Christopher Catherwood

This book gets a bit muddled at periods but, it does give an insight into the post WWI British attitude. The feeling of the Brits, which has only partially changed, seems to have been that the world is divided into Brits and foreigners who, will be grateful to the benefits (?) of British governance.

Countries were created by a few jolly good chaps, sitting with a pen, ruler and a map. Decades later, when they erupt into civil war, the argument is that this proves the need for "civilised" rule.

I began this book expecting it to reinforce my prejudices against Churchill but, the truth is that he was little worse than his compatriots. A depressing, yet worthwhile, read.… (mehr)

An analysis of the events that led to the creation of the modern nation of Iraq in the final years of the First World War and in the aftermath thereof. The basic theme of the book appears to be that Iraq was a construct that was slapped together out of expediency, both to deal with French ambitions in the Middle East, and to deal with financial restrictions on the British Empire in the wake of the war. One interesting note in the book I found was the fact that the author makes a case that the account of "Lawrence of Arabia" in "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" is largely fictional. The author also notes that the title shouldn't be read as a critique of Churchill, though he doesn't come off very well in the book; the author twice refers to a poison gas memorandum -- though he doesn't go into a great deal of detail as to how much it was put into effect, or whether Churchill truly understood the implications of what he was writing. (There's a notion that Churchill thought poison gas made people sneeze.) An interesting and plausible book written around the time of the invasion of Iraq in the Second Gulf War. So far, as of 2019, Iraq has held together.… (mehr)

This is a book suffering from an identity crisis. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: His Life and Relevance for the 21st Century (MLJ) is part-biographical introduction to the great British preacher, part-attempt at analysing some of the controversies of the Doctors' ministry, and part-opportunity to share the authors opinions on contemporary Evangelicalism in the UK and the USA. A book on any one of these topics would be highly welcome but such an amalgamation into a single slim volume fails.

Moreover, MLJ's difficulties are compounded by Catherwood's insistence that he can maintain objectivity when assessing the impact of the life of his Grandfather. For completely understandable and human reasons, he fails to do so.

Within the book you'll read:

• An exhortation to only use Biblical language rather than systems or labels. Which seems to run a cropper, when one discusses the Trinity!

• A discussion of Lloyd-Jones' views on the Holy Spirit that result in him being neither Pentecostal nor Conservative, nor really definable.

• Commenting on the 1960s liberalisation of society, Catherwood says, "In Britain the laws on issues such as divorce and homosexuality were altered in a humanistic direction." Leading one to believe that criminalising homosexuality, was a more godly mark of society!

• There are constant references to 9Marks/John MacArthur/The Gospel Coalition that feel artificially inserted to boost the sales of the book.

• And so forth.

There are encouraging sections in here, such as the details about Lloyd-Jones' involvement with IFES but sadly they are drowned out by the rest. If this had been a personal, family, memoir of the man then it would have been a much more forgivable book. Owing to the authors insistence that he can be objective about his much-loved grandfather, it must be held to a different standard.

There is a great need for a slim biography of the Doctor that draws lessons for today's society and church from his life. This is not that book.… (mehr)