‘Bleeding for Jesus’ – second edition

The first edition of Bleeding for Jesus was published in the autumn of 2021. If you have read a copy, you will likely remember it. The contents are shocking, even if you were already aware of the story of the abuse inflicted by John Smyth on many of the boys who attended the Iwerne camps.

Reviewing this initial edition for Evangelicals Now, Julia Cameron commented on the density of the detail contained, the frustrating lack of footnotes, and factual errors. She felt Graystone “imaginatively reconstructs scenes, and quotes from them, while not having spoken with those present”.

Some of those mentioned in the book provided their own rebuttal of what was originally published. But not everyone who reads a book will then head online and read blogs elucidating and clarifying details, especially in a book full of such shocking material.