Adam Bittleston

Adam Bittleston is a new name to me, as I'm sure it will be to most readers. He was a priest of The Christian Community, a movement founded in 1922 with the help of Rudolf Steiner. Kenneth Gibson provides a vivid biographical introduction putting him in the context of his times, including the strong religious traditions in his family and his lifelong friendship with Sir William Golding. The remaining five parts reprint essays and articles on a variety of topics including Shakespeare, language, the spiritual life of England, artists and writers, and religion and the Gospels. The essay on the spiritual life of England, published in 1950, reflects on the previous 50 years with comments on Rudyard Kipling, William Temple, TS Eliot and Arnold Toynbee, who asks the question - how does one respond to a declining civilisation? Another essay discusses John Colet and St Thomas More, and there is a delightful piece on PG Wodehouse as well as essays on Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. On a personal note, I found his reflections on Albert Schweitzer of great interest. He describes both the background to his early work on the Gospels and the significance of his ethical principle of reverence for life. Bittleston comes across as a man and I would very much like to have met, erudite, humane and wide ranging in his concerns.