REVIEWER: Alan Rashleigh

BOOK: Being Human: A New Lens for our Cultural Conversations

(SPCK, 2024) 256pp, paperback, RRP £14.99

This book is a guide to anyone who wishes to share the biblical vision of what it is to be human. It is difficult, however, to determine to whom the book is aimed. Parts of it will resonate with individuals seeking to live their lives according to their personal vision and experience of biblical teaching but, for others, it is how they live in a multi-cultural society.

It appears that the book is most relevant for individuals, small support groups or counsellors. It is not a book I would suggest is necessarily appropriate for preachers, but there are some useful background comments and a few interesting insights into well-known stories (eg The Prodigal Son).

The book attempts to assist readers in answering the following very personal, basic questions:

Who am I?

Does life matter?

What will make me happy?

The main part of the book looks at four aspects to help answer the above questions, and are headed: significance, connection, presence and participation. Each section begins and ends with a ‘Selah’ and a prayer, with each section giving guidance to readers to help them understand what it means to be human, and to make them realise their lives do matter, by use of biblical material.

Each of the four aspects are dealt with in a similar helpful format. It reflects on the questions to consider, followed by three suggested practices, getting started, going deeper and going further. As the subject matter is very personal, and the reader may have specific issues to deal with at that particular time, they will find the book helpful in resolving their issues and concerns.

My only criticism is that, in places, the language used would benefit from definitions, eg ‘accidental gnostics’, ‘examen’, ‘love’ and ‘Sabbath’. A theologian may understand those words, but ordinary readers may have difficulty in following the text.

Reviewer: Alan Rashleigh has been a Methodist local preacher for 48 years and is a retired ATC chaplain; he is a VAT consultant specialising in charities and is a former Finance Director of LWPT and LWPHomes.