Michael Sadgrove

Luke the Composer

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“There is always room for intelligent new writing on the Gospels like this intriguing study of Saint Luke. Thomas J. Mosbø sees it as not only history or theology but a true work of art. Luke the composer has created a beautiful sonata form complete with exposition, development, and recapitulation. Mosbø examines carefully the hows and whys that went into the work of this most meticulous of evangelists. The author wears his scholarship lightly, which makes it all the more enjoyable to read. Some of his conclusions will no doubt be debated, but Mosbø achieves what matters most: to help us admire this Gospel even more than we did before, as one of the supreme testimonies to the vibrant faith of early Christianity.”

Poems, Piety, and Psyche

Arts & Literature

“In his poetry, David has found his voice as a confident doubter, an example of the person of faith who, in growing older, believes less and less, and yet believes what he does believe more and more. David’s critique of woodenly literal readings of Scripture and received doctrine is part of this. But it’s not the armchair assault of the detached intellectual. There’s a ruthless self-questioning in these poems, an examination of the foundations of his faith, even a willingness to interrogate his own vocation as a priest and ask what it has all been about. It feels challenging at times, even painful, to overhear this inner conversation. But this journey is necessary, I think, not only for David but for all of us if we are to have integrity as people of faith in a world of bewildering (yet beautiful) complexity. In such a world, religion can only ever be not the answer but the question. I’m grateful to David’s poems for helping me understand that more clearly.”