17th January 2022

One of the tasks that I have to face as we start to get ready to move is the clearing out of books.

I don’t have anything like as many as some of the academics at Tyndale; but for me it’s hard enough. Books aren’t just sources of information or even of inspiration. They hold memories, and feelings. One gets attached to books in almost a physical way; to what they mean, as well as what they say.

There has been much talk in recent years of the paperless office and there’s no denying the convenience of a Kindle (other electronic reading devices are available), especially for holiday reading, I find.

Yet there’s been a resurgence in the sale of books and of small, independent, bookshops; and it’s not just books – vinyl record sales are increasing rapidly; old cameras and film are making a comeback; veteran car clubs abound.

Nostalgia? Partly; but that’s not an unalloyed good thing. I think it’s also a sign that we are physical, not just mental (or even spiritual) beings.

Bread and wine, are, after all, central to the faith that has a real, physical, human being at its heart.

Michael Docker