“Paul – The Mind of the Apostle” by A. N. Wilson

Completed on 24^th of December 2017. Rated with 3 stars.

Review: 

An interpretation of Paul’s life and work based on his letters and four Gospels juxtaposed with the historical events and available historical data. Author suggests that Paul, and not Jesus, was the “Founder of Christianity”. He claims that there was nothing in the religious vocabulary of his tradition which would have enabled him to see his death as an atoning sacrifice. It is Paul’s letters which see Christ as the gateway to salvation.

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Notes:

Pharisaism disappeared after 70 A.C. and evolved into the rabbinic Judaism which produced the great literature of the Talmud and the Mishnah.

The Ebionites were Jewish Christians based in Jerusalem. James, Jesus’ brother was their leader. It is they who debate with Paul about whether Gentiles can be admitted to the Church. The Ebionites did not believe that Jesus was a divine being, or that he had been born of a virgin. They thought of him as a great prophet.

In Jewish tradition, a Levite is a member of the Israelite Tribe of Levi, descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The Tribe of Levi served particular religious duties for the Israelites. The Kohanim were the priests, who performed the work of holiness in the Temple. The Levites, who were not Kohanim, were specifically assigned to singing and/or playing music in the Temple, serving as guards, carrying.

The Sadducees were a sect or group of Jews that fulfilled various political, social, and religious roles, including maintaining the Temple.

The Essenes congregated in communal life dedicated to asceticism (some groups practised celibacy), voluntary poverty, and daily immersion. The Dead Sea Scrolls are commonly believed to be the Essenes' library.

"The Girls of Slender Means" by Muriel Spark

Completed on 9^th of November 2017. Marked with 3 stars.

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Review: 

A story revolves around the group of young women living at the May of Teck Club house in London, and their male companions, in summer of 1945. What made me persist with this novel was the author’s specific sense of humour. The final part, when the club house is set on fire by the undetected exploding bomb, and collapses with one of the women, was quite dramatic in its description and worth waiting for.

Characters:

·       Anne Barberton - Geoffrey’s sister

·       Geoffrey Barberton - a captain

·       Jack Buchanan - Pauline Fox’s friend

·       Rudi Buttesch - not liked by Jane

·       Joanna Childe - a daughter of a country rector, an elocution teacher

·       Miss Coleman (Collie) - an elderly resident in the house

·       Colonel Felix Dobell - an American guest at the house lunch, invited by Selina

·       Nicholas Farmington - a man apparently killed in Haiti. Working with Jane Wright. A writer.

·       Pauline Cox - a mad girl

·       Miss Harper - a cook

·       Miss Jarman (Jarvie) - an elderly resident in the house

·       George Johnson - Jane’s boss

·       Tilly Johnson - George’s wife

·       Miss Macgregor (Greggie) - an elderly resident in the house

·       Dorothy Markham - Owner of the model agency, impoverished niece of Lady Markham, lives in the May of Teck house

·       Lady Julia Markham - A chairwoman of the committee of the May of Teck Club house.

·       Judy Redwood - a shorthand typist in the Ministry of Labour. Geoffrey’s sister

·       Selina Redwood - exceedingly beautiful

·       Nancy Riddle - a clergyman’s daughter

·       Jane Wright - the woman columnist, a fat girl

"The Driver's Seat" by Muriel Spark

Completed on 22^nd of November 2017. Marked with 3 stars.

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Review: 

A short story about a woman – Lise, who winds up her own life by choosing, with the greatest care, her own murderer. It contemplates, in a comic spirit, the oddity of stories, and story-tellers, who, within sometimes unacknowledged limits, can control action and outcome.