Abstract
This hugely enjoyable book has much to commend it. Parry sets out to do two things: to introduce the reader to the way in which the biblical authors physically pictured the heavens and the earth; and to explore how we as their spiritual heirs might profit from what they wrote. To achieve his first aim he takes the reader on a tour of the various elements of the ancient universe (e.g. earth, sky or heavens, underworld, sea) and some of the strange creatures that inhabit them (e.g. angels and chaos monsters). He illustrates from biblical texts how the biblical authors both speak of the world and the way God relates to the world in ways that are strange to modern ears (e.g. God speaks to mountains and the underworld). In order to achieve his second aim, Parry throws about ideas which arise from his discussion of the ancient cosmology in dialogue with theologians down the centuries, looking for ways in which this cosmology might speak to contemporary spirituality.
The book is very much a book of two halves. In the first (pp. 1–150 or chapters 1–7) Parry is a sure-footed guide who takes his reader relatively gently through the ancient world step by step on a tour where he introduces each new sector of the cosmos, giving his reader time to stop, think and take in what he is showing them. Just before the end of the tour (Chapter 8) the book changes gear and Parry discusses ways of rethinking and reimagining aspects of theology and faith. This second half of the book is a post-tour seminar with a very different feel. It is fast-paced, thick with ideas, and discussions raise questions rather than settling or answering them. Parry knows this, asking his reader at times whether his ideas are making sense – the point of this discussion being to raise the questions. In this seminar, he also moves from taking the reader gently through biblical texts to sudden, quick-fire dialogue with Christian thinkers from many eras who enter and exit the dialogue with quite some speed.
If I have a criticism it is that I would have preferred more systematic working through the questions raised. In fact, I would quite happily have read a second book. Perhaps I will! But do I recommend this book? Certainly, with a resounding ‘yes’ but also with a caveat. If you want a tour of the biblical cosmos, stop at Chapter 7. If you want to bash through ideas about how we can learn from the strangeness of the biblical universe, skim chapters 1 to 7 and focus on the rest with a notepad to hand to jot down what you think. Parry invites a conversation, so join in.