THIS small book has potentially big consequences.
Based on the television series of Good Omens, a book by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, it is primarily designed as a course for individuals, but it would easily work for groups.
Ineffable Love has many aspects and approaches, and it is this that gives the resources power. Unlike other courses that claim to allow participants to ask questions while pretending to deliver all the answers, this material, instead of providing doctrinal certitude, tends to pose queries for the reader to mull over and respond to.
The authors use clips from the TV show, sadly now only available through the corporate monster Amazon Prime, despite its BBC genesis, as springboards to six issues: justice, body and matter, power, beliefs, hope, and love and renewal. If you do not have access to the video, Alex Booer and Emma Hinds provide a précis of the clips.
They also use plenty of scripture — you will need a Bible to use this effectively — and personal anecdotes, stories, and poetry. It is a mixture that allows many entry points. The changing pattern, all written in a vibrant and engaging style, ensures a deceptively easy avenue to walk some rough terrain.
Booer, an engineering geologist, and the playwright and novelist Hands both worship at St Nicholas’s, Burnage. They are hooked into fans’ networks, an ever-widening aspect of online culture, which had its roots in fanzines, and the authors urge readers and participants to take this step to contribute their reflections in such forums.
Ineffable Love is fluid with personal pronouns, even for the Almighty, responding to a commendable inclusivity.
This book has much to recommend it in a culture that embraces the expanding and restrictive intellectual practices at work in the world.
The Revd Kevin Scully is a poet and retired priest.
Ineffable Love: Exploring God’s purposes in Good Omens: A study guide based on the hit TV series
Alex Booer and Emma Hinds
DLT £12.99
(978-0-232-53454-2)
Church Times Bookshop £11.69
