look down,