Eavesdropping: Learning to pray from those who talked to Jesus by Henry Martin (DLT, £12.99 (£11.70); 978-0-232-53389-7).
“This book of daily readings offers a wonderfully fresh way of deepening the way that we talk to God. Alongside author Henry Martin, we `eavesdrop', or `listen in', on 49 instances of people who actually spoke to Jesus in the Bible, and ask what we can learn from what they said and how he responded.”
The Table: Knowing Jesus: Prayer, friendship, justice by Paul Bayes (DLT, £12.99 (£11.70); 978-0-232-53372-9).
“The first book written by Paul Bayes as Bishop of Liverpool offers a radical new vision of the Church as a table, built by Jesus the carpenter and stretching down every street and into every home. At this table, everyone sits, eats, worships, agrees and disagrees together, as equals.”
Theology and Religion: Why it matters by Graham Ward (Polity, £9.99 (£9); 978-1-5095-2970-4).
“From US presidents holding Bible Studies in the Oval office, the massacre of Muslims in Buddhist Myanmar or the complex negotiation of Sunni and Shia alliances in the Middle East, religion currently dominates world affairs. Meanwhile the number of people who don't follow a particular faith, but consider themselves 'spiritual', continues to increase. Some scientists and anthropologists now think that religious feeling might be hard-wired into our DNA, a fundamental aspect of what makes us human. Graham Ward argues that the study of theology and religion, as a single academic discipline, plays a vital role in helping us to understand politics, world affairs, and the nature of humanity itself.”
Kingdom Come: Essential theology for the twenty-first century by Mark Philps (Sacristy Press, £9.99 (£9); 978-1-78959-003-6).
“Kingdom Come makes essential theological topics relevant and readable without diluting the Gospel message, drawing on the work of thinkers such as Augustine, John Calvin, George MacDonald, Karl Barth, C. S. Lewis, J. I. Packer and N. T. Wright.”
C. S. Lewis: A very short introduction by James Como (OUP, £8.99 (£8.10); 978-0-19-882824-2).
“Beloved by children and adults worldwide, the writings of C.S. Lewis have a broad and enduring appeal. Although he is best known for the iconic Chronicles of Narnia series, C. S. Lewis was actually a man of many literary parts. Already well-known as a scholar in the thirties, he became a famous broadcaster during World War Two and wrote in many genres, including satire (The Screwtape Letters), science fiction ( Perelandra), a novel (Till We Have Faces), and many other books on Christian belief, such as Mere Christianity and Miracles. His few sermons remain touchstones of their type.”