Touching God: Dementia and the bodies of Christ by Peter Kevern (Cascade Books, £18 (£16.20); 979-8-3852-3255-0).

“The dread of dementia has a unique hold over us, because dementia seems to eat away at what makes us human. If we lose our capacity to remember, to think, to act, and even to speak, what is left of us? And where is the God who promised to be with us? [...] The purpose of this book is to explore what these questions have to teach us, by reflecting theologically on the faith journey of people who live with dementia.” 

Killing the Messiah: The trial and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth by Nathanael J. Andrade (OUP, £19.99 (£17.99); 978-0-19-775248-7).

“Why did Pontius Pilate condemn a man he believed innocent? What was Jesus' crime? How should we understand Pilate's role in Jesus' execution? Killing the Messiah addresses these questions and analyzes Pilate's path to crucifying Jesus. It determines why and how Pilate deemed Jesus guilty of criminal behavior and the roles played by various people in ensuring Jesus' crucifixion. It also probes how the personal motivations and social obligations of Pilate and other authorities affected how they assessed Jesus' criminality.”

Paul’s Gospel of Divine Self-Sacrifice: Righteous reconciliation in reciprocity by Paul K. Moser (Cambridge University Press, £22.99 (£20.69); 978-1-009-24915-7). New in paperback

“In this book, Paul Moser explains how self-sacrificial righteousness of a reparative kind is at the heart of Paul's gospel of God. He also shows how divine self-sacrifice authenticates that gospel via human reciprocity toward God in reconciliation. A basis for this reciprocity lies in a teaching of ancient Judaism that humans are to reciprocate toward God for the sake of an interpersonal relationship that is righteous and reconciled through voluntary self-sacrifice to God.”


Selected by Frank Nugent, of the Church House Bookshop, which operates the Church Times Bookshop.