THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY
Christmas from Genesis to Jesus
By Steve Brady. BRF. 194 pages. £7.99
ISBN 978 0 857 460 035
Several of Steve Brady’s many gifts are in evidence here; the pithy quote, the apt illustration, the grasp of Bible and gospel essentials. He offers 37 four-page daily readings spanning December 1 to January 6, part secular calendar, part ecclesiastical year, plus Postscript and brief Study Guide.
Some of the stories and quotes are old friends; where they are new and clearly first-hand they pack more punch. Each section ends with a brief ‘Reflection’, varying from verses of classic hymns to the author’s own gentle probings.
Who is it for? It could be an Advent or pre-Christmas present to a youngish Christian or someone on the fringes of faith, not a lover of long words or a natural devourer of more demanding books of devotion or doctrine. The person who says, ‘I’m not a great reader’, but is happy with small doses for a limited period. Might they be tempted to try something meatier next time? Easy to read, though, does not mean easy to write; full marks to the Principal of Moorlands College for finding the appropriate wavelength and staying with it.
One reader-friendly feature is the print-out of each Scripture passage. Not much encouragement, though, to open a whole Bible and find the place; this also means that only just over half the total pages are pure Brady.
Footnotes follow each week’s readings; sources range over Christian and other writers, with news stories and nuggets gained from other media, in the Richard Bewes or John Young style. In publishing this book, the Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF) takes a further evangelical step forward; some of its authors are more varied. But are we now stuck with the new meaning of ‘incredible’ — no longer the opposite of ‘credible’?
