After her husband was killed by an escaped psychiatric patient, Kate Ryder (Amy Jo Johnson) moves back to the town where she grew up and went to high school and to be reunited with her sister, Jessica (Carol Alt). Her sister runs the local coffee shop and is able to lookafter Kate's son Sam. Kate soon meets up with her old boyfriend Tom and they pick up on their former relationship. Although Kate moves in to live with her sister she badly needs a job and, just by chance, the receptionist of the local doctor, Dr. Mark Lucas (David Haydn-Jones), has just died suddenly of a heart attack. Kate gets the job as the new receptionist but soon her suspicions are aroused by the doctor's rather secretive behavior. The local taxi driver warns Kate that the doc is evil and soon, he too dies of a heart attack. The plot is quite simplistic but the storyline is quite tense and the acting passable. The story, though fiction, is based on real cases where doctors in both England and America turn out to be serial killers and psychopaths.

This is an intriguing film. Criminalist Lincoln Rhyme (Denzil Washington) is crippled by a roof-fall while investigating a case. Four years later, as a quadriplegic confined to his bed, he is called in to investigate another crime. The title of the film is the title of a macabre book that the killer is using as `inspiration' for his crimes. Rhyme is assisted by Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie) who discovered the remains in this new case. Although only a constable, she shows such ability as a criminalist she is kept on the case. Captain Howard Cheney (Michael Rooker) is less than pleased to have Rhyme in charge of the case. The twists and turns of the story as new victims are discovered and new evidence emerges, piece by piece, make for fascinating viewing.

This CD features two quite lovely piano quintets, beautifully played by a quartet of players from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra with Clifford Curzon at the piano. The first piece is by Antonin Dvorak, who composed two piano quintets. The first of these is a relatively early work that Dvorak composed in 1872 when he was 31. The second of his quintets was composed only 15 years later and remains one of his most popular chamber works.

The other piece on the CD is by César Franck and, along with his other major chamber works - the violin sonata and the string quartet - reminds the listener of the atmosphere of Franck's best known work, the symphony in d minor. The recordings are quite dated now, coming from the early 1960s, but I never tire of listening to such beautiful music so engagingly played.

This is a western with a difference. The story centres on a train travelling from the town of Myrtle to an army fort at Humboldt. The train is ostensibly carrying urgently needed medical supplies to the Fort to counter an outbreak of diphtheria. In reality however it is carrying a whole load of munitions for the local tribe of Indians who are assisting a wanted criminal Levi Calhoun (Robert Tessier). On the train are Governor Richard Fairchild (Richard Crenna) and his fiancé Marica (Jill Ireland), a local law officer, Marshal Pearce (Ben Johnson), a medic, Dr Molyneux (David Huddleston), a priest, Rev. Peabody (Bill McKinney) and a gambler who seems to be a wanted man, John Deakin (Charles Bronson). As the train makes its way to the fort, there are various incidents that cast suspicion on the whole venture, including the death of the doctor and the priest. It emerges that Deakin is not who he seems to be and the question arises as to who is responsible for the deaths aboard the train and will it ever reach the Fort. This film was made in 1975 based on an Alistair MacLean and was directed by Tom Gries.

FBI agent Terry McCaleb is retired from the Agency when he suffers a heart attack while chasing a suspect. He has a heart transplant and one day a young woman Graciella Rivers (Wanda de Jesus) turns up at his boat asking him to find out who murdered her sister in a bodega robbery. She appeals to his sense of duty as the heart McCaleb has transplanted into him was that of Rivers' sister. Rivers' sister also had a little boy, Raymond Torres (Mason Lucero), and Rivers says she wants justice for him too. McCaleb agrees, much to the consternation of his cardiologist, Dr Bonnie Fox (Anjelica Huston). To help him get around McCaleb hires his neighbour boat-owner, Jasper `Buddy' Noone (Jeff Daniels). There are various red herrings in the investigation but the story is resolved convincingly in the end. There's also plenty of action - too much for someone with a new heart! But it's like a milder version of the Dirty Harry movies.

Born-again Deist by Beth Houston, New Deism Press, Florida, 339 pages, 2009.

The opening chapter details the author's spiritual journey: in summary, she embraced deism because `it made the most sense'. The interpretation of deism Houston uses is one based on the ideas of Edward Herbert, the 17th century Anglo-Welsh religious philosopher. Houston emphasizes that deism was the religion of the Founding Fathers of America and she explains how it differs from theism or humanism. Deism, she says, `is a universally inclusive natural religion [founded on] God as truth' and, quoting the works of Thomas Paine, makes a very persuasive case which, as a Doctor of Divinity, she is well qualified to do. Chapter 2 discusses the philosophical significance of belief in deism, with commentary on scepticism and faith, and on good and evil. Houston makes the valid point that worship of the sky-God of western orthodox religion is the same as idol worship.

In Chapter 3 Houston elaborates on how she came to adopt deist beliefs and how important she felt her own, innate spirituality to be. She gives a stinging criticism of American evangelism, pointing out that awareness of the divine - like all knowledge - has to originate from within the individual. This is followed in the next chapters by a critique of the barbarism of the exhortations of the Old Testament, a critique that leaves no doubt about the Bible's human authors; and a chapter on how the Bible can be more meaningfully interpreted as myth.

It isn't until Chapter 6 that we get to Paul and the New Testament, again highlighting its anomalies, so that in Chapter 7 Houston encourages us to `Worship God, not the Bible', but with full understanding of how emotionally painful a process it may be for an individual to accept that the Bible is a human construct and not `God's word'. In this and the following two chapters, Houston very professionally demystifies the Bible by giving details of its origin and presenting the comments of philosophers like Philo on its interpretation. As the author says: `Apologists sometimes offer absurd explanations in order to force-fit the discrepancies into a distorted version of "truth"'.

The supposedly unique qualities of Jesus as Christ are representative of myths that have been extant in several civilizations of both East and West long before the life of Jesus. As for Satan: `It's hard to imagine a devil-worshipping cult more satanic than the Church of the Inquisition', a persecution not finally abandoned in Spain until 1834. Houston explains how this brand of fundamentalism led to the `witch-hunts' of the Middle Ages and to the rhetoric that continues with the hysterical evangelicals that flourish in America today. There is more on persecution of `witches' in Chapter 10 than I need to know, but it certainly makes its point emphatically about the medieval Church's fear and hatred of women. The Church's (particularly papal) abuse of women Houston puts at the centre of reasons for the Reformation, generating atrocities of its own that rivalled those of the Catholic Church - and all in the name of Christianity! Several times in the book Houston draws parallels between Christian fundamentalism and evangelism and the `inspiration' of Hitler to the Third Reich.

In Chapters 12 and 13, Houston turns to politics, sociology and ethical philosophy, with Rousseau and Paine as literary models, and quotes from Locke, Jefferson, Franklin and Adams. Once again, the Adam and Eve myth is exposed as a model (or excuse) for the repression of women. There is much here about abuse of women in contemporary America that gives cause for great unease, and there is still more on this and related themes in subsequent chapters. It is truly frightening that people can be so gullible as to accept these evil messages from Christian evangelists as in any way God-inspired.

This book is a well-researched and highly detailed document about the evil perpetrated in the name of religion, though perhaps there are more salacious details of the immorality of U.S. politicians and evangelists than we need as readers to make the case for deism. I felt much of this could have been omitted without weakening the main argument against both religious extremism and atheism. It has a clear feminist message, but is none the worse for that. Where Hitchens and Harris make their case against God, this book makes its case supporting God against dogmatic religion.

Howard Jones is the author of The Thoughtful Guide to God

Eternal Life: A New Vision: Beyond Religion, Beyond Theism, Beyond Heaven and Hell

Neil Randall (Gerard Butler) and his wife Abby (Maria Bello) seem to have an almost perfect family life together with their daughter Sophie - almost perfect because like so many hard-working family providers trying to do the best for their family there is never enough leisure time left to spend with the family. Neil and Abby drive off to spend a weekend with Neil's boss. But while they are on the road, sociopath Tom Ryan (Pierce Brosnan) suddenly appears having been hidden down in the back seat of their vehicle. He says that the child-minder looking after Sophie is in fact his wife and the child will be killed unless the Randalls do exactly as he says. As Ryan is armed and very menacing, they do exactly as he says. There are so many exciting twists and turns in the story and a great climax so I shall say no more; but this is one of the most nail-biting films I have seen in quite a while. The acting is totally convincing and the plot constantly surprising. The rather strange title is taken from a line of poetry by Alexander Pope. The superb direction was by Mike Parker.

It was a real treat to find this quarter-century old recording of two pieces for string ensemble in a record store. The orchestra in question is the Vienna Chamber Orchestra led by their conductor since 1976, the French pianist-conductor Philippe Entremont. The sound quality on this Naxos recording is fine, given the age of the digital recording (1990). I know of only one other recording with this same combination of pieces and that is the one by Camerata de Lausanne under Pierre Amoyal which I think has equally fine performances of both works but is slightly more expensive. Both pieces are rather late compositions in Tchaikovsky's all- too-brief life: he was in his 40s when they were written but only 53 when he died. Both pieces are full of the glorious melodies that have made Tchaikovsky so popular.

This film is set in the Amish community of Pennsylvania in 1984. A young 8-year-old Amish boy, Samuel Lapp (Lukas Haas), and his mother Rachel (Kelly McGillis) go to the train station in Philadelphia on their way to visit Rachel's sister. In the station cloakrooms, Samuel witnesses a murder. Although Samuel could not identify the killer from books of suspects, he does identify him from a newspaper photograph of James McFee (Danny Glover). Police officer McFee was previously a suspect when a haul of narcotics went missing from the evidence locker. Detective John Book (Harrison Ford) is put in charge of the case with his partner Sergeant Elton Carter (Brent Jennings). Book presents this only evidence to his superior, Chief Paul Schaeffer (Josef Sommer), but when Book is ambushed by McFee as soon as he gets home he realizes that Schaeffer is corrupt too. Book returns the Lapps to their home but collapses from his injuries. As a result of nursing him, Rachel gradually falls in love with Book but their romance can never flourish. After killing Book's partner, Chief Schaeffer and his confederates come to the Amish community to hunt down Book and the boy.

The Labyrinth of Time: The illusion of past, present and future, by Anthony Peake, Arcturus, London, 2012, 336 ff.

This is one of a number of books by this author that explore the nature of consciousness in the living and discarnate state. The author says his object in writing the book is `to present a review of time and its mysteries'. I have not succeeded in tracking down any background as to the qualifications or experience of the author, so I cannot say that he is writing from the point of view of the scientist, psychologist, philosopher, physician or whatever.

Peake begins this book with some reflections on time by the Greek philosophers Anaximander, Zeno and Aristotle and Roman philosopher Marcus Aurelius, and thence onto Enlightenment philosophers Newton, Leibniz and Kant, and several others who had some interesting observations to make about time. The `bottom line' of this discussion - for this is where it's going - is that time has no real existence. Let me say at the outset that this is a view with which I disagree. It is like saying that temperature has no real existence. Of course, time and temperature are virtual not real entities in a material sense. Time is the way humans measure change, and in particular, changes in entropy, and these are as real as the desk at which I am sitting; in the same way, temperature is our way of measuring changes in kinetic energy, for we have no other ways of conveniently measuring these physical quantities. Time may not be of significance in the quantum world or in the afterlife, but differentiating past, present and future is highly significant in the everyday macro world.

In Chapter 2 we begin the argument for the circularity of time using the ouroboros as the well-known spiritual symbol for circularity. The next chapters deal with the `eternal recurrence' theme of Russian philosophers George Gurdjieff and Piotr Ouspensky - a notion rather like that which was the theme of the 1993 movie `Groundhog Day'. Chapter 5 gives us a very readable account of the particle-wave duality of fundamental particles in the quantum world as an explanation of how electromagnetic energy reaches us, through space, from the sun and how interference patterns are generated by light. The chapter also includes discussion of other knotty scientific concepts, like the many worlds hypothesis of DeWitt, Everett and Wheeler, Dirac's anti-particles, and the anthropic principle.

In the following chapters Peake recounts anecdotes from people who have had time-distorting experiences like déjà vu or out-of-body experiences, including himself, Sir Walter Scott, Charles Dickens and psychic researcher Frederick Myers. It is not the fact that such states of altered consciousness exist that is important but the nature of the experiences while the subject is in those states: people often experience pre- or post-cognition of events that are subsequently verified. Peake suggests that such events `involve trans-dimensional travel to another `version' of earth' - an example of DeWitt's `many worlds'? Because the properties of subatomic particles are space-time invariant, it does mean that whole people are - but could that dimension of mind we call `soul' be subject to space-time invariance? The Priestley letters Peake refers to, recounting such experiences, are quite fascinating.

For me, one of the most potent suggestions in Peake's book occurs in the final chapter where he suggests, after John Wheeler, that consciousness is responsible for every event in the universe, through all time. This is not consciousness as we know it, for mortals, but spiritual consciousness - the ultimate Form in Plato's theory. As I have suggested elsewhere, the `many-worlds' idea can persuasively be thought of as the universes that would have existed if our decisions had been other than that which they were - the ultimate realm of Aristotelian potentialities.

This is an excellent book for the way it deals with a complex subject that inevitably touches on many disciplines. There is a fairly brief list of Notes and an Index to complete the book.

Howard Jones is the author of Evolution of Consciousness