Eternal Idol

I’ve just been informed of what I believe is the first published review of my book. I was numb after I read it, so let me explain precisely why this should be before I direct you towards the link.

I’m 49 years old and the fact that I’ve spent most of my life engaged in pursuits that have interested me and captured my imagination is something that enables me to sleep easily at nights, when I eventually get to rest my head on my pillow. Without so much as contemplating going into detail about my own ‘missing years’, it’s fair to say that a great many of my friends and acquaintances expressed polite surprise when they learned that I, of all people, had written a book about Jesus.

Well, what can I say? I’m extremely proud of it and it’s an investigation conducted along the lines of a modern missing person’s enquiry into the whereabouts of the most famous person ever to have lived, during that period of life between the ages of 12 and 30. Nonetheless, I understand perfectly that many people of all faiths or none might initially think that it’s some kind of evangelical or fringe work, but it is not.

With this in mind, I was surprised and intrigued to learn from my publishers that Frank Somers (pictured above, in white, and at the bottom of this piece) had earnestly requested a copy for review. Frank is the leading light and spokesman of the Stonehenge Druids and he’s chosen to contribute to the pages of Eternal Idol in recent times, putting forward his views on various matters in an eloquent, passionate and informed fashion. While I have a great deal to say about the ancient Druids and their links with Stonehenge, it would be accurate to say that I don’t proceed in reverential awe of some of the modern Druids, nor am I exactly wide-eyed with admiration for some of those who claim to represent the various orders and organisations.

Frank Somers, however, is an exception, and I’m clearly not alone in holding this point of view. I understand that English Heritage keep Frank’s details available as a point of contact for those various media organisations wishing to learn more about Stonehenge and the beliefs of the latter-day Druids, while he was also chosen to lead the ceremony at Stonehenge last year that was conducted by Professors Wainwright and Darvill, pictured below, [along with what many people have pointed out to be a face looking on from the side of one of the uprights].

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I disagree with the conclusions drawn by these two gentlemen, Professors Wainwright and Darvill, after their excavation, but that is an entirely separate matter from their obvious learning, skills, experience and love for Stonehenge, not to mention the many gems of truly fascinating information they brought to light as a result of their dig.

Furthermore, they demonstrably possess good grace and generosity of spirit, qualities I admire immensely in anyone, because they not only invited the Druids along to perform an opening ceremony, but they also took part in an entirely respectful fashion, regardless of any private views they may or may not have entertained. I suggest that if more archaeologists, Druids and others could emulate the example of these gentlemen, then we and Stonehenge would all profit from it.

You can watch this opening ceremony, if you wish, and you can judge for yourselves how Professors Wainwright and Darvill comported themselves and how eloquently and reasonably Frank presented the case for the Druids and other pagans. This was a landmark occasion in many ways, because it was the first excavation carried out at Stonehenge itself since the 1960s, so it required consent from the highest levels of English Heritage, the custodians of the monument, while the excavation was backed by the prestigious Smithsonian Museum and filmed by the BBC’s flagship Timewatch programme.

I was naturally hoping that my book would contain much of interest for any pagans, but I wouldn’t have been remotely surprised if it had received a decidely lukewarm response from the Stonehenge Druids, given the nature of their faith and the title of my book. You may therefore imagine my astonishment, surprise and pleasure when I read that the leading Stonehenge Druid viewed it as “one of the most exciting books I have read in decades” adding that he thought it had the potential to be world changing for many people.

There’s more generous praise contained in his review, which positively made me blush, but you can read it for yourselves, if you wish. I also noted that Frank chose to take into consideration and to freely acknowledge the fact that while Jesus is of course the central figure in Christianity, he is also the second most revered prophet in Islam.

The book’s foreword was written by an archaeologist with an impeccable background and a number of prominent Christians in Britain have asked for review copies, so I’m very pleased by this, as well as by the fact that The Watkins Review, Kindred Spirit magazine and others have invited me to write for them, while I’ve also received generous invitations from The Isbourne Foundation and others. However, if anyone “out there” can point me towards a mainstream Muslim publication in Britain that might be interested in reading and reviewing my book, I would be very grateful indeed.

In the meantime, I’d obviously like to thank Frank Somers for his very kind words about my book. I naturally wish him the best of luck with his various endeavours relating to Stonehenge, and out of common courtesy, I will happily support this honourable, well-intentioned and sincere man as best I can in the pursuit of his varied aims.