A Christian Miscellany (Tim Dowley) - A Review

 A CHRISTIAN MISCELLANY: Terrible Jokes, Curious Facts, and Memorable Quotes from the Garden of Eden to Armageddon. By Tim Dowley. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2022. Viii + 160 pages.

                This is more of a book note than a book review. I’m not sure how to review a book like this one. It is as advertised A Christian Miscellany. It is a hodgepodge, compilation, compendium of various jokes, facts, quotes, poems, songs, and more.

                The compiler of this mishmash of pieces is Tim Dowley, who is according to the bio a poet, playwright, and historian. He has written several books, most of which are directed at a general audience. He has had success in making church history accessible through atlases and histories of the church. In other words, he has spent enough time with church history to know what pieces to pull for our pleasure. So, if you need a book filled with lists of saints, popes, sins, virtues, as well as prayers, poems, and hymns, then you’ll enjoy this book. As for the jokes, the title gets it right. They tend to be bad. You know, like Noah’s Ark jokes, such as: “Why were there no card games on the ark? Because Noah sat on the deck” (p. 18).

                The first word we read in this compendium comes from Raymond Llull (c. 1232-c. 1315): “He who loves not lives not.” The last entry is a list of “Ten Novels About King David.” In between, you will find a list of National Saints and their Feast Days. There is a list of Biblical Records, such as the shortest reign (Zimri ruled Israel for seven days) and the shortest book in the Bible. That would be 2 John (thirteen verses). You might also like the list of hymns for specific jobs. Thus, the “Dentist’s Hymn” — “Crown Him with Many Crowns.” I think you get the picture.

                As noted above, A Christian Miscellaney is a difficult book to review. Some of the material is interesting and perhaps even useful (though I would warn preachers not to use the jokes in their sermons). The material tends to be British and European, which makes sense as Dowley is British. It's one of those books that you might put by the bedside for late-night reading when you can't sleep. If that is a need, then this is a book for you! Ultimately, this is just a book that is both informative and fun.