Tag: religion

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: The Jericho Manuscript – Julian Doyle

ramblingmads

At last, the incredible account of Sherlock Holmes’ investigation into the brutal murder of Canon Alfred Lilly and the secrets of the Jericho Manuscript can finally be published. Although Holmes’ faithful friend, Dr. John Watson, gave strict instructions that his account should not be released till a hundred years after his death, it has not made the astonishing discoveries any less explosive now as they were when written in 1901.

“Sherlock Holmes meets the Da Vinci Code in a gripping murder mystery.” – Daily Express
“Is this the most extraordinary Holmes Adventure ever written? The answer is ‘elementary'” – The Sun

It was 24th June, when the Rev. David Adams discovered his friend Canon Alfred Lilly dead at his desk in a pool of blood. The police considered it suicide, but the Rev. Adams refused to accept the verdict and employed the celebrated detective to locate the murderer and the missing Jericho Manuscript that Lilly had been translating.
The hunt for the killer takes Holmes and Watson to Paris where an encounter with mystic composer, Claude Debussy and his symbolist friends, not only leads to Holmes unravelling the secret history of Notre Dame Cathedral but forces the chase south to the birthplace of Nostradamus and the fortified town of Carcassonne. At the mysterious Magdalene church at Rennes-le-Châteaux, Holmes uses all his observational skills to decipher the heretical statues recently erected by the local priest, Abbé Saunière.
Clues lead the intrepid detective and his excitable friend to the Monastère de Prouilhe, the centre of the dreaded Dominican monks who supervised the horrifying tortures and burnings of thousands of innocent Christian Cathars in the area. Can Sherlock Holmes use his special talents to extract from these monks the final link to the Jericho Manuscript and the monumental secrets it contains? The game’s afoot in an unmissable thriller that breaks through from fascinating fiction to extraordinary reality.

As we unravel the secrets of the Jericho Manuscript, never forget Sherlock Holmes famous axiom,
“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth”

JULIAN DOYLE, is one of the world’s most versatile Film Makers. He has written, directed, photographed, edited and created Fxs all to the highest standards. He is most famous for editing the Monty Python Films like ‘LIFE OF BRIAN’ and shooting the Fxs for Terry Gilliam’s ‘TIMEBANDITS and ‘BRAZIL’, which he also edited. His cult classic ‘CHEMICAL WEDDING’ featuring Simon Callow about the outrageous British occultist, Aleister Crowley and described by one US reviewer as ‘Thoroughly entertaining although at times you wonder if the film makers have not lost all there senses’. He has directed award winning pop videos such as Kate Bush’s ‘CLOUDBUSTING’ featuring Donald Sutherland and Iron Maiden’s ‘PLAY WITH MADNESS’. He recently wrote and directed the play ‘TWILIGHT OF THE GODS’ investigating the tumultuous relationship between Richard Wagner and Friedrich Nietzsche and described by ‘Philosophy Today’ magazine as ‘masterful’.

Julian was born in London and started life in the slums of Paddington. His Irish father, Bob, was one of the youngest members of the International Brigade that went to fight against Franco’s invasion of democratic Spain. His mother, Lola, was born in Spain of an Asturian miner who died early of silicosis. She was thereafter brought up in a Catholic orphanage in Oviedo.

Julian started his education at St. Saviours, a church primary school. He went on to Haverstock Secondary school, one of the first comprehensive schools in England. His first job was as a junior technician to Professor Peter Medawar’s team, which won the Nobel Prize soon after Julian’s arrival. Not that he claims any credit for that. At night school he passed his ‘A’ level exams and took a Zoology degree at London University. After a year at the Institute of Education, he taught biology for a year before going to the London Film School. Besides film making, Julian is well known for his Master-classes in Film Directing. While still at school, Julian had a daughter, Margarita who was brought up in the family. He then had 2 further children, Jud and Jessie.

My thoughts: An interesting blend of Sherlock Holmes and The Da Vinci Code (which I thought was rubbish) inspired by the author’s research into the history of the Bible (his book The After-life of Brian expands on a lot of this)

After a Canon is murdered, a friend of his asks Dr Watson for his and Holmes’ help in solving the murder and locating a stolen scroll relating to the Bible, that the Canon (a position in the Church of England, higher than a vicar but lower than a Bishop) was translating when he was killed. The hunt takes Holmes and Watson across the Channel to France and deep into the turbulent history of early Christianity in Europe and also the literal history of the Biblical figures around the time of the crucifixion.

The quest focuses on the historic Jesus, the person, not the Christ of faith, so please read with a large pinch of salt if you’re religious, and if you’re easily offended, maybe read something else.

As someone raised in the Church, named after Mary Magdalene, whose family come from France, and who has studied the Bible quite extensively. I nodded at a lot of the points Holmes raises, I’ve also read not only this author’s previous book, but others with similar interests. Some of the things Holmes and Watson discuss as they travel across France I am familiar with, some was new to me. At no point are they disrespectful although I always thought Holmes was an atheist, partly because his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, was a Spiritualist who believed in ghosts and fairies, and partly because I can’t imagine him believing in anything without being able to see it for himself. Dr Watson is definitely CofE.

I really enjoyed this book, it’s a fascinating mix of fiction and theory that is debated theologians and historians of the period. While ultimately Holmes cannot reclaim the vital scroll, he does solve the murder along the way, and indulges in a complex and enjoyable debate with his friend and companion.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Jesus and Women – Niamh M Middleton

ramblingmads

In Jesus and Women, Niamh Middleton combines insights from evolutionary biology, feminism and the #MeToo movement to highlight the revolutionary attitude of Jesus towards women. Her careful exegesis, comparing the treatment and depiction of women in the Old and New Testaments, illuminates the way forward for the treatment of women by Church and society. More importantly, however, it holds the potential to greatly enrich our understanding of Jesus’ divinity.

Middleton’s bold approach encourages Christian women to reclaim their religion as a tool for empowerment, correcting the regressive course that Christianity has taken in this regard since Roman times. She also cites the remarkable life and untimely death of Western heroine Diana, Princess of Wales as an archetypal example of why Christianity must be reclaimed by its female members. Above all, she powerfully argues that while political feminism can tackle the symptoms of the perennial ‘battle of the sexes’, only a revolution of grace can bring about a full restoration of the harmony between the sexes described in Genesis.

 

Praise for Jesus and Women

“As the global #MeToo movement has clearly demonstrated, women are no longer willing to accept being treated as the ‘second sex’, both inside and outside of the Church. Jesus and Women is an inspirational call-to-action for all women, making it clear that they are every bit the equal of men in God’s eyes and that it is time to make their voices heard to bring about the fair and impartial world that is their inheritance and due. A must read.” Richard Moriarty, The Sun 

 

“Jesus and Women: Beyond Feminism by feminist theologian Dr Niamh M. Middleton provides a long-overdue dissection of institutional sexism within the Church, and how women must lead the way in restoring gender equality. This is an essential read for all Christians, and anyone concerned with the question of gender equality.”

Timothy Arden, The Scotsman

Dr Niamh M. Middleton lectured in Theology and Philosophy at Dublin City University from 2005 until 2020, when she decided to take early retirement in order to focus on writing  Jesus and Women: Beyond Feminism, published through The Lutterworth Press. She previously studied at Mater Dei, Dublin and the Pontifical University, Maynooth. Her main area of research concerns the implications of evolutionary theory for Christianity and the relationship between religion and science overall. Her previous publications include Homo Lapsus: Sin, Evolution and the God who is Love (2019). Visit www.niamhmiddletonauthor.com.

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Twitter: @briemma

FB: @niamhmmiddleton

My thoughts: I was raised going to church and as a feminist, so this book intersected with my personal interests quite nicely.

It is very interesting, exploring the women of the Bible – in the Old Testament, and then in more detail and with relation to Jesus, the women of the New Testament – particularly Mary, his mother, Mary Magdalene, and Martha and Mary, sisters of Lazarus.

I didn’t agree with everything that was said and there were bits I did really like too. Which is the right balance I think with an academic text. I’m passing my copy onto my mum to get her take – she’s a practicing Christian and feminist, so it will be interesting to see how she approaches it.

I think this book is certainly useful for women’s groups at churches, as a starting point for discussion and in the way it aims to bring the discussion about the role of women in the Bible and in the church up to date. Dr Middleton is very knowledgeable and writes in an engaging, relatable way that made it easy to follow and connect with.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Reprobation, Consuming Fire & Sound – Catherine Fearns*

ramblingmads

Reprobation

Are you one of the elect?

Dr. Helen Hope is a lecturer in eschatology – the study of death, judgement, and the destiny of
humankind. She is also a Calvinist nun, her life devoted to atoning for a secret crime.

When a body is found crucified on a Liverpool beach, she forms an unlikely alliance with suspect Mikko Kristensen, lead guitarist indeath metal band Total Depravity. Together, they go on the trail of a rogue geneticist who they believe holds the key – not just to the murder, but to something much darker.

Also on the trail is cynical Scouse detective Darren Swift. In his first murder case, he must confront
his own lack of faith as a series of horrific crimes drag the city of two cathedrals to the gates of hell.

Science meets religious belief in this gripping murder mystery.

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Consuming Fire

What Has Been Seen Cannot Be Unseen…
Liverpool is in the grip of an intense heatwave, and strange things are happening.
A woman dies in an apparent case of Spontaneous Human Combustion; a truck explodes on the dock road; the charred corpses of pets litter the city; forest fires ravage the pinewoods…and there are birds everywhere, silent flocks drawing in ominously.

Detective Inspector Darren Swift thinks there are connections, and his investigation delves into the worlds of football, nightclubs and organised crime. But is he imagining things?
Dr. Helen Hope doesn’t think so. And she believes the key lies in a mysterious seventeenth-century
occult book which has gone missing from Liverpool Library.
In the blistering sequel to Reprobation, DI Swift is forced to confront some inconvenient ghosts from his past, as a terrifying shadow lies over his city’s reality….

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Sound

Can you hear it?
A professor of psychoacoustics is found dead in his office. It appears to be a heart attack, until a second acoustician dies a few days later in similar circumstances.
Meanwhile, there’s an outbreak of mysterious illnesses on a council estate, and outbursts of unexplained violence in a city centre nightclub. Not to mention strange noises coming from the tunnels underneath Liverpool. Can it really be a coincidence that death metal band Total Depravity are back in the city, waging their own form of sonic warfare?

Detective Inspector Darren Swift is convinced there are connections. Still grieving his fiancé’s death and sworn to revenge, he is thrown back into action on the trail of a murderer with a terrifying and undetectable weapon.

But this case cannot be solved using conventional detective work, and D.I. Swift will need to put the rulebook aside and seek the occult. expertise of Dr. Helen Hope and her unlikely sidekick, guitarist Mikko Kristensen.

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Catherine Fearns is a writer from Liverpool. Her novels Reprobation (2018) and Consuming Fire (2019) are published by Crooked Cat and are both Amazon bestsellers. As a music journalist Catherine has written for Pure Grain Audio, Broken Amp and Noisey. Her short fiction and non-fiction has appeared in Toasted Cheese, Succubus, Here Comes Everyone, Offshoots and Metal Music Studies.

She lives in Geneva with her husband and four children, and when she’s not writing or parenting, she plays guitar
in a heavy metal band.

Twitter Website

My thoughts:

I found these books very interesting and I wanted at times to crack out my theology and literature notes from uni and debate the characters. This happens to be one of my slightly weird areas of special interest – having been brought up in the church and fascinated by the literature around and about religion.

I also really like crime fiction, so this intersection appealed to me. I’m not a metal fan but I did think the musicians from Mikko’s band were probably quite sweet and always nice to their mums, despite their appearances.

While Reprobation could be a standalone, Consuming Fire and Sound really do need to be read together as the plot stretches across both books. They’re not long reads so you can easily read all three in a weekend if you wanted to.

When dead bodies with religious connections start appearing in Liverpool (read the characters’ voices with appropriate accents – it’s definitely better) DI Darren Swift consults eschatology professor, and nun, Helen, and she begins a parallel investigation with heavy metal musician Mikko, keen to prove they’re not suspects.

They become involved in Swift’s next case too, where a mysterious demonology book and an ancient cult start trying to gain more power in modern Liverpool city centre. Mix this with gangsters, strange deaths, weird noises and ghosts and you have a paranormal crime thriller that keeps you gripped.

These books were really enjoyable and just a little bit bonkers, which is a good thing, and I hope there’s more where these came from.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.