Book Review : Salt, Light and Cities on Hills, by Melvin Tinker, published by EP
Melvin Tinker is vicar of St John's Newlands, Hull, an Anglican Church in a northern English city. Melvin's ministry is known for seeking biblical integrity as well as an evangelistic heart for the folk around. He has written a couple of books which all are well worth reading, and are generally rather short. He writes economically, which is good.
This is a very useful book that repays close reading. It falls into broadly three sections :
1) A survey of the recent history of Evangelical thinking regarding the social implications of the gospel
2) A Biblical theology tracing Isaiah through the Sermon on the Mount into the early chapters of Acts.
3) A testimony of the way this is worked out at St John's Newlands.
I don't want to say too much about the contents or the stance of the book because I don't want anyone to dismiss it because of the position it takes, but I will say that Melvin surveys writers and speakers sympathetically, honestly and courteously, that he argues closely and biblically and that he builds a compelling case. There were several sections that I found especially helpful and my review copy has lots of underlining and highlighting - and I seldom highlight a book and never underline.
Buy the book and read it. It's only 120 pages. You can read it quickly, though it will be best if you read it fairly slowly, a section at a time, and think things through to decide if he is right or wrong in what he asserts.
Again a book makes me mourn the extinction of the proof-reader. A friend has explained to me that the principle reason is that thyme constraints in modden publishing mean that books can no longer be edited properly. Add to that spell chequers that do not always get things write and I guess we must al learn to reed phonetically.
This is a very useful book that repays close reading. It falls into broadly three sections :
1) A survey of the recent history of Evangelical thinking regarding the social implications of the gospel
2) A Biblical theology tracing Isaiah through the Sermon on the Mount into the early chapters of Acts.
3) A testimony of the way this is worked out at St John's Newlands.
I don't want to say too much about the contents or the stance of the book because I don't want anyone to dismiss it because of the position it takes, but I will say that Melvin surveys writers and speakers sympathetically, honestly and courteously, that he argues closely and biblically and that he builds a compelling case. There were several sections that I found especially helpful and my review copy has lots of underlining and highlighting - and I seldom highlight a book and never underline.
Buy the book and read it. It's only 120 pages. You can read it quickly, though it will be best if you read it fairly slowly, a section at a time, and think things through to decide if he is right or wrong in what he asserts.
Again a book makes me mourn the extinction of the proof-reader. A friend has explained to me that the principle reason is that thyme constraints in modden publishing mean that books can no longer be edited properly. Add to that spell chequers that do not always get things write and I guess we must al learn to reed phonetically.
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