‘I recently re-read Kafka’s The Trial, and it struck me that it is a good illustration of the dilemma we face when confronted with a modernist vision of reality. Kafka shows that we live in a baffling world, through the bizarre situations in which the central character finds himself. After the tsunami, I wondered why God allows such things to happen. The Trial encourages us to accept events, without trying to control or understand them.

This is where the Christian gospel has so much to say. God enters a confusing world through Christ. We long for resolution, as if we are living inside a machine that we don’t understand. Our relationship with God helps us to understand the big Why.

I have also recently read The Beauty of the Infinite by David Bentley Hart. In this challenging book, Hart argues that rediscovering the aesthetic dimension of reality is an integral part of the Christian project. It is a rich book, which looks at figures including Milbank, Urs von Balthasar, and Gregory of Nyssa. I am keenly interested in getting natural theology back on track. One way is to persuade people of the Christian importance of beauty.

My instinct is to use argument to persuade people to the truth of the gospel, but Hart shows that the rhetoric of beauty can help people to see and understand the Christian message. The beauty of the world, of creation, transports us to discover the beauty of God. The book gave me many ideas about putting this into practice. My own meditation has been enriched by this reminder of the beauty and the glory of God’s creation.’

Franz Kafka, The Trial, various versions including Penguin, £7.99 (£7.10), 0-14-118290-3; David Bentley Hart, The Beauty of the Infinite , Eerdmans/Alban Books, £19.99 (£18), 0-8028-2921-X

To order email details to Church Times Bookshop